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Conscious Caregiving with L & L is "Tackling the Tough Conversations." In this episode, hosts Lori La Bey and Lance A. Slatton explore "Dementia Map for Family Caregivers" and how families navigating Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia can find trusted resources, education, and support. Dementia Map is a FREE global resource directory connecting family caregivers, individuals living with dementia, and healthcare professionals with valuable information, services, support groups, educational events, and caregiving tools. Discover how Dementia Map is helping families navigate their caregiving journeys with greater confidence, connection, and access to meaningful resources. About Lori La Bey: Lori La Bey is the founder of Alzheimer's Speaks, co-founder of Dementia Map, and co-host of Conscious Caregiving with L & L. An internationally recognized dementia advocate and speaker, Lori has dedicated her work to improving dementia care, reducing stigmas, and empowering families and professionals worldwide. About Lance A. Slatton: Known as "The Senior Care Influencer," Lance A. Slatton is a healthcare professional, author, and award-winning podcast host with over 20 years of experience in senior care. Lance is the host of All Home Care Matters, co-host of Conscious Caregiving with L & L, and President of AlzAuthors. He is the author of "The All Home Care Matters Official Family Caregivers' Guide" and his newest book, "Caregiving in America," dedicated to raising awareness of the realities and experiences of family caregivers. Join Lori and Lance as they continue "Tackling the Tough Conversations" and helping families navigate caregiving with knowledge, compassion, and support.

The Caregiver's Journal is hosted by Lance A. Slatton, known as "The Senior Care Influencer," and Christina Keys, Founder of Keys for Caregiving. The Caregiver's Journal shares the experiences, stories, and wisdom of family caregivers, building connections, offering support, and reminding caregivers they are never alone. Chapter 17 - "Care for the Caregiver" Who cares for the caregiver? Caregiving is an extraordinary act of compassion and commitment, but it can also bring emotional, physical, financial, and mental challenges that often go unseen. In Chapter 17, Lance A. Slatton and Christina Keys welcome Robert Tisdale, Founder and CEO of Integrity Recovery Connected, for an important conversation about caring for those who care for others. Together, they explore caregiver well-being, holistic approaches to health, behavioral health resources, community support, and how technology and collaboration can help strengthen the caregiving experience. Because caring for others should never mean forgetting to care for ourselves. About Robert Tisdale: Robert Tisdale is the Founder and CEO of Integrity Recovery Connected and an entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in media, entertainment, technology, and healthcare. His philosophy reflects the belief that love, life, work, and spirituality are interconnected. Through a holistic approach to leadership, Robert is committed to uplifting underserved and vulnerable communities and developing meaningful solutions that connect people with support. His work emphasizes behavioral health, community engagement, healthcare innovation, and the caregiver perspective, helping individuals, families, professionals, and organizations navigate complex care needs. About Integrity Recovery Connected: Integrity Recovery Connected is a healthcare technology initiative focused on behavioral medicine, community health, and digital transformation. Rooted in safety, inclusivity, and cultural awareness, the organization works to create supportive environments for individuals, caregivers, and healthcare communities. Through research studies, focus groups, pilot programs, and strategic partnerships, it develops approaches designed to improve care delivery and support measurable outcomes. Its customizable subscription-based point-of-care technology platform supports behavioral health and substance use disorder services while integrating with existing clinical programs and IT infrastructure. Integrity Recovery Connected serves recovery centers, assisted living communities, nursing homes, hospitals, nonprofits, disability support services, and caregiver organizations. Its mission includes empowering caregivers and helping organizations deliver more connected and compassionate care. About The Caregiver's Journal: The Caregiver's Journal is a podcast and YouTube series presented by All Home Care Matters, providing a platform for family caregivers to share their experiences, challenges, milestones, and wisdom. Hosted by Lance A. Slatton and Christina Keys, the series highlights authentic caregiving stories to encourage connection, understanding, education, and support. Every caregiver has a story. Every experience matters. Every chapter deserves to be heard. Official Website: https://thecaregiversjournalpodcast.com/ About the Hosts: Lance A. Slatton is the Founder and Host of All Home Care Matters, President of AlzAuthors, an author, and a caregiver advocate known as "The Senior Care Influencer." Inspired by caring for his father, he works to support family caregivers and amplify their voices. Christina Keys is the Founder of Keys for Caregiving and a dedicated family caregiver advocate. Drawing from personal experience, she champions caregiver awareness, support, and the importance of protecting caregivers' own health, identity, and well-being. Together, Lance and Christina are committed to ensuring caregivers feel seen, heard, valued, and supported. If this conversation resonates with you, please LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE to help other caregivers find support and encouragement.

