August 4, 2025 • 44 mins
Kansas City Broadcast: Listen in as host Steve Kuker, President of Senior Care Consulting, visits with David Wiley, President and CEO of Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care and Dr. Iman Williams Christians, Director of Grief Support and Counseling with KCHPC. Dr. Iman discusses common responses to grief and shares several excellent KC Hospice resources to help coping with and expressing grief. David explains how these extensive and community-wide grief support programs are funded and how to donate to the KC Solace House. David also announces this year’s Sunday Night Live event, KCHPC’s premier fund-raising event, to be held on Sunday October 5th from 5pm-8pm at KC Live!! Block and Power & Light. Steve reviews when to consider moving from home to a senior care community and what to determine before beginning your search. #SeniorCare #SeniorCareLive #SeniorCareConsulting #SeniorLiving #KansasCitySeniorCare #SeniorCarePlacement #SeniorCareAdvisor #Franchise #SeniorCareFranchise #Hospice (800) 331-6445
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Are you caring for an aging loved one? Are you
a senior searching for answers? Welcome to Senior Care Live,
a program dedicated to you, providing information, education and resources
for seniors and their caregivers. And now America's Senior care Consultant.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Steve Keicker, Hello and welcome to Senior Care Live. I'm
Steve Keeker. You're Senior Care Consultant and I really appreciate
you tuning in today. We have a wonderful program on
tap with our friends from Kansas City Hospice and Pallady
of Care, David Wiley, He's the President and CEO of
(00:40):
Kansas City Hospice and Pallady of Care and doctor Imman
Williams Christians she is the director of Grief Support and
Counseling again with Kansas City Hospice and Pallaity of Care.
And David and doctor Eymon Welcome back to Senior Care Life.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Thanks for having us.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Good to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
So some folks may be unaware, but Kansas the hospice
and Pality of Cares the area's top provider of grief
support services right along with top quality and of life care.
Is no doubt about that. At least in my mind, David,
So that's a no brainer. But today we're going to
talk about some resources for people who are grieving the
(01:18):
loss of a loved one, and doctor Iman, can you
please start by sharing what grief is and then what
are some common responses to grief.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Of course, so at Kansas City Hospice, we believe that
grief is a natural and human response to loss. It's
something all of us will experience at some point in
our lives, but it looks different for everyone. There is
no one right way to grieve. Grief often comes after
one of life's biggest changes, the death of someone close
to us. That could be a parent, a spouse, a grandparent,
(01:50):
a sibling, a dear friend, someone who played a really
important part in our lives. But grief isn't limited to death.
We can grieve many types of losses, like the end
of a relationship or a serious illness, or even changes
to identity or life circumstances. What's important to remember is
that grief is not a problem to fix, but a
(02:13):
process to support, and that's why having the right resources
matter so much. Although grief is a common human experience,
it hasn't been widely recognized as a mental health need,
and as a result, there's a lack of experience among
traditional mental health providers, and that's why we offer specialized
grief counseling.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Excellent, Excellent. So what are some things people should watch
out for if they think they or maybe someone they
care about needs help coping with this grief.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Yeah, so there's a lot of things. So grief can
impact every area of a person's life, not just emotionally,
but mentally, socially, physically, and spiritually. It may affect our cognition,
making it hard to concentrate or remember things or make
decisions that can leave people feel like they're losing their
mind a little bit. I've heard so much that people
(03:03):
will be shopping for the first time by themselves and
they'll wonder what was I here to get? What was
I trying to do? So that is a common experience. Behaviourally,
some people may throw themselves into staying busy, while others
struggle with basic self care or find themselves easily distracted
and tearful. Socially, social relationships can shift, and some grievers
(03:27):
withdraw from others or feel increased tension and their support networks. Spiritually,
it's common to question one's faith, to struggle to find meaning,
or feel a deep sense of loss there And physically,
grief often disrupts sleep and appetite and may lead to headaches, fatigue,
(03:47):
or other symptoms of stress. Each of these responses is
natural and a part of the grieving process, and that's
why it's so important to recognize National Grief Awareness Day,
which is August thirtieth, and that's why we shine a
light on these common symptoms.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Absolutely, it's so important. And you know, we talked a
lot on this show about healthcare options for people who
are aging and managing a chronic illness and facing serious
or even life threatening health conditions. The Kansas City Hospice,
in addition to being a hospice and pallative care provider,
you offer an array of grief support services and can
(04:26):
share more about what services are available for someone experienced
grief or maybe, like you referred to earlier, a non
death loss, because it could be it doesn't have to
be a death, it could be other things.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yeah, that's absolutely right. So on our hospice bereavement side
of things. So this is someone who's lost a family
member on our hospice, the family is eligible for grief
support for thirteen months after the loss because of our
Medicare benefit, and this applies to everyone, and they can
attend community education and support groups and workshops in addition
(05:01):
to our one on one services. And then we also
have our Solace House Center of Grief and Healing and
typically there we see sudden and an unexpected death and
this can include the non death losses that we were
talking about as well, but this is typically more complicated
grief or a combination of trauma and loss. So at
(05:24):
Solace House we offer facilitated peer support groups in the evening.
