All Things Seniors: A Podcast For Caregivers Rafiq Punjani

Did you know that in 2018 the number of people older than 64 surpassed the number of children under five years old? It was the first time in history that this was the case. The timing of this change, though, varied significantly between countries. 
In higher-income countries with low fertility rates and longer life expectations, it has been shifting for decades. Take the United States, for example, where the under-fives were already outnumbered by those older than 64 in 1966; in Spain, it was 1970; in South Korea, it was 2000. For many countries, this crossover point is yet to come. In India, for example, it is projected to be 2028 and 2036 in South Africa. 
In low-income countries with high fertility rates and a lower life expectancy, this point is still many decades away. For example, in Nigeria, under-fives will outnumber those older than 64 by 2087.
As the number of older adults grows around the world, aging people need seniors advocates. Today we have one such advocate with us who has been doing this awe-inspiring work for decades, Barbara Kirby.
After 15 years of caring for her parents with complex health issues, Barb recognized the gaps and barriers in services for seniors and their families. Thus, she chaired and co-chaired the family council in her dad's care home for over ten years; subsequently, she became a board member of advocates for care reform. 
Before her parents passed in 2019, she started SeniorsAdvocate.ca in 2009. Its mandate is to treat older people with respect, provide all options to make informed choices to live as they choose, and ensure they and their caregivers have support when they need it most.
Focusing on planning, navigating, and management, she has published numerous articles and authored multiple books. She is a trainer, public speaker, and change agent.
 
Topics:
What 'to be an advocate for an older adult' means What she means by many faces of advocacy What are the signs of caregiver abuse and how to prevent it Her concept on lifestyle planning over financial planning The five basic principles of living well in later life On continuing to educate yourself  On being prepared to take action On refraining your thought On self-aware What radical collaboration is On knowing who we are and what our values are On investing time to learn more about your loved ones On building a support network Who can be an advocate On sharing the responsibility with others Why working through these support networks is essential to an elder Her tips for the listeners Links:
Host’s email: Rafiq@SeniorsPodcast.com Sponsor’s Link - Right at Home: www.RightAtHomeCanada.com/Winnipeg All Things Senior’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/AllThingsSeniors Barbara's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/seniorsadvocate/ Barbara's Website: www.SeniorsAdvocate.ca Barbara’s Twitter: @SeniorsAdvocate  Barbara's Facebook: www.facebook.com/seniorsadvocate.ca Barbara's Book: Life Planning, Support & Advocacy for Seniors & their Families: https://store.seniorsadvocate.ca/books/life-planning-support-advocacy-for-seniors-their-families.html

Did you know that nearly 25% of all households are providing care for the elderly? Although you may be willing to help, you may find unexpected challenges in doing it. Matters you never thought about are now your responsibility: healthcare, housing, financial, legal matters, day-to-day issues involving nutrition, and personal safety. With these, you may find yourself worried, overworked, and exhausted. Listeners, being primary caregivers, can relate to this.
Today, we have with us Dr. Marion Somers, a leading Geriatric specialist. Over the past 45 years, she has helped thousands of individuals and their families struggling with these matters.
 
Topics:
10 Steps of Doctor Marion to Help You Care for an Aging Loved One  On using the personal pronoun I The importance of listening Her experience with her father and putting safety first Improving the lifestyle and simple examples Making life easier with adaptive equipment Managing financial issues Taking care of legal matters Mobility in disability Finding the suitable housing Learning to let go Her experience on letting go that changed her life Links:
Host’s email: Rafiq@SeniorsPodcast.com Sponsor’s Link - Right at Home: www.RightAtHomeCanada.com/Winnipeg All Things Senior’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/AllThingsSeniors Dr. Marion's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarionsomers/ Dr. Marion's Website: http://drmarion.com/ Dr. Marion's Book: Eldercare Made Easier: Doctor Marion's 10 Steps to Help You Care for an Aging Loved One: https://www.amazon.com/Elder-Care-Made-Easier-Marions/dp/1886039801 Mary Sue Wilkinson's Season 1 Episode 9 : https://www.seniorspodcast.com/2020/02/episode-9-the-power-of-music-in-dementia-care/ Tim Ihrig's Season 1 Episode 13: https://www.seniorspodcast.com/2020/02/episode-13-palliative-care-being-alive-vs-living-a-life/