How do you explain Alzheimer's disease to a child while helping them maintain a meaningful connection with a grandparent or loved one living with dementia? All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome Brenda Freed, MMus, Co-Founder of Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer's, as a guest to the show. In this important conversation, Brenda highlights the mission behind Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer's and the importance of helping children, parents, and family caregivers better understand Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. For families navigating the challenges of dementia caregiving, particularly those in the sandwich generation caring for both children and aging loved ones, maintaining meaningful relationships can become increasingly difficult. Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer's offers a compassionate, family-centered approach through education, music, storytelling, practical activities, and accessible resources designed to help families remain connected throughout the dementia journey. About Brenda Freed: Brenda Freed, MMus, is the Co-Founder of Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer's, a family-centered educational program created to help children, parents, caregivers, and families better understand Alzheimer's disease and dementia. With a background in music education and music therapy, Brenda brings a compassionate, creative, and accessible approach to helping families stay connected with loved ones throughout the dementia journey. Through Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer's, Brenda helps provide meaningful tools, educational videos, music, activities, and guidance designed to make difficult conversations easier for children and families. Her work reflects a deep commitment to education, connection, and helping families create positive moments with loved ones living with Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia. About Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer's: Co-founded by Alder Allensworth, MM, RN, CIHC, and Brenda Freed, MMus, the Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer's Program (MMAP) is a family-centered, multimedia educational program designed to help parents, children, educators, caregivers, and healthcare professionals navigate the challenges of Alzheimer's disease. Created especially for families in the sandwich generation, the program provides practical tools, guidance, and meaningful activities that support positive interactions between children and loved ones living with Alzheimer's, from diagnosis through the severe stage. At the heart of the program is the Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer's Awareness Program (MMAAP), a five-video educational series providing age-appropriate dementia education, guidance for adults, and practical activities that help children maintain meaningful connections with loved ones experiencing changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. The program also includes educational transcripts, accessible audio and visual resources, and a quick reference guide to support families with different learning needs. Complementing the educational series is the Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer's Disease Picture Book, a gentle, child-friendly introduction to Alzheimer's. The story follows a young girl learning how to understand and connect with her grandmother as the disease progresses. The book also features a QR code providing access to a free Story Song download, using music and storytelling to make Alzheimer's education more engaging and accessible for young children. Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer's also offers valuable educational resources for Adult Day Centers, Memory Care Communities, and other organizations seeking to support families affected by dementia. These resources help organizations provide family-centered education while encouraging meaningful interactions across generations. Together, these programs and resources reflect a powerful mission: helping families move beyond understanding Alzheimer's disease to creating meaningful moments, preserving relationships, and building positive memories throughout the dementia journey.

Who handles the appointments, medical records, phone calls, transportation, and constant changes when an aging parent wants to remain at home? For millions of family caregivers, coordinating care can become a second full-time job. In this episode of All Home Care Matters, host Lance A. Slatton welcomes Dan Dzina, Founder of Averyn Care, for an important conversation about long-distance caregiving, aging in place, healthcare coordination, and the often-overlooked administrative burden families shoulder while supporting aging loved ones. Dan spent more than a decade building and operating Medicare care management programs, helping develop a technology-enabled clinical services organization with a team of roughly 400. Yet when his own mother's health declined in 2025, he discovered that the systems he knew so well could not handle the everyday coordination his family needed. Appointments changed. Information lived in different offices. Callbacks arrived unpredictably. Every adjustment created more work, all while Dan was running a business and raising a family of his own. His solution began with hiring a personal assistant to manage the family's administrative follow-through. That experience became Averyn Care, a non-clinical service designed to help families manage the logistics of aging in place without losing control of important decisions. In this episode, discover: Why even families familiar with the healthcare system can struggle to coordinate care The challenges of supporting an aging parent from a distance Why planning for the years of gradual decline matters alongside financial and end-of-life planning How medical records, appointments, transportation, pharmacy coordination, and communication can overwhelm family caregivers What a dedicated Care Continuity Partner does to support families and their care professionals How technology can organize information without becoming another responsibility for caregivers The importance of reducing caregiver stress while helping older adults maintain independence at home About Dan Dzina Dan Dzina is the Founder of Averyn Care, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. With a background in software engineering and more than a decade in healthcare operations, he has worked across Medicare care management, physician practices, clinical teams, and care coordination. His personal experience navigating his mother's declining health inspired him to create a service focused on the administrative work families often have to carry alone. About Averyn Care Averyn Care provides families nationwide with a dedicated Care Continuity Partner who manages non-clinical administrative follow-through. Its one-time Averyn Record Vault organizes medical records, authorizations, and healthcare portal access into a portable resource owned by the family. Ongoing Continuity Plans provide a dedicated concierge phone number and email, coordination of appointments and transportation, records and pharmacy follow-up, and weekly family updates. Averyn works alongside, not in place of, geriatric care managers, Aging Life Care professionals, home care agencies, and other trusted providers. The company also works with employers seeking caregiving benefits for their teams. As Averyn puts it: "We wait on hold, you stay in control." If this conversation resonates with you, please like this episode, subscribe to All Home Care Matters, and share it with someone navigating the challenges of family caregiving.