We also facilitate family and adult grief camps. We just
finished a camp just last month actually, And within the
Solace House we have our Solace House Counseling Program where
we offer individual and family counseling. We've completed more than
(05:46):
thirteen hundred individual counseling sessions so far this year, which
has been incredible on an incredible impact on the Kansas
City community.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
That is a lot, absolutely, yeah, very busy. That's fantastic.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
I'm sorry, go ahead, Oh no, it's I yes. I
could go on for days about all of our wonderful programming.
So Yeah, we serve those who are having prolonged or
complicated grief, those who are having a difficult life transition.
And all of our clinicians are our licensed social workers
(06:22):
or counselors who are trained in and not only GREEF
support but E M d R which is for PTSD,
and they're trained also to work with children. And the
great thing is we take insurance, Medicare, Medicaid. We are
also take private pay, but as a nonprofit, we never
(06:43):
want finances to be a barrier to those that we serve,
and we believe timely support for these kids and their
family is really important to teaching them healthy associate emotional
coping skills and preventing grief from negative negatively affecting their
health and well being throughout their life time.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
And you've described so many great resources. Are there other
things that you'd like to share?
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Yeah? Absolutely so. For example, our hospice Grief Support program
has already hosted thirteen grief support groups, including the newly
revived Cooking for One, and we've already served more than
one hundred group participants this fiscal year.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So cooking for One, So that just seems like such
maybe a basic thing, but you have the loss of
a spouse. You could be sudden or expected and all
of a sudden. I heard this from my own mom.
She said, I don't like cooking anymore. I'm just cooking
for myself. It's not any fun, and so everything changed,
and cooking was a huge part of her life and
(07:45):
the activities anyway. So that cooking for one, it's a
big deal. It really is.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
It is, and it was well attended, and that is
one of those things that you just don't think about
when you lose someone. You shop for two or more people,
and suddenly you're cooking for yourself, and so that is
a life skill that we are honored to help people with.
We also offer other community groups that help connect others
(08:13):
with similar losses to gain insights and education about grief.
So for example, our Navigating Grief, which is a really
short ninety minute workshop. We also have our Grief Journey,
which is over the course of five weeks where you
learn all about grief. We have a men's group. We
have a sorting through what to do with all of
our stuff, and that is specific to those who have
(08:39):
who maybe have a house full of their loved ones
things and they don't quite know what to.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Do with it. Well, there's another one. So you know,
we've been meaning to go through that whole basement full
of stuff, and then all of a sudden you lose
your spouse and you're like, now you have to deal
with that alone. And then you're like, okay, then things
become even more sentimental. Well, I can't get rid of
my husband's clothing, and I can't get rid of rid
of my wife's you know, whatever it is. But you
have to sort through all of that. It's just even
(09:04):
that much more difficult. So that's another huge one. It's
just not top of mind until you're there. You're like, oh, yeah,
that's a big one.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah. Absolutely, those constant reminders when you're walking through your
house and you know how to best honor your loved
one and also part with a few things. We also
have our Nurturing Your Grief in Nature for those who
like to be out in nature, and our most popular
is our Spouse and Partner Loss Group. In addition, we
are launching a new program this fall, the Grief Journey
(09:35):
of Queer Adults, creating an intentional and supportive space for
our lgbd Q plus individuals processing grief I'll also mention
our fall Solid House groups will follow a new structure,
so we're going to have two four week sessions with
a break in between, and this allows more flexibility for
our families and more entry points for our families.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
That is fantastic. If this is resid with you, all
of the grief support and all of the many programs
offered by Kansas City Hospice in Pallady of Care, give
them a call. They want to help you. Don't let
finances stand in the way. We'll figure it out, okay
eight one six three six three twenty six hundred eight
(10:17):
one six three six three two six zero zero can
also go online. This is a fantastic a loaded website.
