Caregiving Insights: A Podcast for Everyone -

1 Day 1 Week is thrilled to bring you this video podcast series! We hope you find each episode interesting, engaging, informative and enjoyable!

Over time, Todd “TJ” Keitz, Creator/Chief Blogger of www.1day1week.com and his guests will explore a wide array of interesting topics for caregivers, patient advocates, patients — and anyone who interacts with them, which is everyone. The discussions will range from serious to fun, and all stops in between.

The intention of this series is aligned with our blog:

to provide greater understanding about caregiving and patient advocacy.
to effect change in the U.S. and around the globe through helping to build bridges within families and communities.
to help the movement for economic changes in support of the millions of people who take on the roles of caregiving and/or patient advocacy.

If you like what you see, please subscribe to the Caregiving Insights channel.

We always welcome topic suggestions, so feel free to let us know. info@1day1week.com

THE INFORMATION IN EACH PODCAST “EPISODE” IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. WWW.1DAY1WEEK.COM AND ITS SPONSOR MY CARE FRIENDS LLC EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL’S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE PODCAST EPISODES OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THE EPISODES.

TO VIEW THE FULL PODCAST DISCLAIMER, PLEASE VISIT THE BOTTOM OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE PAGE.

Episode 23: An Alzheimer’s Love Story – How To Be There For The One You Love

Guest: Martin J. Schreiber, Former Governor of Wisconsin

We had a VERY special guest (and addressed a very important topic!) for the 1st Caregiving Insights episode of 2024!

Todd “TJ” Keitz, Founder of this blog, Caregiving Insights, and My Care Friends, was truly honored to welcome the former Governor of Wisconsin, Martin J. Schreiber.

Marty is a wonderful human being, who cared for his wife Elaine for 19 years along the Alzheimer’s journey. In this episode, he shares so much insight into the journey of a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer’s and how to love both people — the woman he first fell in love with and was his rock (and glue of the family), and the second woman that didn’t know who he was.

Marty is kind, engaging, funny, caring, loving…and realistic about the challenges faced by Alzheimer’s caregivers, and often specifically how men are further challenged.

In this heartfelt conversation, Marty shares so much insight that is actionable for viewers — whether they: a) are caregivers of someone with Alzheimer’s, b) simply care about someone that has this dreaded disease (or any form of dementia), or c) are caregiver to anyone.

Love is a universal language and Marty’s story of “My Two Elaines” is certainly a love story!
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While this 35-minute episode is truly worth watching in its entirety, we understand everyone’s lives are busy. In case you don’t have time to watch it all, you can go directly to one of the topics below:

(minute:second)
00:35 Introduction of Marty
03:58 Episode preface
04:39 How Alzheimer’s initially shows up
05:40 Initial ability as caregiver (or lack thereof)
08:20 Switch to be a better caregiver
10:50 Sign of courage & strength to ask for help
13:31 Unacknowledged grieving and confronting it
15:22 Surviving vs. Thriving — and Joy
17:50 Importance of therapeutic fibbing
20:06 Heart & souls connecting
23:04 Mood sharing
24:20 “Join their world”: Evolving from caregiving of the person you knew to the “new” person — how and when
26:19 Poignancy of Elaine’s Notes & Marty’s “Pivot”
30:08 Marty’s final thoughts & “the lifeline”
32:44 Todd’s final thoughts and Elaine’s beautiful love note to Marty

Along with Marty, we hope you enjoy this special episode of Caregiving Insights and find it helpful along your journey. Should you like to read Marty’s exceptional book, MY TWO ELAINES, you can find it on Amazon. It’s truly worth every penny!

Episode 22: The ALL HOME CARE MATTERS’ journey – Who, Why & More!!

Guest: Lance A. Slatton, AHCM Chairman and Podcast Host

This episode of Caregiving Insights was so meaningful for host, Todd “TJ” Keitz! When he met Lance A. Slatton earlier this year before the launch of My Care Friends, it was apparent their commitment to caregivers and patient advocates was in alignment. As they discussed Todd being a guest on Lance’s podcast All Home Care Matters, they both learned so much about each other – including where their passions for the caring industry were born. They had an instant connection and Todd asked Lance if he could “turn the camera around” and have him as a guest on Caregiving Insights. Without hesitation, he said “absolutely” and in this episode you will learn so much about Lance – why and how All Home Care Matters came to be, as well as some incredible stories about the AHCM journey to what is now 122,000 subscribers!!