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome author and caregiver advocate Rikki Jo Neyer and her mother, Elena Bindas, for an extraordinary conversation about their nearly nine-year journey through a devastating medical mystery, the realities of family caregiving, and a daughter's determination to find answers. When a steel truss struck Elena at work, the resulting traumatic head injury changed her family's life forever. Over the next eight years, Elena experienced debilitating symptoms as medical professionals searched for answers. Diagnoses included depression, a movement disorder, and chronic pain, but none fully explained her condition. Throughout those years, Rikki served as her mother's primary caregiver and advocate. She navigated medical appointments, unanswered questions, and the emotional toll of watching someone she loved struggle with an illness no one could fully explain. Refusing to give up, Rikki continued researching her mother's symptoms and eventually identified information about catatonia following brain injury. After eight years, five months, and eight days, one dose of an appropriate medication brought about a remarkable change in Elena's condition. During this deeply personal conversation, Rikki and Elena share the challenges of navigating the healthcare system, the toll of prolonged medical uncertainty, and the importance of listening to family caregivers whose observations may hold vital clues. Their story highlights the power of persistence, advocacy, and hope. The episode also explores Rikki's memoir, "Do You Believe in Miracles? Our Journey Out of Darkness and Into the Light," which chronicles their experience and shares resources for families, including information about the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale and questions to raise with healthcare professionals. 📖 Do You Believe in Miracles? Our Journey Out of Darkness and Into the Light Author: Rikki Jo Neyer Publisher: Lucid Books | 2026 Discover the Book: https://a.co/d/0h62qf8a More than a memoir, the book tells a story of love, faith, perseverance, and the bond between a mother and daughter. It explores the emotional exhaustion of caregiving, the strain on family relationships, and the struggle to be heard when medical answers remain elusive. Written with Elena's blessing, Rikki's book aims to raise awareness of catatonia and help other families access information that might prompt earlier conversations with qualified medical professionals. For caregivers who feel unheard and families searching for answers, Rikki and Elena's experience offers encouragement and a reminder that their voices matter. About Rikki Jo Neyer Rikki Jo Neyer is a first-time author, classically trained singer, and caregiver advocate from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. For nearly nine years, she served as the primary caregiver and advocate for her mother, Elena Bindas, following a traumatic head injury that caused years of debilitating, unexplained symptoms. Despite numerous medical evaluations, Rikki continued searching for answers. Her research led her to recognize the possibility of catatonia following brain injury, helping change the direction of her mother's care. Their journey inspired Rikki to advocate for catatonia awareness, better recognition of complex conditions, and greater support for family caregivers. Through her writing, she hopes others will feel empowered to ask questions, share observations, and seek appropriate medical evaluations. About Do You Believe in Miracles? "Do You Believe in Miracles? Our Journey Out of Darkness and Into the Light" is Rikki Jo Neyer's memoir about her mother's workplace injury, years of medical uncertainty, and their family's determination to find answers. Published by Lucid Books in 2026, it recounts the sacrifices of caregiving and the impact of a condition that went unrecognized for years. The book also introduces readers to catatonia and the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale, a clinical assessment tool families may discuss with healthcare professionals. Through honesty and compassion, Rikki offers a resource for caregivers and families confronting difficult, unexplained medical circumstances.

All Home Care Matters and host Lance A. Slatton welcome back Dr. Vicki Wright-Hamilton, founder of VWH Technology, LLC and creator of PeacefulCare.ai, for an important conversation about family caregiving, caregiver burnout, the emotional responsibilities of caring for loved ones, and how technology can help families find greater clarity, connection, and peace of mind. Family caregivers often juggle medications, appointments, daily routines, changing health needs, and family communication while managing careers, raising children, and protecting their own well-being. Too often, one person becomes the center of the entire care system, carrying responsibilities others may never fully see. With more than four decades of executive leadership and a lifetime of personal caregiving experience, Dr. Wright-Hamilton understands those pressures firsthand. Her work with PeacefulCare.ai is focused on helping families move from scattered information to shared understanding. Rather than simply tracking tasks, PeacefulCare.ai helps families recognize patterns, coordinate responsibilities, communicate more effectively, and support caregiver wellness. A special focus of this episode is Dr. Wright-Hamilton's upcoming FREE live webinar, THE CAREGIVER RELIEF ROOM, created to offer encouragement, practical insights, and resources for caregivers feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or unsure what comes next. 