There's so much on it. Kchospice dot org. And we'll
have more with David and doctor Ramon coming up next.
But first, the Senior Care Live Question of the week.
Grief refers to emotions experienced after a loved one dies.
(10:39):
Is that statement true or false? What do you think?
Speaker 1 (10:43):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. For more information, visit Seniorcare Live dot com.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
We'll have more with Steve coming up next.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
A recent Internet search for nursing homes in Kansas City
provided thirty two million results. It's daunting to think that
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to choose from in the Kansas City metro and on average,
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that's because it is. I invite you to reach out
(11:24):
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(11:46):
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Speaker 2 (12:05):
Welcome back. You're listening to Senior Care Live on the
Senior Care Broadcasting Network. For more information, visit seniorcare live
dot com. Now back to the Senior Care Live question
of the week. Grief refers to emotions experienced after a
loved one dies. Does that stay true or false? And
the answer is false? The answer is false in doctor Amon,
(12:31):
why is that statement false?
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Yeah, it's false because while grief is experienced after a
person dies, it's also experienced for other losses in life,
including those not related to death. While there are emotional symptoms,
grief effects all aspects of your life, including cognition, behavior,
social interactions, spiritual beliefs, and physical health.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
All right, we're visiting today with David Wiley and doctor
Ramon from Kansas City Hospice in Palaty Care. You can
reach out to the great team at Casey Hospice at
eight one six three six three two six zero zero
or online at Kchospice dot org. And doctor Imon earlier,
you mentioned grief camps. You talked about that just a
(13:16):
little bit. What is grief camp and what does that
look like?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, grief camp is a supportive and healing space designed
specifically for children, families, and adults who have experienced the
death of a loved one. At its core, it's a
place where grieving kids get to be around others who
get it. Their comfort in not having to explain why
they're said or why certain days are harder than others.
(13:42):
Camp blends traditional fun like swimming, golf, tree climbing, laser
tag with intentional grief support activities like sharing pictures of
loved ones. Recently, actually we hosted Camp Aaron for seventy
and that had seventy three campers, forty eight children, twenty
five adults, and that's our largest camp ever. Campers enjoyed
(14:04):
all of the facilities we were at Great Wolf Lodge,
and people had really great things to say. So the
kids got said camp eron made them feel like their
grief matter to someone. One kiddo said, camp Erin helped
me come out of my shell and talk about my grief.
And one of our younger campers said camp Erin was amazing.
(14:26):
They were perfect. They didn't mess up anything.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
You know, and it's hard enough to deal with your grief,
but when you're a kid, how do you process that
this is beautiful? Really? It really is.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Yeah, So this is their place to be around others
who get what they're going through and are having similar
life experiences. Our caregivers also got to complete their own activities,
including nature weaving, painting, grief scrabble, meditation, and sound bath.
They learned more about communicating with and parenting children who
(14:58):
were grieving, how to deal with their own grief in
their adult only sessions. One of the caregivers said, painting
brought back great memories of my dad, and I learned
that it is okay to cry and that I am
not alone in my grief. So the goal is to
help kids and families learn to cope with their grief
through facilitated support activities and also have fun and let
(15:20):
them be kids with their peers who have similar experiences
with loss. We are also planning an adult only grief
retreat in October. Applications are open for that, and this
is for grieving adults who are seeking a more immersive
overnight experience.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
All right, you've shared a lot of information today. Where
can our audience go to stay up to date on
grief support services that will be provided through Kansas City
Hospice this fall and winter.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Yeah, they can visit our website at kight Kchospice dot
org slash grief for information on other services, or call
us at eight one six three six three twenty six hundred.