For those who don’t know about All Home Care Matters, it’s a YouTube show devoted to discussing all things home care, caregiving, and so much more. There are featured guests, resources, tips, and discussions on important age-related topics to help families as they navigate long-term care matters. In addition to Lance being Podcast Host and Chairperson for Board of Directors at All Home Care Matters, for over 10 years he has been a Certified Senior Case Manager at an award-winning home care company called Enriched Life Home Care Services. There, he assists families and individuals in aging in place with dignity, and accessing the resources and services they need for long-term care.

Additionally, Lance has a passion for dementia care and education. He has facilitated, hosted, and provided multiple training and educational series to communities and organizations on the process, changes, and needs of this disease. Todd and Lance hope you enjoy this episode of Caregiving Insights – and invite you to stay tuned for the post in December of Todd’s guest spot on All Home Care Matters!

Episode 21: A Caregiving Youth’s Story

Guest: Kaylin Jean-Louis, Freshman at Florida A&M University

As we shared last month, there are over 5.4 million caregiving youth in the U.S. and countless others around the world. In this episode of Caregiving Insights, My Care Friends’ Founder/CEO Todd “TJ” Keitz sits down with 18-year old Kaylin Jean-Louis — caregiver, radio host, motivational speaker, and founder of Kaylin’s Caring Konnection. Kaylin graduated high school earlier this year and since 2016 along with her mom has been caregiver to her grandmother and great-grandmother.

So, how did she have time to do all she’s done — and at such a young age? Watch this uplifting episode and hear all about it. We think you’ll be as impressed by her and her story as we are. She’s well spoken and mature beyond her years, with a powerful and kind presence that is very rare for people of any age. We hope you find this episode helpful and invite you to subscribe to the Caregiving Insights channel! It’s free and easy to do when you visit the channel.

Episode 20: Caregiving Youth – Hidden In Plain Sight

Guest: Connie Siskowski, Founder/President, American Association of Caregiving Youth

Date: September 21, 2023

There are over 5.4 million caregiving youth in the U.S. and countless others around the world. Childhoods are altered and often missed out entirely for these kids.

The U.K. is light years ahead of the U.S. when it comes to supporting them. How can the U.S. be better? Who is identifying these kids, how are they supported now, and who is advocating for them?

One — and only one — national organization in the U.S. has been working on this for a long time. It’s called the American Association of Caregiving Youth or AACY.

In this episode of Caregiving Insights, My Care Friends Founder/CEO Todd “TJ” Keitz sits down with AACY Founder/President, Connie Siskowski to learn more. Connie is a CNN Hero and has received many accolades for her commitment to Caregiving Youth. Todd is now a member of the ACCY National Advisory Council and uses his various platforms to amplify the voice of AACY to gain greater awareness about this crucial topic — not only for the kids, but for families and society overall.

We hope you find this episode helpful and invite you to subscribe to the Caregiving Insights channel! It’s free and easy to do — click the subscribe button just below the video on the YouTube channel.

~~ Don’t forget to check out My Care Friends – a great new community for caregivers and patient advocates that you can join for free! ~~

Episode 19: Daily Money Management for Seniors – What’s it all about?

Guest: Peter Gordon, Founder, New York Financial Organizers

Date: August 23, 2023

– What exactly does a certified daily money manager do?

– When is the best time to engage with one?

– Is your loved one paying way too much for certain services?

– Have you or your loved ever done an audit of bills paid?

– How are caregivers involved, if at all?

– How is family involved, if at all?

These and many more questions are explored by Todd “TJ” Keitz in this episode of Caregiving Insights, with guest Peter Gordon, CSA, CDMM, Founder/President of New York Financial Organizers, Inc. Peter’s passion for helping seniors and families was born out of his own experiences with his parents. He’s proud of the fact that his son has joined him on this journey of helping people manage their money on a daily basis, to lessen the stress and anxiety that especially seniors with health issues are dealing with.

Episode 18: Considerations for Employees & Employers related to Caregiving & PTO

Guest: Jamie Dokovna, Employment Law Attorney

Date: April 17, 2023

– Are there any legal protections for caregivers under the law?

– What are the basic differences between ADA, FMLA, ADEA, FCRA and FLSA, and do they apply to an employee’s caregiving situation?

– Are there baseline legal responsibilities for employers when it comes to providing PTO?

– How are employers large to small dealing with PTO for employees?