🧡 THE CAREGIVER RELIEF ROOM — FREE LIVE WEBINAR 📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026 🕐 1:00 PM Eastern Time 💻 Live on Zoom | Free to Attend REGISTER HERE: https://reliefroom.vwhtechnologyllc.ai/ "Less Chaos. More Care. More You." Hosted by Dr. Vicki Wright-Hamilton, this webinar brings together four voices committed to helping caregivers navigate the emotional, practical, and personal challenges of supporting a loved one: • Dr. Vicki Wright-Hamilton — Founder of PeacefulCare.ai, exploring how connected care information and caregiver intelligence can create a calmer, more informed experience. • Lance A. Slatton — Founder and Host of All Home Care Matters, President of AlzAuthors, and caregiver advocate, sharing why he supports the mission behind PeacefulCare.ai. • Gwendolyn Arrington — AltheonIQ, introducing a mindset-focused app designed to support people working through emotional and mental challenges. • Kellye Davis — Family Care Advisor, discussing how to recognize when additional in-home care and support may be needed. Whether caring for an aging parent, a spouse living with dementia, or another loved one, caregivers deserve care, understanding, and support, too. ✅ Register for this free webinar: https://reliefroom.vwhtechnologyllc.ai/ ABOUT DR. VICKI WRIGHT-HAMILTON Dr. Vicki Wright-Hamilton is the founder of VWH Technology, LLC and creator of PeacefulCare.ai. Her more than 40 years of leadership experience include roles as Chief Operating Officer, Interim CIO, transformation strategist, consultant, speaker, and advisor. Through VWH Consulting, she helps executives navigate disruptive technology and artificial intelligence with a people-first approach to leadership and change. Her mission is deeply personal. As a child, she helped her mother care for her grandmother and great aunt; her great aunt ultimately passed away holding her hand. As an adult, she and her husband cared for his brother for 26 years. During a seven-year period, she was also the simultaneous primary caregiver for four additional loved ones while raising her family and continuing her career. These experiences revealed what happens when one individual becomes the center of an entire family's caregiving responsibilities. ABOUT PEACEFULCARE.AI PeacefulCare.ai is an AI-powered caregiver intelligence platform designed to help families coordinate care, understand patterns, support caregiver wellness, and stay connected. Most caregiving apps help families manage care. PeacefulCare.ai helps families understand care. By bringing together information on medications, appointments, mood, sleep, appetite, routines, care notes, tasks, family updates, and caregiver wellness, the platform can help families notice changes that might otherwise be overlooked and gain a fuller picture of their loved one's needs. CONNECT WITH PEACEFULCARE.AI 🌐 Official Website: https://peacefulcare.ai/ 🧡 Free Webinar Registration: https://reliefroom.vwhtechnologyllc.ai/

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome back Mike Weinberger and Denice Kennedy, co-founders of CARA For Workplace and CaregiverCompanion.ai, for an important conversation about working family caregivers, the hidden impact of caregiving on America's workforce, and the introduction of CARA Family. Across the country, millions of employees are balancing their careers with the responsibility of caring for an aging parent, spouse, family member, or loved one. Behind the workday are medical appointments, medication schedules, difficult family conversations, unexpected emergencies, financial pressures, and decisions that often cannot wait until business hours. According to the 2025 Caregiving in the U.S. report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, approximately 63 million American adults provide ongoing care, and 70% of working-age caregivers of adults are employed. Yet many of these responsibilities remain invisible to supervisors, coworkers, and even the caregivers themselves. In this conversation, Mike and Denice join Lance to discuss how their own caregiving experiences inspired CARA, the Caregiver Advisory & Resource Assistant, and why meaningful caregiver support should be part of the workplace benefits conversation. Mike reflects on caring for his wife, Nora, who has Alzheimer's disease, and the overwhelming questions that led him to write My Wife Has Alzheimer's—Now What? Denice shares the lessons she learned caring for her father, who had dementia, and why caregivers need both compassion and practical guidance when navigating difficult decisions. Together, they explain how CARA For Workplace provides private, 24/7 caregiving support by text in more than 25 languages. CARA helps employees organize concerns, prepare questions for healthcare professionals, navigate difficult conversations, and identify practical next steps. A major focus of the episode is CARA Family, an extension of the workplace benefit that allows each employee to invite up to six family members, friends, caregivers, or other trusted supporters to access CARA's caregiving assistance at no additional cost through the benefit. Lance, Mike, and Denice discuss why caregiving rarely falls on one person, how a stronger support circle can share responsibilities, and what that means for employee well-being. The discussion also addresses caregiver burnout, workplace stress, employee retention, absenteeism, the challenges facing the sandwich generation, and why traditional employee assistance programs and flexible schedules may not fully address the everyday questions caregivers face. For employers, human resources leaders, benefits brokers, and workplace decision-makers, this episode explores how dedicated caregiver benefits can complement existing programs. At its heart, this conversation is a reminder that supporting family caregivers means recognizing the enormous responsibilities they carry, both at home and at work. About Mike Weinberger: Mike Weinberger is a co-founder of CARA For Workplace, CaregiverCompanion.ai, and Now What? Publishing LLC. His experience caring for his wife, Nora, following her Alzheimer's diagnosis inspired his book, My Wife Has Alzheimer's—Now What?, and his mission to help caregivers find compassionate guidance when they need it most. About Denice Kennedy: Denice Kennedy is a co-founder of CARA For Workplace, CaregiverCompanion.ai, and Now What? Publishing LLC. An entrepreneur, author, coach, and caregiver advocate, Denice draws on her experience caring for her father with dementia and years of leadership to help families move from overwhelm toward greater clarity and confidence. About CARA For Workplace: CARA For Workplace is an employee caregiving benefit designed to provide accessible, around-the-clock informational support for people navigating family caregiving. Through CARA, the Caregiver Advisory & Resource Assistant, employees can seek practical guidance, prepare for important conversations, and better understand their next steps. CARA is a support resource and does not replace medical, legal, financial, or emergency professionals.