There are other resources about grief you can read on
our website, including our Journey's newsletter and ways to sign
(16:07):
up to receive more information. You can also call Solace
House to speak to someone, and please encourage anyone who
is having any immediate crisis to call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline at nine to eight.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
All right, doctor Mon, thank you so much for all
that fantastic information. And David doctrimond mentioned the Kansas City
Hospice grief support programming is available for families whose loved
one was served by your hospice program. It's part of
the Medicare hospice benefit, and that your community wide grief
support programming is available free of charge to anyone who's
(16:47):
experienced a loss, including sudden and unexpected loss. So how
are these extensive services funded and is there also an
insurance or reimbursement benefit for that or maybe another they're
source of funding.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
You know, it's a great question, Steve, and there's a
couple aspects of this to discuss. You know, Hospice grief support,
like doctor Mond said, is really part of the deal.
So when you have a loved one on hospice and
they die on our service, we help families for thirteen
months as part of that offering, and that's free. A
good percentage of our Kansas City Hospice Solace House Center
(17:22):
for Grief and Healing grief support programs described are one
hundred percent philanthropically supported. For example, our group sessions that
we offer in the spring and in the fall, which
support the entire family, are free to the community. We
also provide a support to individuals who are not ensured
using a sliding scale, and typically that ends up being
free to the participant. You know, these most likely are
(17:45):
folks who have experienced a sudden or tragic death. You know,
you either you know people or you may just have
to listen to the news to understand how prevalent tragedies
are and when they impact children often sometimes, you know,
we are able to extend our services into schools across
the metro And finally, we do have our licensed counseling
(18:05):
program that doctor Man mentioned called Solace House Counseling, and
those licensed therapists do accept insurance and Medicare and Medicaid
for reimbursement. For those without a means to pay, then
we're still able to help them and that's thanks to
our donors. So at the end of the day. It's
the generosity of individuals, businesses, volunteers, and foundations and other
(18:26):
grant partners who make this important work possible, and all
of the community supports this help. It helps us provide
on an annual basis, more than fifteen hundred different people
on an annual basis. So it's really our donors and
our grant partners that have stepped up to ensure that
we've been able to expand this capacity as our community's
(18:49):
needs have grown, and something especially significant during and since
the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
All the impact is just absolutely amazing, David, You think
people choose to give to programs like these?
Speaker 4 (19:03):
You know, grief is universally a human experience that all
of us have or will experience sometime, you know, with
the death of somebody that's close to us. Making a
financial gift in honor of a loved one who's died,
or in recognition of the impactful grief support services provided
that perhaps one of our specialists has helped you with
that can be a meaningful experience. It can help remember
(19:27):
and honor the legacy of a loved one. It empowers,
It's an empowering feeling to be able to pay it
forward to take care of others that when you've been
taken care of, and you know, we've had people that
actually have provided a legacy gift, like in their estate
plan in order to help us do this great work.
But estate plans are amazing, but every single dollar counts.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Absolutely, that's fantastic. If you want to reach out to
Kansas City Hospice and look into, you know, participating in
some of these programs, maybe making a donation and finding
out about all the fundraising activities. We're going to talk
about that here in just a moment, but here's the
phone number and in the contact information. Definitely reach out.
(20:11):
We've we have reached so many people through this broadcast
and they're like, you know, we heard about that. That
makes sense. I'm just retired and I'm bored to pieces.
I want to volunteer, or I have some money, I
want to make a donation. This sounds fantastic. Here's the
phone number eight one six three six three two six
zero zero eight one six three six three two six
(20:34):
zero zero or online at Kchospice dot org. We'll have
more with David and doctor Eymon coming up next.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. Have a question, visit Seniorcare Live dot com.
Stick around.
Speaker 5 (20:51):
We'll have more with Steve coming up next.
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dot com. Welcome back. You're listening to Senior Care Live
(22:09):
on the Senior Care Broadcasting Network. For podcasts to the program,
visit Seniorcare Live dot com or wherever you get your podcasts.
All right, today we're visiting with David Wiley and doctor
Raymond from Kansas City Hospice in Pallady of Care at
eight one six three six three two six zero zero
online at Kchospice dot org. And David, if someone listening
(22:34):
today is interested in becoming a Kansas City Hospice Solace
House donor, what's the first step? What do they do?
Speaker 4 (22:42):
You know, Steve, it's a great question. If somebody wants
to support the Solace House or our CAC Hospice Grief Support,
or frankly any of our programs, you can make a
secure donation online at Kchospice dot org forward slash donation.
