Now or Never: Long-Term Care Strategy with Kosta Yepifantsev

The Essential Guide to Home Modifications, Equipment, and Aging in Place with Cindy Hardin-Weiss, and Christina Hardin-Weiss

May 23, 2023 Kosta Yepifantsev Season 1 Episode 37
Now or Never: Long-Term Care Strategy with Kosta Yepifantsev
The Essential Guide to Home Modifications, Equipment, and Aging in Place with Cindy Hardin-Weiss, and Christina Hardin-Weiss
Show Notes Transcript

Join Kosta and his guests: Cindy Hardin-Weiss, and Christina Hardin-Weiss Co-Founders of Adaptive Equipment and Caregiving Corner, working to enhance continuity of care from healthcare facility to home, increase client and caregiver safety during daily care and improve and maintain the client’s optimal level of functional independence.

Today we’re talking about home modifications, equipment, and aging in place.

In this episode: AARP found 80% of Americans turning 65 want to age in place. What are the top three pieces of adaptive equipment you believe every senior should have in their home to ensure their independence and quality of life? What specific home modifications or strategies do you recommend to create a safer, more accessible environment for those wishing to age in place while living with dementia? What’s the most effective way to identify the appropriate home modifications and adaptive equipment to meet an individual’s specific needs?  

Find out more about AEC Corner:
https://adaptiveequipmentcorner.com/

Find out more about Kosta Yepifantsev:
http://kostayepifantsev.com/

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

I think anybody that's got a loved one that wants to age in place, do it with dignity and being able to provide an adult to be able to live as independently as functionally independent as possible. is really the biggest gift I think you could give your loved one.

Caroline Moore:

Welcome to Now or Never Long-Term Care Strategy making. themselves. with Kosta Yepifantsev a podcast for all those seeking answers and solutions in the long term care space. This podcast is designed to create resources, start conversations and bring awareness to the industry that will inevitably impact all Americans. Here's your host Kosta Yepifantsev.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

Hey, ya’ll! This is Kosta and today I’m here

with my guests:

Cindy Hardin-Weiss, and Christina Hardin-Weiss Co-Founders of Adaptive Equipment and Caregiving Corner, working to enhance continuity of care from healthcare facility to home, increase client and caregiver safety during daily care and improve and maintain the client’s optimal level of functional independence. Welcome to the show, Cindy and Christina, would you start by telling us a bit more about adaptive equipment and caregiving corner and your experiences in the care industry overall?

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

My name is thanks for having us, Kosta. We really appreciate being on here. My name is Christina, I'm a speech therapist. I've been practicing for probably around 25 years, and most of my career has been in long term care. And so we'll

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

Yeah, and I'm Cindy and I'm a physical therapist. I have been practicing for about 30 years and most of my career has been in the home health setting.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

Very cool. So what got you into this industry?

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

Well, I knew I wanted to be in healthcare. I didn't realize that I kind of fell into the geriatric population. I didn't. I didn't it wasn't something that I planned. I had a graduate assistantship where I worked at a VA VA center near my college of my university. And the second I walked through the door and knows exactly what I wanted to do long term care was for me. And so I Yeah, it's something that I've always enjoyed working with the adult population, stroke rehab in particular, and people living with dysphasia. And I'm

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

just, you know, I've loved the geriatric population all along. I think about my second job was home health and fell in love with home health, I love the atmosphere, I love being in other people's spaces, you really get to know them a little bit better. And so really fell in love with that and just kind of stayed with that for most of my career.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

Amazing. Well, this is going to be an exciting episode talking about minor home modifications, talking about adaptive equipment. I think a lot of times when people are nearing retirement or when they need long term care, they don't really think about that two storey house with three bedrooms upstairs. You know, that was pretty much the predominant build through most of the 90s and 2000s. A lot of people are having to figure out what to do. So on that note, AARP found 80% of Americans turning 65 want to age in place. What are the top three pieces of adaptive equipment you believe every senior should have in their home to ensure their independence and quality of life.