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome Dr. Stephen Steller, chiropractor and creator of the BareFoot Sandal, as a guest to the show. In this conversation, Dr. Steller joins Lance to discuss the story behind BareFoot Sandal, how more than 25 years as a chiropractor influenced its development, and why rethinking traditional footwear may help people feel more stable, connected, and confident. The idea for BareFoot Sandal began with a personal problem. After years of spending long days on his feet caring for patients while staying active with his wife and four children, Dr. Steller developed persistent foot pain and plantar fasciitis. As a chiropractor, he understood the importance of support and alignment, but he also preferred the freedom of walking barefoot. When he could not find footwear that combined those experiences, he began developing his own solution. Unlike a traditional sandal, slide, or flip-flop, the patented BareFoot Sandal supports the midfoot while leaving the toes and heel in contact with the ground. Dr. Steller explains how three specialized arches beneath the midfoot are designed to provide support while allowing the toes and heel to move naturally and maintain contact with the walking surface. Lance and Dr. Steller also explore why the sandal's heel-less design is different from conventional footwear. Because there is no traditional sole extending beyond the front of the toes, the design eliminates the projecting front edge that can catch against flooring, thresholds, rugs, or changes in surface height. The conversation also examines traction. BareFoot Sandal is made from flexible, non-toxic thermoplastic rubber designed to flex under pressure and increase contact with the surface beneath the wearer. It is intended to provide traction on both wet and dry surfaces, including bathrooms, showers, pool areas, spas, docks, gyms, smooth indoor flooring, and other everyday settings. For older adults, caregivers, and families focused on aging in place, mobility is about more than getting from one room to another. Confidence while walking, ground awareness, traction, ease of use, and natural movement can all influence how comfortable someone feels remaining active and independent. Lance and Dr. Steller discuss how BareFoot Sandal approaches support differently by concentrating it beneath the midfoot rather than placing the entire foot on a conventional sole. The goal is to support the foot while preserving a barefoot-like sense of ground awareness and natural movement. Dr. Steller also shares how users can select the appropriate size, become accustomed to the unique design, and his long-term vision for BareFoot Sandal. At its heart, the BareFoot Sandal story is about turning a personal challenge into a new approach to support, traction, movement, and everyday confidence. Step Secure. Live Endless. About Dr. Stephen Steller: Dr. Stephen Steller is a chiropractor with more than 25 years of experience working with the human body, movement, alignment, and musculoskeletal health. After years of long days caring for patients and maintaining an active lifestyle with his family, Dr. Steller began experiencing foot pain and plantar fasciitis. His search for a way to combine support with the natural feel of walking barefoot led him to develop an orthotic design featuring three specialized arches beneath the midfoot while keeping the toes and heel connected to the ground. After incorporating the design into his own routine and experiencing significant improvement in his discomfort, he continued developing the concept, eventually creating the patented BareFoot Sandal and a version designed to provide added traction for wet environments. About BareFoot Sandal: BareFoot Sandal is a patented, slip-resistant orthotic sandal designed to support the midfoot while keeping the toes and heel in contact with the ground. Its three-arch design is intended to support foot and ankle alignment while allowing natural movement and ground awareness. Its heel-less, toe-exposed design eliminates the traditional sole projecting beyond the toes, while its flexible thermoplastic rubber construction is designed to provide traction on wet and dry surfaces. BareFoot Sandal was created for people seeking a unique combination of support, natural movement, traction, ground awareness, and ease of use at home, near water, at the gym, during recovery, and in everyday life.