Did you know that over 50% of people over 60 years old in Asia and Africa live in extended family setups? This number is approximately 40% in Latin America and the Middle East. Meanwhile, in North America though, that's only 7%. In North America, people over 60 living as a couple is close to 50% while those living solo ager or those living by themselves are over 25%.
Living alone brings its own unique sets of challenges and needs. What are these challenges and needs? To talk about these and more about living solo among the elderly, we are happy to have Dr. Sara Zeff Geber with us. She is an expert on this subject and a world-renowned speaker. 
Dr. Sara is an author, speaker, and retirement coach. She has a soft spot for solo agers that inspired her to write her book Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers, published in 2018 and was selected as a Best Book on Aging Well by Wall Street Journal. Dr. Sara was named an Influencer in Aging and is also a regular contributor to Forbes.com.
 
Topics:
What solo aging is and how she got into it The three-legged stool How the solo ager needs are different from others How a solo ager should plan What to do seeing somebody who is in denial On expanding social network On planning for social network security  How a solo ager finds a reliable person Pros and cons of aging in place The purpose that solo agers seek Her tips to the listeners  
Links:
Host’s email: Rafiq@SeniorsPodcast.com Sponsor’s Link - Right at Home: www.RightAtHomeCanada.com/Winnipeg All Things Senior’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/AllThingsSeniors Dr. Sara's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sarazeffgeber Dr. Sara's Twitter: @LifeEncore  Dr. Sara's Website: www.LifeEncore.com Dr. Sara's Email: Sara@LifeEncore.com  
Did You Know Segment: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/10/older-people-are-more-likely-to-live-alone-in-the-u-s-than-elsewhere-in-the-world/#:~:text=In%20the%20U.S.%2C%2027%25%20of,5%25%20of%20seniors%20live%20alone

Did you know that the population of seniors, ages 65 and older, in Canada will grow approximately 70% over the next 20 years? While the older seniors, ages 75 and older, will grow at an even faster rate of 100% over the next 20 years, which is a steep increase in the number of seniors. With this information at hand, there is a need to improve care and advocacy for seniors in Canada and internationally to get more attention towards the subject.  
Fortunately, today we have Erin Galyean, author of the book Badass Advocate to give more inputs on stepping up care and advocacy for seniors. Erin is a pharmaceutical trainer, professional speaker, a published author, and above all, she is an experienced family caregiver. 
Erin has cared for and lost two of her loved ones. In 1997, Erin lost her father Mike to Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and in 2018, she lost her sister Meghan to rare lung disease. These heart-breaking life events, combined with her professional caregiving experience, taught her how to advocate for a patient effectively.
Due to her life experiences, Erin's vision in life is to share her knowledge with others — people like us — so that we can learn from her experience and become badass advocates for our loved ones. 
In her book, she shares eight strategies for advocating for a patient who is either homebound or hospitalized. This interview will touch-base on some of those.
Topics:
On building a support team The role of Director of Delight Other unique roles that they came up with The role of a Meal Train Organizer The role of a VP in Communications  On asking 'strong' questions What she means by being persistent and respectful from the caregivers perspective On giving pushback and asking for a second opinion The source of fatigue for caregivers and ways to avoid it What she means by letters of love What are the do's and don'ts while writing these letters Her take on living behind in unexpected gifts Her two tips to the listeners to make them better caregivers Links:
Host’s email: Rafiq@SeniorsPodcast.com Sponsor’s Link - Right at Home: www.RightAtHomeCanada.com/Winnipeg All Things Senior’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/AllThingsSeniors Erin's Instagram: #BadAssAdvocate Erin's Twitter: @BadAssAdvocate  Erin's  Website: www.BadAssAdvocate.com Erin's  Facebook: www.facebook.com/BadAssAdvocate Erin's  Email: Erin@BadAssAdvocate.com Did You Know Segment: https://www.cihi.ca/en/infographic-canadas-seniors-population-outlook-uncharted-territory

In this episode, Rafiq will share five essential tips he learned from all the episodes in the first season that helped shape caregivers into becoming better caregivers to their loved ones. He will give a bonus tip for caregivers to enhance their knowledge on providing care to the elderly. He will share snippets of the particular episodes where those tips or recommendations came.
 