We have options for one time or recurring donations, or
if you're uncomfortable with online donations, you can certainly just
(23:05):
call us at our main number eight one six three
six three two six zero zero and we'd be happy
to help you. We also have a great event, our
signature fundraising event called Sunday Night Live. It's another powerful
way to support families served by Kansas City Hospice throughout
the year.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I love that one. That's so much fun. Tell us
more about Sunday Night Life.
Speaker 4 (23:27):
You know, Steve, I know that you love it and
it's always so fun to see you there, and I
hope everybody marks their calendar. You know, this is our
big event to come together. It's my favorite night of
the year.
Speaker 5 (23:37):
You know.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
We welcome individuals and businesses from the entire metro area
and actually some of our vendors from out of town
come in town to the KC Live block down, Power
and Light for Sunday Night Live. And our theme this
year is shine On. And it's just five to eight
on Sunday, October fifth. You don't have to worry about
missing the Chiefs game or cutting out early because they
(23:59):
don't even play till Monday night in Jacksonville.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
So well, thank the Lord.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
Yeah we lucked out.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Yeah, the timing was perfect on this one, you.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
Know, celebrating all the ways people around Kansas City show
up and shine on. You know, our friends, our team members,
people that we've lost who shine on in our memories.
We have so many champions and donors and supporters who
help us shine on. Every day. We're celebrating all of them.
So guests, we'll enjoy, you know, a unique fun filled
(24:28):
evening with food, drinks, games, raffle, prizes and more. And
if anybody's interested in purchasing tickets, you can do that
on our website also with a forward slash SNL, or
you could always call us and we have raffle tickets
and silent auction will be up on the website soon,
so you know, even if you can't come out to
(24:49):
Shine On, if you will with us in October, you
can still support the families in Kansas City. So I
appreciated a lot. All of the proceeds stay right here
in Kansas City to help us do our great work.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
And this is this is so unbelievably important because this
provides some much needed funding to help you go way
above and beyond what is what is required and they're
in Maybe we should talk about that next time. It's
it's unbelievable if you are a foodie. Okay, I'm a
little bit of a foodie. There is all kinds of
(25:22):
food and samples and everything down and there's so much
fun and and raffles everything. It is a fantastic time.
Sunday Night Live the premiere fundraising event for Kansas City Hospice.
All of the money stays in our community and help
Kansas City Hospice and Paalady of Care serve those in
(25:44):
our community. Eight one six three six three two six
zero zero. We're online at Kchospice dot org. Forward slash
s n L And David and doctor Ymon, thank you
so much for being here today. Keep up the fantastic work.
You're just You're awesome. I love you, Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
We appreciate you too.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
All Right, now we're going to shift gears and discuss
when to consider moving from your home to a senior
care community. The following thing should trigger the conversation. So
number one, when it is no longer safe to live
at home a red alert safety issue, Okay, leaving the
stovetop burners on. That's just about I think maybe the
(26:25):
most common one I've heard. Now we have a fire risk,
and I've heard of some near misses. Unplugged to think,
flip the breaker if it's gas. Usually there's a shut
off valve, wandering away and can't find your way back home.
Oh boy, this one's really common as well. I'm just
going to go out for a walk and all of
a sudden, it's things are just not looking quite right.
(26:46):
In a little confusing and you're like, oh boy, I'm
a little bit lost now. And again this is related
to having dementia, and God bless them. You get a
little bit confused. You may even go out for a drive,
which is really, I think a lot more scary. First
of all, you probably shouldn't be driving at that point,
and you drive away, and now the streets aren't looking
as familiar as they once did, and you're like, ah,
(27:09):
where am I? And you get lost. You may even
drive to another state, and that's why we have all
of these silver alerts popping up all over the place.
Now I need to find them. Usually it has a
happy ending. Unfortunately, sometimes it does not. That's a big,
big safety issue. Number three, experiencing malnutrition and dehydration because
(27:29):
they're not able to cook for themselves, or maybe they're
eating junk food all the time. They're not drinking, they're
not keeping their hydration up, especially here in the summer.
Unsanitary living conditions due to neglect or just the inability
to keep everything up. Injured at home, frequent falls, frequent hospitalizations.