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome Josh Bowie, founder of Creative Reach, as a guest to the show. In this insightful conversation, Josh joins Lance to discuss how leaders can bring clarity, structure, and measurable results to organizations when growth stalls, systems break down, teams become overwhelmed, and operational chaos begins getting in the way of the mission. With more than 20 years of experience across marketing, operations, data, product, customer experience, and commercial strategy, Josh has built a career around helping organizations identify what is not working, understand why it is not working, and create systems that can support sustainable growth. Lance and Josh discuss how these challenges can affect home care agencies, senior living organizations, healthcare companies, nonprofits, and other mission-driven organizations. They explore why maintaining consistency across teams and locations can be difficult, how leaders can identify operational breakdowns, and why having a strong idea is only the beginning if the systems needed to support it are not in place. The conversation also explores artificial intelligence and automation. Josh shares his perspective on the difference between technology that genuinely helps overwhelmed teams and technology that simply creates more noise and complexity. Josh and Lance also discuss data and measurement, why organizations can collect enormous amounts of information without understanding what it is actually telling them, and how stronger operational visibility can lead to better decision-making. Throughout his career, Josh has helped organizations address major operational and growth challenges, including unlocking $14.5 million in revenue from a broken data system, reducing operational costs by 35%, improving customer satisfaction by 65%, and building go-to-market strategy, commercial operations, measurement, product, and customer success functions for an early-stage health and genomics company. For leaders in home care, senior living, healthcare, nonprofits, health technology, and caregiving organizations, this conversation highlights the importance of simplifying complexity, building stronger systems, and creating the structure teams need to focus on the work that matters most. About Josh Bowie: Josh Bowie, MBA, is the founder of Creative Reach and a fractional marketing and commercial operations leader with more than 20 years of experience across marketing, data, operations, product, customer experience, and organizational growth. Josh has worked with organizations ranging from a 100+ location retail grocer to an early-stage health and genomics startup, helping leaders transform big ideas into structured, measurable, and sustainable operations. He founded Creative Reach around one of the defining skills of his career: stepping into complicated situations, identifying what is preventing an organization from moving forward, and turning operational chaos into systems that make sense. Josh also supports founders and nonprofit leaders doing meaningful work in health awareness and community impact and regularly participates in panels focused on helping organizations find greater clarity and sustainable growth. About Creative Reach: Creative Reach helps founders and organizational leaders turn big ideas on paper into systems that work in practice. The company works with early-stage founders, growing organizations, and established businesses facing challenges related to marketing, operations, data, measurement, customer experience, workflow automation, go-to-market strategy, and organizational growth. Creative Reach's focus is simple: replace scattered execution and operational chaos with clarity, structure, consistency, and measurable results.

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome Crystal Gallo, Founder and CEO of Innerhive, as a guest to the show. In this important conversation, Crystal joins Lance to discuss the rapidly changing landscape of family caregiving, the growing number of individuals providing care at home, and why better organization, communication, and coordination will be essential as America prepares for an unprecedented demand for care. Crystal shares how nearly two decades of building teams and growing high-impact technology companies ultimately led her to a deeper purpose through her own experience with family caregiving and inspired the creation of Innerhive. The discussion explores the dramatic growth of family caregiving in the United States and what caregiving looks like today as more care takes place inside the home. Crystal and Lance discuss the increasing responsibilities being placed on families, the realities facing the professional caregiving workforce, and why simply hiring more caregivers may not be enough to meet the country's growing care needs. With every baby boomer reaching age 65 or older by 2030, families, professional caregivers, home care organizations, healthcare providers, and communities will increasingly need to find better ways to work together and support one another. Lance and Crystal also discuss an important challenge that exists in many homes: there are often two care teams supporting the same person — the professional care team and the family care team — yet those teams may not always have access to the same information or understand the complete picture of what is happening day to day. Small observations about changes in mobility, behavior, routines, medications, nutrition, sleep, or overall wellbeing can provide important context. But when that information is scattered across conversations, text messages, notebooks, appointments, and different members of the care team, valuable details can easily be lost. The conversation explores how closing those information gaps and creating a more connected picture of care can help families and professionals identify patterns, communicate more effectively, and create a more sustainable system of support. For families navigating caregiving, the future of care will not simply be about who can provide the most services. It will increasingly be about how effectively everyone involved can organize, communicate, collaborate, and understand the complete picture of a person's care. About Crystal Gallo: Crystal Gallo is the Founder and CEO of Innerhive. After almost two decades of building teams and growing high-impact technology companies, Crystal discovered a deeper purpose through an unexpected experience with family caregiving. That experience helped shape her perspective on the challenges families face when trying to organize information, coordinate care, communicate with professionals, and make sense of the countless small moments that make up someone's caregiving journey. Crystal founded Innerhive with the vision of transforming how people care for one another and helping family caregivers and their broader support networks find greater clarity, connection, and wellness throughout the caregiving journey. About Innerhive: Innerhive is a voice-first care companion designed to turn scattered family caregiving observations and information into actionable care intelligence. Care is often made up of thousands of small moments. Innerhive allows caregivers to capture what they see and experience so information has a central place to live, helping families recognize patterns, maintain important context, and stay connected with the people involved in a loved one's care. By helping create a family record of care that can complement the information maintained by professional caregivers and healthcare providers, Innerhive is working toward a more connected and sustainable model of care in which everyone supporting an individual can better understand the whole picture. Innerhive is also inviting family caregivers and care professionals to help shape the conversation around what better care coordination should look like.