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

So what I would say is as far as adaptive equipment, it may not be specifically adapted equipment, but to age comfortably. Today, three of the top areas that we're always telling people to check are your toilet height. A lot of times it's too too short. Your comfy chair height, because as we age and as we get a little bit weaker, our comfy chair becomes a little bit too low sometimes. And then the bed height because our bed heights right now are just astronomical. It's artists that tall, you know trying to pull volts your way into the bed. So if there are adaptive pieces that you can get to help you know, if you got a toilet that's too low, you can get a toilet riser. We always of course suggest getting handles on that for a nice push off for safety. As far as the comfy chair, you know, you may look at furniture risers, some people go to lift chairs, it just depends on on what you need there. And then the bed height I always suggest that I love for people to bring the bed down to them if that's an option. But some of those options I always say hey, if you're in the if you're in the market for a new mattress, please check and see if you can order a special boxspring that's only four inches tall instead of the normal six inches tall, you know and check your mattress height because you really you really want that to do decent height. Because if you're getting off the bed, and if you have to actually start sliding off the bed before he touched the floor, you're increasing your fall risk. And so those three main areas,

Kosta Yepifantsev:

yeah. And you know, I never really thought about bed height before I thought of the other two and come into contact with them often but I feel when you're when you're talking about pole vaulting into the bed, that's that's what I have to do. You know, I've got to get a running start, you know, so I can get in. So where do people go to buy these toilet riser with handles? These other adaptive tech technologies? Or I'm sorry, adaptive equipments, where would you go and buy those?

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

A lot of times, it depends on if they're a bathroom item. Unfortunately, they are not typically covered by Medicare, and a lot of the references will will follow suit with Medicare. Now, another healthcare advantage or the health editor advantage Medicare Advantage plans may have stipulations, and may may cover some of that, but not typically. So what I suggest is, you can always go to a local medical supply store. If you're an Amazon shopper, you can check on Amazon. The big thing we always tell people is you got to know your measurements. If you're looking oil at riser, do you have a standard or a little toilet? Because hygiene products are usually not returnable? Yeah. So

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

another place they could look Costa is they could do they could go to their local lending closet, look online for your local health equipment lending closet, China's larger cities will do equipment drives couple times a year and they will collect used gently used equipment. And then they will refurbish it, and then lend it out for free or low, low charge to community members. If it's unusable, they will still take it, they will recycle it, keep it out of the landfill, and then take that money and the recycle money and put it back into their not for profit organization. So that's a great way to help to help yourself as far as your pocketbook is concerned as well as the environment too. So

Kosta Yepifantsev:

that is great. So let's talk about home modifications, Christina, what specific home modifications or strategies do you recommend to create a safer, more accessible environment for those wishing to age in place while living with dementia? Or other disabilities?

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

Yeah, and dementia in particular, that's, that's such a, that's such a tough one. I think just you know, working in long term care, like I have, the majority of my patients always want to age in place, you ask anybody, yes, I want to go home. And I want to age in place. And so we always try to address it as whatever it wherever you call home, because you do have those people that are comfortable living in congregate living like that. But as far as with the with somebody living with dementia, you know, there are so many, there's so many things that a person can do as far as the environment, and it's not major changes that need to be made. It just needs to be you didn't you just need to think about what what, what does that person, what makes that person comfortable, you know, maybe make sure that you've got pictures of family members up, you know, lighting is always an issue. Maybe sometimes personal living with dementia, they're you know, they've done studies where they've linked vision issues with people with with dementia. And so make sure that there's adequate lighting, there's natural lighting, put put motion sensor lights in areas that are kind of dark. That way when they walk by that floods that area, especially the floor. As a person advances with dementia, their vision, instead of looking straight ahead or up, they tend to look more down towards the floor. So while they're walking, then tend to put those motion sensor lights when they walk by and it will flood their path. Of course, make sure that you're you know that your pathways and stuff like that are clear, try to keep the home as clutter free as possible. When it comes to color contrast, that's huge. You have to make sure that they're if you're putting a their plate on a white placemat on the table, maybe make sure they get you use a red plate for that contrast. But and not all, all color contrasts work for every person, it's different for each person, find out what your loved one that what that contrast works for your loved one. And, and so it's just it's just things like that, if they've got a routine, make sure that you know what their routine is. Lots of times people living with dementia are still able to live functionally independent. But you might have to write out this the instructions, no big deal. It still makes them independent, right? It's not what they did when only one but it's certainly still functional and it's independent. And the bottom line on that is dignity. For me. That's just huge. And I think anybody that's got a loved one that wants to age in place. Do it with dignity and being able to provide an adult to be able to live as independently as functionally independent as possible. is really the biggest gift I think you can If you're locked down,

Kosta Yepifantsev:

where do you go to find these types of resources? Like the knowledge that you have? Obviously, you've learned from being a part of the industry and working with people that have disabilities. But where does like your average Joe go? Is there a website? Is there a resources out available to them in the community so that they can get these types of like, I would have never thought about putting pictures up on the wall of family members so that you know, especially when you have like late stages of dementia, that was that's a great idea. But where does somebody go to find that out?