These and many more questions are explored by Todd in this episode of Caregiving Insights, with guest Jamie Dokovna, attorney and shareholder at Becker and Poliakoff, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Jamie has been an employment law attorney for over 17 years. She has extensive experience helping employers and employees understand an often misunderstood (or not understood at all) area of the law.

We hope you find this episode helpful and invite you to subscribe to the Caregiving Insights channel! It’s free and easy to do — click the subscribe button just below the video.

PLUS — stay tuned for the upcoming launch of the cool MCF web app for caregivers and patient advocates, where they will be able to connect with each other like never before! Just weeks away!

Episodes 15-16-17: Long-Term Care Insurance – Who, What, Where and More!

Guest: Kelly Augspurger, CLTC, CSA, Long-Term Care Specialist

Date: March 15, 2023

Not to be missed! This is truly for everyone, with lots to consider no matter your age, socio-economic standing, etc.

Long-term care insurance is an often misunderstood and confusing topic, in and of itself, and related to overall LTC planning.

In December, Todd was fortunate to have Kelly Augspurger, CLTC®, CSA, LTC Insurance Specialist and Co-Founder of Steadfast Insurance as a guest on Caregiving Insights. Kelly is well-respected in her field and coincidentally this week has served as a moderator and panelist at the ILTCI – The Intercompany Long Term Care Insurance Conference.

I’m grateful for Kelly’s time and excited to finally have posted the episode for all to see. She shared a wealth of knowledge and insight on many long term care planning topics, which are very important for everyone to consider — individuals, families overall, and adult children with parents of any age!

Due to the breadth and depth of insight shared by Kelly, we created a three-part episode. Part 1 is 26 minutes / Part 2 is 27 minutes / Part 3 is 23 minutes. There’s an outline of each episode when clicking on the links below.

We hope you find these helpful and invite you to subscribe to the Caregiving Insights channel! Oh, and stay tuned for the upcoming Spring 2023 launch of the cool MCF web app for caregivers and patient advocates, where they will be able to connect with each other like never before!

Episode #14: Deprescribing – All You Never Knew About It

Guest: DeLon Canterbury, Certified Community Pharmacogenomics Consultant & Geriatric Care Pharmacist

Date: February 20, 2023

So, what is deprescribing? According to deprescribing.org, it’s the planned and supervised process of dose reduction or stopping of medication that might be causing harm, or no longer be of benefit. Deprescribing is part of good prescribing – backing off when doses are too high, or stopping medications that are no longer needed.

We often hear patients and caregivers on their behalf talk about the many medications they are on. They wonder if it’s really helping or potentially hurting. This is where a certified professional comes in to help people assess the possibilities.

Passionate thought-leader DeLon Canterbury, founder/CEO of GeriatRx, is an example of such a person and we are thrilled to have him as a guest on this episode of Caregiving Insights with Todd Keitz.

DeLon’s company provides a Telehealth Concierge Deprescribing consulting service that helps patients, providers, and senior facing businesses optimize health outcomes with evidence-based therapies with innovative solutions focusing on deprescribing unnecessarily prescribed medications. They boldly believe that every patient, especially senior citizens, should have a pharmacist assess and conduct Medication Therapy Management to ensure that therapies are appropriate, safe, and effective while tailoring plans to a patient’s clinical needs and racial demographics.

This discussion includes: – DeLon’s journey to his passion for deprescribing – Special credentialing necessary – Differences between pharmacist and physician knowledge of drugs – What IS deprescribing? – Why to consider it? – How he works/collaborates with a patient’s physician and caregiver during the deprescribing process – Genetic Testing – How is can play a part in the process – Where is done – How to get a test – Why get a test – Training future deprescribers by changing mindsets of current prescribers – Training doctors and nurses on deprescribing with evidence-based recommendations.

As DeLon passionately says, there is “no need for a 90 year old woman to be on 30 meds. Period!”

We hope you find this discussion helpful and invite you to subscribe to the Caregiving Insights channel! It’s free and easy to do — click the subscribe button just below the video.

Episode #13: Patient Assistance Programs & Drug Trials, Explained

Guest: Debra Alper, Pharmaceutical Veteran of 25+ years

Date: January 11, 2023

These topics are often misunderstood or not at all. Other than having heard of patient assistance programs and drug trials, to what extent do caregivers and patient advocates (or anyone for that matter) know what they are all about? Learning and understanding the intricacies can greatly benefit patients, caregivers and patient advocates in many ways.