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome Dr. Hussen Amen, board-certified family medicine physician and founder of Amen Family Medicine, as a guest to the show. In this important conversation, Dr. Amen joins Lance to discuss the role proactive primary care can play in helping older adults maintain their health, independence, and quality of life while safely aging in place. The discussion explores the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit and why it is different from a traditional physical, as well as some of the important health concerns primary care physicians look for as patients age. Dr. Amen shares valuable insight into fall prevention, changes in mobility, memory and cognitive concerns, medication management and polypharmacy, preventive screenings, nutrition, advance care planning, and the importance of identifying subtle health changes before they develop into a medical crisis. Lance and Dr. Amen also discuss the important role family caregivers can play as part of a loved one's healthcare team and why establishing a strong relationship with a trusted primary care physician before a crisis occurs can make a meaningful difference. For older adults and their families, proactive healthcare is about more than treating illness. It is about prevention, early detection, communication, and helping individuals remain as healthy and independent as possible. About Dr. Hussen Amen: Dr. Hussen Amen is a board-certified family medicine physician and the founder of Amen Family Medicine, an independent primary care practice in Livonia, Michigan. A Metro Detroit native who grew up in Dearborn, Dr. Amen earned his bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Food Science from Wayne State University before receiving his medical degree from St. George's University School of Medicine. He completed his Family Medicine residency at Trinity Health Livonia, where he continues to maintain hospital privileges. Living with Type 1 diabetes since childhood has given Dr. Amen a unique perspective on the patient experience and the importance of preventive, relationship-centered care. His clinical interests include preventive medicine, chronic disease management, sports medicine, and point-of-care ultrasound. He is passionate about helping patients stay healthy, maintain their independence, and avoid preventable hospitalizations through proactive primary care and patient education. About Amen Family Medicine: Amen Family Medicine is an independent primary care practice located in Livonia, Michigan, founded by Dr. Hussen Amen with the mission of providing personalized, relationship-centered healthcare for patients of all ages. As a privately owned practice, Amen Family Medicine focuses on building lasting relationships with patients while delivering accessible, evidence-based care tailored to each individual's needs. The practice offers comprehensive family medicine services including preventive care, annual wellness visits, chronic disease management, same-day sick visits, women's health, pediatric care, sports medicine, and minor office procedures. Amen Family Medicine also provides in-office digital X-ray, point-of-care ultrasound, laboratory services, EKGs, and ultrasound-guided procedures, allowing many conditions to be evaluated and treated conveniently under one roof. For older adults, the practice emphasizes preventive care, medication management, fall prevention, cognitive screening, and coordination with caregivers and specialists to help patients maintain their health, independence, and quality of life. At Amen Family Medicine, the philosophy is that primary care should be proactive rather than reactive.

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome Marianne Sciucco, author, retired registered nurse, and co-founder of AlzAuthors, as a guest to the show. About Marianne Sciucco: A lifelong lover of words and books, Marianne Sciucco writes heartwarming novels, short stories, and essays that explore the human experiences surrounding caregiving, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, family, and connection. A retired registered nurse, Marianne brings both professional healthcare experience and a deep understanding of the emotional realities families face when navigating dementia and caregiving. Marianne is also a founder of AlzAuthors, the global community of authors writing about Alzheimer's disease and dementia from personal experience to light the way for others. Through AlzAuthors, she has helped amplify the voices of authors, caregivers, professionals, and individuals whose stories provide education, understanding, hope, and support to families around the world. In this conversation, Lance and Marianne discuss her newest book and the inspiration behind its creation, including the powerful individual stories and six-word memoirs that capture moments of love, loss, resilience, caregiving, and the realities of living alongside Alzheimer's and dementia. They explore how the memoirs were gathered, the meaning behind the book's artwork and design, and why even a few carefully chosen words can communicate experiences that are often difficult to describe. Marianne also shares several of the six-word memoirs featured in the book and discusses why creating opportunities for caregivers to tell their stories matters. These personal experiences can help caregivers feel seen, preserve meaningful memories, create connection, and remind others traveling similar journeys that they are part of a much larger community. The conversation also highlights the importance of storytelling in dementia care and caregiving—not only as a way to document difficult experiences, but as a way to recognize the love, humanity, humor, strength, and unforgettable moments that remain throughout the caregiving journey. FREE BOOK: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/r095u76rvq

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome Lori La Bey, Founder of Alzheimer's Speaks and internationally recognized dementia advocate, as a guest to the show. About Lori La Bey: Lori La Bey is an award-winning dementia advocate, speaker, author, media host, and founder of Alzheimer's Speaks. Her work was inspired by her mother's 30-year journey with dementia and has focused on changing how society understands, discusses, and responds to Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Through Alzheimer's Speaks, Lori has created and supported educational programs, advocacy initiatives, interviews, resources, and conversations that bring together people living with dementia, family caregivers, professionals, innovators, and organizations. Lori is also the co-founder of Dementia Map and serves on the Board of AlzAuthors, where she continues helping families connect with trusted dementia and caregiving resources. In this conversation, Lance and Lori discuss the realities of dementia and caregiving, the importance of listening to people living with dementia, the lessons family caregivers often learn through experience, and why compassion, dignity, connection, and person-centered care must remain at the heart of the caregiving journey. They also explore the need for stronger caregiver resources, better dementia education, greater collaboration across the care community, and a shift away from fear-based perceptions of dementia. About Alzheimer's Speaks: Alzheimer's Speaks is a dementia advocacy, education, and media platform founded by Lori La Bey. Its mission is to help shift dementia care from crisis to comfort by providing education, resources, conversations, and support for families, caregivers, professionals, and people living with dementia. Through Alzheimer's Speaks Radio, Dementia Chats™, Dementia Quick Tips™, educational initiatives, and global collaborations, Alzheimer's Speaks works to elevate the voices and lived experiences of those impacted by dementia.