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

You know, we usually the first place we usually tell people to go is to go to their area agency on aging, every state has a handful if not more area agencies on aging, they are federally funded. That's usually where your Meals on Wheels program comes through. They do the senior health insurance programs to help seniors with their understand their insurance, sometimes they will help people who are living with disabilities and they will like ours in particular is really big, we have a we have an Air Force Base near us. So they're very helpful for sure the veterans as well on so I would find out where who is your local area agency on aging caster, you would be surprised how many people we ran across the don't know who their AAA is. And so I would find out who my AAA is, they are a wealth of information, especially when it comes to tapping those resources within the community that are available to those individuals. So that would be the first place I would start as far as finding more resources to tap into.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

It's great. Cindy, from a physical therapist perspective, what aspects of home design are often overlooked, but can significantly impact the seniors ability to age in place safely.

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

I think the two biggest ones for me is especially if you know, when we're younger, we never think about these different things. But I think the entry and exit to the home, how you're getting in how you're getting out, and the bathroom setup, especially the shower. You know so many homes that I am in all of the time have the tub shower combinations that makes it very difficult and very unsafe at times to get in and get out as people age. That is a big hang up for a lot of people and getting in and out of the house because there's so many other steps here there steps there. There's you know, the second story, those all those types of things. But I think really the the interior entry and exit because all you know, I hear all the time, I've got so many doctor's appointments, I've got to get out, I gotta get out of my house. So those things are very top priority, I would say,

Kosta Yepifantsev:

you know, if I can add just one small thing that I've noticed, while performing minor home modifications, there are some alternatives that don't require you to take your entire tub and surround out and replace it with a shower. There's this thing that I think is rather genius. It's called a Tub Cut. Yeah, it's it's really it doesn't work if you have like a cast iron tub. But you know, those are far and few between nowadays. But if you have like acrylics around, you cut a piece out of it, and you stick this like thing on on where you cut, and you use like some some compound to seal it. And it has like a little door even sometimes you can that you can put on it. And I think and it's really not that expensive. I mean, relative to doing an entire, you know, modification to your home, right?

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

Yeah, I think there are so many yeah, there's so many great, great items and ideas like that out there.

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

Yeah, it isn't genius. Anyway, we find lots of times cost is that we get we get companies that reach out to us. And usually the majority of them are companies that have been founded by former caregivers, they found a particular product help them during their caregiver journey. And so they turned entrepreneur, entrepreneur when their caregiver journey journey ends. And so they reach out to us and it's usually a mom and pop, we get the whole story about how it came to be. And it's just, I mean, their people are just ingenious. They're just, I mean, you know, necessity is the mother of invention. And it couldn't be further from the truth whenever we hear these stories all the time. Yeah. What's the

Kosta Yepifantsev:

most effective way to identify the appropriate home modifications and adaptive equipment to meet an individual's specific needs? Yeah,

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

we we think the most effective way and, you know, this sometimes goes into being a little bit more proactive. But you know, you have to you've got to have a home assessment. You've got to have a therapist come out, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, to come out and really assess the individual needs because there there are so many things that you learn when you're in those people's environments. You learn a little bit more about them and And then you can kind of problem solve, you can try to do the most efficient and effective changes. Or maybe there doesn't need to be large changes, maybe there's a piece of equipment kind of like the Tub Cut out, you know, rather than been tearing out a shower. But we we can't express enough really getting that assessment to really find out because, you know, everything doesn't work for everybody. And, you know, it's

Kosta Yepifantsev:

what conditions are you like, should you be aware of? Or is it like if somebody starts falling repeatedly? Is that when you should get the assessment? Is there something that happens in infliction of some kind? That says, Okay, I think it's time for us to take the next steps.