Check out the outline below of what’s talked about in this episode of Caregiving Insights, where Todd “TJ” Keitz chats with Debra Alper. Over 25 years, Debra gained vast strategic marketing, strategic portfolio analysis, new product planning and commercialization experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including most recently as Director, Global Strategic Marketing, Hematology, at Johnson & Johnson. Four years ago she created Alper Consulting Group, which partners with early development oncology or rare disease companies that seek commercial guidance and assists commercial divisions of pharmaceutical companies with strategic planning, new product launch preparation, early to late phase commercialization, life cycle planning and portfolio prioritization.

Patient Assistance Programs discussion includes: – what are they – how to find them – who are they for – reduced costs – timing of the process – info needed for application – what types of drugs are included – patient’s physician involvement – pros and cons.

Drug Trials discussion includes: – what are they – who can participate – why participate – who oversees – who regulates – eligibility – what the phases mean (i.e. 1, 2, etc.) – stringency of protocols for acceptance/entrance and ongoing – timing – finding trials (including links to key resources) – physician involvement – alignment of goals – determining if it’s right for a patient or loved one.

We hope you find this discussion helpful and invite you to subscribe to the Caregiving Insights channel! It’s free and easy to do — click the subscribe button just below the video.

Episode #12: An Alzheimer’s Caregiver Journey

Guest: Jill McCleary, Caregiver & Entrepreneur

Date: December 13, 2022

Jill left her career behind as the Director of The University of Arizona Art Museum to care full-time for her mother. The conversation packs a lot into 35 minutes! There’s lots of thought-provoking and actionable information for current and future caregivers, whether of someone of Alzheimer’s or any illness.

Topic areas include: – Transition from career to caregiver – Mental health assistance – Avoiding financial predators of elders – Benefits of technology in caregiving and specifically Alzheimer’s – Importance of Power of Attorney document – Self-care – Alzheimer’s journey — day-to-day — overall — emotional — interactions —routines — sundowning – Walkers and wheelchairs, challenges and benefits – Importance of caregiver’s vacation, preparing for it, and finding help We hope you find this discussion helpful and invite you to subscribe to the Caregiving Insights channel! It’s free and easy to do — click the subscribe button just below the video.

We are grateful to Jill for her time and insights, and hope you find this conversation interesting and informative!

If you like what you see, please subscribe to our Caregiving Insights channel on YouTube, which helps it reach more caregivers and patient advocates. Thanks!

Episode #11: Practical Tips for Caregivers & Patient Advocates (Part 2)

Guest: Laurette Foggini, Elder Care Consultant, Caregiver & Author

Date: November 28, 2022

Laurette draws on her extensive experience on the administrative side of caregiving and patient advocacy, combined with her subsequent (and current) journey with her mom. The conversation is fun, engaging, and addresses very important topics that current and future caregivers will find helpful. So much so, that we had to split it into two episodes.

Part 2 explores topics such as addressing sibling responsibilities, effects of prognosis and changes to it, travel for self-care, decisions about home care and hospice, acceptance and adapting, sons stepping into these care roles, senior fitness and more!

We are grateful to Laurette for her time and insights, and hope you find this conversation interesting and informative!

If you like what you see, please subscribe to our Caregiving Insights channel on YouTube, which helps it reach more caregivers and patient advocates. Thanks!

Episode #10: Practical Tips for Caregivers & Patient Advocates (Part 1)

Guest: Laurette Foggini, Elder Care Consultant, Caregiver & Author

Date: November 16, 2022

Part 1 explores topics such as developing care plans, caregiving from a distance, transitioning to being physically present, importance of the Power of Attorney (and considerations about why and when it’s not enough), and much more!

We are grateful to Laurette for her time and insights, and hope you find this conversation interesting and informative! Keep an eye out for Part 2 of Todd and Laurette’s conversation, coming to Caregiving Insights in December!

Episode #9: Self-Care for Caregivers: Reiki

Guest: Sovan Purkait, Co-Founder of The Rainbow Miracle

Date: October 30, 2022

We explore Sovan’s journey to experiencing Reiki, believing in its healing effects, and subsequently co-founding The Rainbow Miracle. Based in India, this endeavor can help people around the world.

The first part of the episode explores Sovan’s journey and “what is Reiki”, then discusses the benefits to caregivers and other healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses, etc.