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome dementia awareness advocate Anoushka Fernandes as a guest to the show. About Anoushka Fernandes: Anoushka Fernandes (Ah-NOSH-ka) is a passionate dementia awareness advocate from Edmonton, Canada, whose personal caregiving journey inspired her to help other families navigating dementia, caregiving, and loss. In 2023, Anoushka made the decision to leave the full-time corporate workforce and start her own business, allowing her more time to support her father as he cared for her mother, Allison. For the final three years of her life, Allison lived with cognitive decline and major neurocognitive disorder, a type of dementia. Anoushka experienced firsthand the changes, uncertainty, and challenges that can affect not only the person living with dementia, but the entire family surrounding them. Following Allison's death, Anoushka transformed her family's experience into a mission to support others. In October 2025, she launched TheSoggySandwich.ca, a website and blog created for dementia caregivers and those who have experienced dementia-related loss. Through her advocacy, community outreach, writing, and public speaking, Anoushka is especially passionate about helping break down the stigma surrounding dementia, including within racialized communities. She encourages families who notice changes in memory, behavior, or cognition to seek formal medical evaluation rather than allowing fear or stigma to delay conversations about dementia. Her advocacy also emphasizes the importance of accessing available treatments, interventions, education, and support as early as possible to help improve quality of life for individuals living with dementia and those who care for them. About The Soggy Sandwich: The Soggy Sandwich is a deeply personal dementia caregiving and grief resource created by Anoushka Fernandes following her family's caregiving journey and the death of her mother, Allison. Through weekly writing, Anoushka follows two interconnected storylines. The first reflects on her family's caregiving journey, beginning with the earliest memory and behavioral changes they noticed in Allison and continuing through the realities of caring for someone living with dementia. The second chronicles Anoushka's own experience navigating grief following her mother's sudden and unexpected death. By sharing these experiences openly, Anoushka hopes to provide caregivers and grieving families with something that can sometimes be difficult to find during these journeys: the knowledge that someone else understands. The Soggy Sandwich also serves as a platform for dementia awareness, caregiver education, community outreach, and conversations aimed at reducing stigma and encouraging families to seek information, support, and medical guidance earlier in the dementia journey.

All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton, were honored to welcome author Suzy McNamara as a guest to the show. About Suzy McNamara: Suzy McNamara is the author of The Silkworm, the Magician, and the Sister Tree, a deeply human exploration of caregiving, grief, faith, loss, and enduring love. A poet, mother of four, fundraiser, lawyer, Secular Carmelite, and widow, Suzy writes for those navigating loss and the often-invisible weight of caring for someone they love. In 2024, Suzy lost her husband of 37 years, Bob McNamara, to Posterior Cortical Atrophy, an aggressive form of early-onset Alzheimer's, after caring for him at home for five years. Just months earlier, her sister and lifelong best friend, Elizabeth Muslin, died from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. These overlapping losses profoundly shaped Suzy's perspective and inform her writing today. Her work offers particular insight into the realities of early-onset Alzheimer's, when illness can begin dismantling identity during years when marriages, careers, friendships, and family life are often at their most active. Suzy writes honestly about the daily realities of caregiving — the isolation, exhaustion, anticipatory grief, and the quiet work of preserving dignity, countering shame, and holding onto meaning amid uncertainty. She believes grief can be a lonely sport and that survival often depends on community, shared language, faith, and the courage to name what is too often left unsaid. Through her writing, Suzy seeks to walk alongside caregivers and those grieving profound loss, reminding them they do not have to carry everything alone. About The Silkworm, the Magician, and the Sister Tree: The Silkworm, the Magician, and the Sister Tree is a deeply personal memoir about love, caregiving, grief, faith, and what remains after unimaginable loss. Within a single year, Suzy lost both her husband of 37 years to early-onset Alzheimer's and her sister — her lifelong best friend and emotional support system — to lung disease. With raw honesty and vulnerability, Suzy chronicles the daily realities of caregiving, the isolation and anticipatory grief, and the exhaustion of watching someone you love gradually disappear while they are still physically present. She also explores the particular ache of losing a sister and refuses to rush either loss toward easy answers, resolution, or meaning. Instead, the book gives voice to the weight carried by caregivers and the layered grief that can follow while offering something equally important: companionship. Through love, community, and faith, Suzy offers hope that joy and peace can eventually exist alongside grief. The Silkworm, the Magician, and the Sister Tree is for anyone who has cared for someone they love, grieved someone they could not save, or simply needed to know they are not alone in what they are carrying.