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

Yeah, I usually Yeah, I think it's, we usually call it with any type of changing condition, whether it is okay, falling in a lot of times, you know, I, I like to tell people, again, we really try to encourage people to be proactive, but even if you see a loved one, or if you yourself feel like you start to even what we call furniture crews, you know, you're starting to hold on to stuff as you're walking through the house, or you've had some trips and stumbles, but not literally fall into the floor. Or if there's a change in condition, maybe you know, you just feel like you're getting a little bit weaker, things that you used to do are becoming a little bit harder to do anything like that is a good indication that, hey, it's time just to at least get a professional opinion. And, you know, when we come out or when any professional comes out, they can always give you suggestions. And what I what we'd like to do is rank than in what what probably should be done right now and is the to do right now. And then what are some future goals? Or some things that maybe we can put on the backburner and let people choose what their what they want to do, but at least have that written out so that you kind of know what to expect? And what do you what is

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

the there's a statistic about falling when a person falls there,

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

they're 50 for the doubles or chance, basically, to fall a second time and something a lot of people

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

don't tell their doctor that they had a fault. So they there's a there's just that 50% Yeah. And that's a huge, that's a huge gap. And for not to not tell people and then if you if you fall once and you have, you know, it doubles your risk of falling again, and you didn't tell anybody about it. You know, there's, there's a lot of people out there that we could we could help, we need to help have

Kosta Yepifantsev:

to think I think a lot of times there's a stigma. And I speak about this a lot. But I think there's a stigma. When you get to a point to where you you know, you age and an injury may occur. You don't want to lose control autonomy and independence. And like you were saying earlier, you don't want to lose dignity. And so you try to for and this is not what I recommend doing. But a lot of people they try to go until they absolutely can't anymore. And at that point, their overall health and decline has gotten to an untenable point,

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

right? Yeah. Yeah, that's huge. And it's important, I feel like for caregivers, for family caregivers, then to kind of stay, you know, to stay present in that your loved ones in their life and tried to take in some of that information, and reach out to people that that had the resources. So

Kosta Yepifantsev:

I am curious if somebody needs access to a physical therapist or an occupational therapist assessment, is that something that Medicare would pay for? Or is there an agency that they can reach out to? How does that process work?

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

Usually, what we what we'd like you to do is, is yes, try to reach out to your primary care doctor that initially let them know what's going on, and they can make a referral week therapy can always come in, you know, the majority of the time it's going to be covered. Even just an evaluation. There are a lot of times that I may go into a home and evaluate somebody and we decide, you know, hey, you're doing okay, we've gone over some things. It was an evaluation only. But yeah, there's always if there's any type of changing condition that's well warranted to at least get an evaluation.

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

Yeah. And for a loved one, let's say a loved one goes into the, into the hospital for you know, some acute reason. There. You know, that's always that's always a good time for the family caregiver, to go through the home, get us a home safety checklist, go through their home before they bring their loved one home, goes through the house, find their areas that they're concerned about, and take it back to the therapy department or to a social social worker before they bring their loved one home so that that healthcare facility can at least help address and validate that caregivers concerns.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

Absolutely. Can you discuss the role of technology in promoting aging in place and how it can be integrated with home modifications and adaptive equipment to provide a more comprehensive support system for seniors? Yeah,

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

exactly. I think I think the smart home technologies really is I think we're really at that point now where it's going to be, you know, when I first started in, in, in long term care, we didn't see a lot of thought as smartphones and tablets is different. And as as we've gone on, you start seeing the family caregivers bringing in tablets, and of course, now everybody 80% of the population has a smartphone now, right? So you're, we're seeing more and more of that, Cindy, and I live in Illinois, and we had the opportunity to go to our Illinois Assistive Technology program in Springfield, Illinois. And boy, they have the way they had their setup as they have smart room set up that that that a family member or an individual can walk through and find out what kind of smart technology is out there, and then have a new habit implemented and learn more about it. And they haven't implemented into what they think would be helpful. I mean, they had a smart, they had a smart living room, they had with all the smart hugs, they had a smart kitchen, a smart laundry room, a smart bedroom, and a smart bathroom, right in there. And everything was connected to one of the virtual assistants. And I mean, some of the stuff that that it was, it was amazing. Yeah, so go ahead. No, I was just gonna say it's just, you know, I don't think I know, I didn't realize some of that stuff was out there even so, and we work with it all the time. You know, it just makes sense. But I really think that it's, it's going to be helpful in helping those individuals that are wanting to age in place. And not only those people, but their loved ones, their family caregivers, to be able to give them that space, gym place and keep their dignity and allow them to be that adult and sit and still be still have that child parent relation, that loving relationship instead of always be harping on a mom and dad, why aren't you doing this kind of stuff. So I really see smart technology and home mods like that, including being included in home modifications, as really helping that that a lot those relationships a lot.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