Tip 1:
Teepa Snow's Episode 6
Title: Using A Positive Approach To Dementia Care
Link: https://www.seniorspodcast.com/2020/01/episode-6-using-a-positive-approach-to-dementia-care/
 
Tip 2:
Mary Sue Wilkinson's Episode 9 
Title: The Power Of Music In Dementia Care
Link: https://www.seniorspodcast.com/2020/02/episode-9-the-power-of-music-in-dementia-care/
 
Tip 3: 
Judy Cornish's Episode 10
Title: Preserving Dignity In Dementia – the DAWN Method
Link: https://www.seniorspodcast.com/2020/02/episode-10-preserving-dignity-in-dementia-the-dawn-method/
 
Tip 4:
Debra Hallisey Episode 16
Title: “Caregiving Changes Relationships”
Link: https://www.seniorspodcast.com/2020/07/episode-16/
 
Tip 5:
Samantha Rodeck Episode 19
Title: Transportation For Seniors & Its Role In Purposeful Aging
Link: https://www.seniorspodcast.com/2020/07/episode-19/
 
Topics:
What people understand on sharing vulnerability  His take on “Someone who is singing with you or to you is probably not there to hurt you.” Mood management On the part of the caregiving journey when our relationship diminishes On encouraging people to continue walking Bonus tip that he learned being a family caregiver  
Links:
Host’s email: Rafiq@SeniorsPodcast.com Sponsor’s Link - Right at Home: www.RightAtHomeCanada.com/Winnipeg All Things Senior’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/AllThingsSeniors All Things Senior’s Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4EpFqgau5hrQ3dHc5wCLM7?si=ZscY-NknSrGrE170PfA5LA All Things Senior’s iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/all-things-seniors-a-podcast-for-caregivers/

I have four facts to share with you today: First, did you know that every day in North America, over 10,000 people turn 65? Second, seniors tend to rent as they age. 83% of seniors up to the age of 79 own a home, but when they enter the age category of 80+, the ownership statistics go down to 63%, a 20% drop, people tend to like to rent more when they age over 80. Third, 60% of seniors say that they have more things than they need and a whopping 75% say that the amount of these things that they own makes them reluctant to move. Lastly, a study found that seniors who moved as part of their retirement plan were happier than those who stayed put. And, seniors are most happy when they move to short-distance near their family and friends. 
Moving later in life has its unique self-challenges. We are fortunate to have a guest with us today who is an absolute expert on this subject, Lisa Sinnicks. She is the owner and managing director of The Seniors Moving Company. 
Lisa has over 25 years of experience in seniors housing. Her profession revolves around the following topics: physical and emotional health, conflict resolution, loneliness, isolation, effects of grief and loss, and many such things.
It is a hefty chat about moving later in life in this episode and its challenges and the things to consider. Join us!
 
Topics:
What are the common mistakes that people make in moving Why people think of moving and their considerations Making the whole process more positive and simpler  How she coaches caregivers to take this at face value and appreciate their feelings Challenges she sees during moving When is the good time to start the discussion Where to start moving Her tips to the listeners  
Links:
Host’s email: Rafiq@SeniorsPodcast.com Sponsor’s Link - Right at Home: www.RightAtHomeCanada.com/Winnipeg All Things Senior’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/AllThingsSeniors Lisa's Instagram: #TheSeniorsMovingCompany Lisa's Website: www.SeniorsMovingCo.com Lisa's Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheSeniorsMovingCompany Lisa's Email: Lisa@SeniorsMovingCo.com  
Did You Know Segment: https://www.seniorlifestyle.com/resources/blog/infographic-upside-downsizing/