We are grateful to Sovan for his time and insights, and hope you find this conversation interesting and informative!

Episode #8: Patient Advocacy: Considerations from a Patient & Advocate

Guest: Amos Odeleye-Ajakaye, Healthcare Professional, Patient & Advocate

Date: October 10, 2022

We explore Amos’ journey from Nigeria to the United States, and from healthcare professional to being a patient. As a healthcare professional, Amos knew a lot about advocacy and caregiving. Once he became a patient, his knowledge went to a whole different level.

This episode explores many facets of patient advocacy and there’s lots of helpful insight…whether you are an advocate, patient, caregiver, or healthcare professional. In fact, anyone can benefit from understanding more about advocacy and how to support loved ones, friends and colleagues along their healthcare journeys.

We are grateful to Amos for his time and insights, and hope you find this conversation interesting and informative!

Episode #7: The Power of Patient & Caregiver Imagery

Guest: Bob Houser, Photographer & Founder of Facing Light Foundation

Date: June 25, 2022

Bob is an incredible photographer whose Facing Light Foundation is a powerful vehicle for conveying the journeys of people going through challenging healthcare situations. https://facinglight.org/ In this episode, Todd explores with him the many facets of capturing the essence of these journey’s through his lens.

Bob shares about how he started this aspect of his career, the necessary connection with the patients, the thought process he considers in order to appropriately (and sensitively) capture the images, and much more.

We also discuss a project Bob and Todd are planning, which is capturing the essence of the caregiver experience. Needless to say, we’re excited about that future project! Bob is a passionate, caring and thoughtful photojournalist, and we are grateful for his time and insights!

We hope you enjoy this episode! If you do, we welcome comments, thumbs up, and subscribers to our 1 Day 1 Week YouTube channel, Caregiving Insights.

Episode #6: Caregiving & Employer Support

Guest: Diana Reyes, Communications Manager, Energy Transition & Sustainability at Chevron

Date: June 5, 2022

Consider the following — 10,000 baby boomers a day have turned 65 after 2010 and by 2030 all boomers will be at least that age. That’s a huge number of people who are entering the years where the need for a caregiver is closer — if hadn’t already been needed. Thinking about that, it makes sense why over 50 million adults in the U.S. identify as caregivers! Employer support of those caregivers is more important than ever!

In this episode of Caregiving Insights, Todd addresses this topic with Diana Reyes, Communications Manager, Energy Transition & Sustainability at Chevron. She is a veteran of 25+ years at the company and has experience in many roles, all of which have provided keen insight into the topic of employer support. When Diana received news of her father’s cancer, lots of changes needed to take place in order to support her dad, mom and family. Decisions had to be made quickly, which included moving across the country. How would Chevron and her boss support her? Could she work effectively in a remote situation? What would her husband’s work situation enable? That and much more is included in this episode, including family support, difficulty (impossibility) of preparing for many aspects of a caregiving journey, how friends can best support a caregiver, the benefits of hospice, etc.

We hope you enjoy this episode! If you do, we welcome comments, thumbs up, and subscribers to our 1 Day 1 Week YouTube channel, Caregiving Insights.

Episode #5: Importance of Comedy & Humor in Caregiving

Guest: Steve Ziegler, Human Services Nonprofit Executive and Live Comedy Show Producer

Date: February 23, 2022

Comedy & Humor are essential parts of a healthy life, so it’s important to consider how to incorporate it into caregiving. While there are certainly difficult times when something is not funny, making a conscious effort to find humor in daily life can be incredibly helpful (and healthy) for caregivers and those cared for. How do we do that?

In this episode of Caregiving Insights, Todd chats with Steve Ziegler, Director of Philanthropy at Mercy Neighborhood Ministries in Philadelphia, PA. Why talk with Steve? Not only does he have a pulse on caregiving because of his organization’s mission, but also for many years (pre-Covid) he produced live comedy shows.

During this episode, among many topics Todd talks with Steve about his background, favorite comedians, why humor is important, and ideas for incorporating it into the caregiving setting. We hope you enjoy the discussion!

Episode #4: Patient Advocacy & The Co-Creation Experience

Guest: Dr. Valerie Williams-Sanchez

Date: January 4, 2022

In this episode, Todd has an insightful conversation with Dr. Valerie Williams-Sanchez. Valerie and Todd worked together 25 years ago for a company named Medical Data International and have had extensive conversations over the years about patient advocacy and other important healthcare topics.