I have a colleague in Tennessee, whose mom lives in Massachusetts. And she's, I believe in her 80s Now, but she's a fall risk. And she has some other health conditions that she's working through. So my colleague incorporates a sensor system throughout the entire home. And one of the interesting aspects of I mean, there's a lot of features that it has, but one of the most interesting is it will alert her if she has stayed over a certain period of time in one spot. And so, like, a lot of times, especially somebody that is a fall risk, they have that, you know, purse, personal emergency response system, that necklace that where they can push the button, but some people don't like to sleep in it, and they take it off, and then they don't put it back on. And I think one of the beautiful things about technology is when you start using it, it only improves it can it only gets better, a becomes more functional, it identifies what doesn't work, and then you create technology, that's even better. Right. And so that's one of the things as I see us progressing in the long term care industry is, you know, I just I don't think that there's ever going to be enough support for one human being to care for another human being. And that be the only way things can happen. I just don't think that there's enough of those ones to care for the other one. No, unfortunately, it

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

feels like at this point right now. We are people are going into health care facilities, and they're getting all that skilled care in New when they go back to their home, all of that skilled care and know how falls on the family caregiver shoulders. And I feel like that technology is going to help is at least going to help give them the tools that they need to be able to, you know, to monitor to know what's next as far as actual physical providing that care, but it's so it's just it's we are that that point where all of that care is falling on the family caregiver, and it's a tough situation.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

And they're not in the medical profession. I mean, a lot of the times, you know, yeah, and the chances

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

of them getting hurt, providing physical therapy increases exponentially too.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

I will say, you know, it's a physical therapist. There's there's one component of technology that I don't think that we put enough emphasis on and it's probably just because it's a lot more expensive than you know, developing smaller sensors or little cameras or alarms, you know, things like that. But it's the mechanical technology. It's the you know, the electrical airlifts that people use in nursing facilities, but how do you make something that people would be willing to use in their own home? You know, like, sealing track systems, there's so many different mechanical tech that is missing from, really from maybe not in facilities, but definitely in people who are just middle class Americans who are trying to afford, you know, caring for someone, let alone buying a piece of equipment. Right?

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

Exactly. Yeah. And that's where I would, that's where I would tend to tell individuals, you know, especially when they first become caregivers, they're running around with their hair on fire, because they, you know, it's a lot, it's overwhelming, go to your area agency on aging, find out what resources are available, find your local lending closet, why buy it before you try it, maybe you want a good point, you then you got all this money out of your pocket. And then also check for your Assistive Technology program in your state, almost every state has one. And some of them have some really great lending programs and reuse programs. They've got lending like with augmentative, and alternative communication devices that they can lend out. They've got reuse programs, where they get wheelchairs, and walkers and canes and all kinds of stuff that they can lend out.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

So if we're talking about things like building a weird wheelchair ramp, or if we're talking about putting in a walk in shower, I think we can all agree one of the scariest parts of home modifications is the price. Are there any cost effective strategies you recommend? Before we literally rip our entire house apart?

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

That again, I'm gonna fall back to please make sure you get some type of professional assessment because Okay, there are there are ways around, there are corners to cut. But it has to be a safe corner to cut, you know, and so I really think, you know, getting that assessment, getting that one on one to really find out the specific needs. And then the other thing is, is maybe maybe you know that the individual thinks, Well, I've got this area, this area in this area, and we have to rip the whole thing out, well, maybe we can save on this one and put a little bit more here. But it's it's, it's getting that individualized assessment, that's going to be helped to be the most cost effective, I think, just in doing that.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

So before we wrap up, I'm going to ask you kind of a broad technical question. And it may be a little long winded. So bear with me here. Alright, so you've been working in minor home modifications, adaptive equipment for how long now?

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

Well, our careers but

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

yeah, adaptive according to care. I mean, corner. We've been doing this since probably 2015.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

Yeah. Okay. So something that I've noticed, while being in this industry, and I've been doing this for about 12 years, when would they were building all of these homes in the 50s 60s 70s and 80s? Why did they build them so that wheelchairs couldn't fit in all the doorways? Why did they always only put in a tub shower combo? Like, you know, it seems and if you go back to like the 70s, and 60s, especially like these doorways are like, some of them are 20 inches. They're tiny. You know what I'm saying? And so I just, I don't understand. Do you have any any thoughts as to why these homes are not adapted for either multigenerational housing or aging in place? Like what did they think was going to happen when you needed to be in a wheelchair? or something of that nature?

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

Um, I'm not 100%. Well, it's, it's it's yeah, that's just you know, one question there.

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

Were people smaller than maybe,

Kosta Yepifantsev:

maybe, right.

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

Over time, we just everybody just shut up and started getting bigger and

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

broader. And yeah, that that is a good question. I

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

don't because wheelchairs have changed much. But

Kosta Yepifantsev:

yeah, and wheelchairs really the component that I'm most curious about, because, I mean, even if you don't consider the population getting larger, I still think like, Okay, well, wheelchairs have been generally the same size. And so many times I go into people's homes to do an assessment that you're describing. And it's always some kind of door widening that's included that's necessary for people to safely add to people to actually even be able to enter or exit a room. So I always I was always fascinated by that.

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

Yeah, yeah, that's yeah, who set the standard for a wheelchair then if that's the case,

Kosta Yepifantsev:

right. Or who set the building standard? Yeah,

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

right. Yeah, right. Right. It's probably, you know, yeah, I don't I just don't think people thought of that. And I don't Yeah, I don't think it was brought to the forefront until you know, you start having the things like that. Our opinions with the Disabilities Act and things like that, that really started bringing people's awareness to those facts, and life

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

expectancy probably wasn't as long then either, you know, and when they were building that dielectrics I mean, we've, we've gone up quite a bit, you know. So

Kosta Yepifantsev:

I think it's, I think it's fascinating how far we've come, you know, talking about the American with Disabilities Act. But also, I mean, I believe, is, I believe why a lot of this has happened is because at that time, we weren't planning on Aging at in place, we were planning on considering a nursing facility. Once a, you know, once a fall happened, or a broken hip, you know, the, one of the most common injuries that people experience. And once you know, with 80% of Americans wanting to stay in their own home, you know, this, this sort of rubber meets the road, right?

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

Yeah, I think with that, too, you've got to think about to the medical technology now, even some of those things that are going on, you know, I'm sure in the past a broken hip meant a lot different circumstance than what it does now.

Kosta Yepifantsev:

Yeah, absolutely. Good point.

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

So you might play into it, as well. So,

Kosta Yepifantsev:

so we always like to end the show with a call to action. What's one thing we can all do today to make our community and world a safer, more adaptive place to live?

Christina Hardin-Weiss:

Well, you know, and I've, I've said it a couple of times already Costa I, for myself, I, I feel like making sure that you know, as a family caregiver, as an individual wanting to age in place, know who your area agency on aging is, know that they've got a ton of resources out there, you know, know that you have a lead, there could be a lending closet close by that you might have an assistive technology pro program close by, and know that you don't have to do this by yourself. If you're the family caregiver, you do not have to do this by yourself. There's a ton of services and people in this industry that are just, you know, are willing to help and do what they can for for the good of the population.

Cindy Hardin-Weiss:

Yeah, and I would say to, you know, if you're an individual or a caregiver of a loved one, and the plan is that I want to age in place, then, uh, we can't preach enough to try to breed be proactive with those things that, you know, try to look forward and look into the future about you know, hey, well, is this going to work for me when I get or if this happens, or if this is going to work for me that really try to be proactive in in your, you know, quest for aging in place.

Caroline Moore:

Thank you for joining us on this episode of Now or Never Long-Term Care Strategy with Kosta Yepifantsev. If you enjoyed listening and you wanna hear more make sure you subscribe on Apple podcast Spotify or wherever you find your Podcasts, leave us a review or better yet share this episode with a friend. Now or Never Long-Term Care Strategy is a Kosta Yepifantsev production. Today’s episode was written and produced by Morgan Franklin. Want to find out more about Kosta? Visit us at kostayepifantsev.com

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