Valerie’s professional journey has taken her from journalism to advocacy, the later most recently leading to her PhD in literacy — a topic that spans so many areas from health to reading to financial and much more. In this podcast conversation, we traverse the landscape of patient advocacy and the importance within of knowing a patient’s rights. Weaved within our chat is a lot of wisdom from Valerie’s personal cancer journey, where she had to be her own patient advocate.

Patient Advocacy — while it’s not often thought of this way, it is a role as critical to patients as caregiving. Research of healthcare topics, communication with healthcare professionals, coordination of appointments, equipment, etc., dealing with insurance companies, review and understanding lab results, and much more are things an advocate must be confident to understand. More so, knowing how to connect all information and what to do with it…especially in terms of how, when, why and where to respectfully bring up what’s been learned and question healthcare professionals. Patient Advocacy is about co-creating the patient/advocate experience!

Whether you are already advocate, may be in the future (to whatever extent) or want to understand those who are, this episode provides important insight.

We hope you enjoy this episode! If you do, we welcome comments, thumbs up, and subscribers to our 1 Day 1 Week YouTube channel, Caregiving Insights.

Episode #3: Healing Through The Arts

Guest: Joy Javits – Founder, DooR to DooR of UNC Healthcare

Date: December 12, 2021

The healing referred to in this episode is about nourishing the soul. Patients and caregivers have their individual and intertwined journeys that are so often depleting. The arts are a beautiful gift to nourish oneself and those we care for. How is this accomplished? How can a hospital be involved? A family?

Todd explores these questions and much more with Joy. Since starting this organization 28 years ago, Joy has brought the arts to patients, caregivers, and staff in hospitals and other healthcare facilities to help the healing process. Joy’s background as a dancer and choreographer, as well as the daughter of the long-time respected U.S. Senator Jacob Javits (1904-1986), played a significant role in her ethos of Paying It Forward.

In the first ten minutes of this episode, Todd and Joy explore the positive influences from her childhood, education, and dance/choreography. During the rest of the episode, Todd and Joy explore many ways her organization has provided healing through the arts. There are excellent ideas for caregivers, hospitals, older adult facilities, and anyone to consider.

Joy is engaging and enthusiastic as she shares the wisdom and insights gained along life’s journey. Toward the end of the episode, she shares one of the most beautifully moving passages you’ll ever hear. It’s from a Door to Door performer, Jonathan Bird, called The Toughest Gig.

Episode #2: Perspectives on Caregiving & Patient Advocacy

Guest: Cori Kasten – Founder/CEO, Platinum Select Nursing

Date: November 28, 2021

There are so many things to consider regarding caregiving and patient advocacy! Whether you are already in one or both of these roles, or you may be in the future (to whatever extent), this episode provides important insight.

Todd explores these topics from various angles with Cori Kasten, Founder/CEO of Platinum Select Nursing in South Florida. For the past 14 years, Cori has built a successful business born out of genuine caring for her clients and passion for doing things the right way, all starting with one client who believed in her ability to change the world.

In the first half of this episode, Todd and Cori discuss topics such as in-home care, healthcare technology, and assessing good caregivers, all within the context of her Platinum Select Nursing journey.

In the second half of this episode (beginning at 19min:50sec), Todd and Cori explore many critical aspects of patient advocacy. This includes the importance of: pre-planning within families, societal awareness and education, and understanding the Patient Bill of Rights.

Episode #1: Peace of Mind for Caregivers: Validation & Meditation

Guest: Pat Samples – Caregiving Thought Leader, Author, Trainer & Consultant

Date: November 8, 2021

Todd spends 40 delightful minutes with conscious aging, creative self-expression, body awareness, and caregiving thought leader, Pat Samples. As an author, trainer and consultant, Pat has helped countless numbers of individuals over the past 20 years to find peace of mind along their caregiving and aging journeys.

Pat has written eight books, including three for caregivers: 1) Daily Comforts for Caregivers, 2) Self-Care for Caregivers: A 12-Step Approach, and 3) Comfort and Be Comforted: Reflections for Caregivers. Today’s discussion with Pat touches on a wide array of caregiving topics, from the challenges, to acts of love, to finding peace of mind. She shares successes she’s experienced with caregivers, wisdom gained through her interactions, and excerpts from her books. Pat also leads us in a mindfulness exercise and closes out our session with a 4-minute meditation.