It's pretty obvious this one flies under the radar, but
(27:51):
it's super important. A major safety issue not taking your
medications properly, maybe not taking them on time, maybe not
taking them at all. Okay, your skip a dose or
skipping a day, that's a huge issue. And then of
course the terrible ones which I just can't stand, elder
financial abuse or maybe even physical abuse, or emotional or
mental abuse. When it's no longer safe to live at home,
(28:14):
that absolutely has to trigger the conversation of considering moving
from home to a senior care community. Number two. I
would call this a really close to maybe even a one.
A when the caregiver's health and well being are in decline.
We're talking about your mental health, your emotional health, your
spiritual health, and of course your physical health. So when
(28:34):
you are a caregiver and you just pouring yourself into
this person that you love so much, your spouse, your parent,
whoever this person is, and I see this happen a
lot in elderly spouse caring for an elderly spouse, and
we have the heroic caregiver happening here. You place your
own needs second, Your own needs are placed on the
back burner, and you skip your own doctor's appointment and
(28:57):
dental appointments. You skip so events like the book club
with the ladies, the coffee and donuts with the guys
telling fishing stories in the donut shop on Friday morning.
You stop going to church, You just kind of back
out of everything, and you become isolated. And then the
stress starts just piling on and piling on, and you
(29:18):
never get a break. You never get a break from it,
and then you're just being crushed by the stress. I
can't tell you how many times I've seen or heard
about the caregiver passing away from the stress of it
all before the person they're caring for, And by allowing
(29:42):
that to happen, you have completely defeated the purpose. Now
you're not here to care for your loved one, this
person that you sacrificed everything for. You put all of
your own needs on the back burner. Now you're not
here to make sure they're getting good care and to
watch over them and to make sure that they're getting
everything that they need and deserve. Stress is a very
(30:03):
very powerful force. You can't let that happen. Oh no,
I've got it. I've got it. But if you can
clearly see with your own eyes that don't have it,
you may have to have an intervention. Don't let this
person suffer with their health and maybe possibly even pass
away before the person they're caring for. It's unnecessary and
(30:27):
it is avoidable. You may have to step in on
that one. Okay. Number three, when to consider moving from
your home to senior care community when the cost of
in home care becomes maybe just unaffordable. I'm a huge
fan of home care home care services, huge fan. But
and you could bring in home care support for you know,
(30:51):
four to six hours a day for a couple of
couple of days a week, two or three days, the
caregiver gets a full break. They get to go out
and have lunch with their friends, get their hair cut,
go to the doctor's office, just get a break, take
a deep breath and recharge and come back in. It's
unbelievably helpful for the caregiver and for the person receiving
(31:13):
the care. They get to visit with a different person.
And that's good too. This is a positive thing. But
when the need rises to that level of twenty four hours, okay,
I mean we're talking some big time expenses. We're talking
thirty five to forty dollars an hour. Do the math
on that. That's too expensive for a lot of folks.
If you had to pay for that for very long,
that should trigger the conversation of considering moving maybe to
(31:36):
assisted living. And it's instead of paying fifteen thousand, twenty
five thousand, thirty thousand dollars a month, maybe you could
spend seven thousand dollars a month to get twenty four
hour care in the assistant living level. Okay, And it's
not the same, it's not one on one, but it's
a cost effective alternative at some point, at some point,
the math just doesn't add up. And then, last but
not least, when the care you provide is just not enough,
(31:58):
why not consider your role from being the caregiver that
hands on care provider to the care manager, meaning let's
go out, let's find a great care provider, and then
you can stop being the caregiver and return to your
traditional role as the loving spouse, the loving son or daughter,
in my case, the loving grandson. Okay. If you have
(32:21):
any questions about any of this, if you need help
exploring your options at the facility level, give us a
call at Senior Care Consulting. We offer a free consultation
nine one three five twenty eight hundred or visit online
at Seniorcare Consulting dot com. Don't go way, I have
so much more for you right around the corner.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. To contact Steve or a guest on his show,
this is Seniorcare Live dot com.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
We'll have more coming up.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
So you've been living independently at home, but now it's
not working out. It's time to begin searching for a
senior care community. But with hundreds of independent living, assisted living,
long term care, and memory care options, how are you
supposed to determine the best place for you. Hello? I'm
Steve Keeker, and this is exactly why I created my firm,
(33:22):
Senior Care Consulting. I help my own grandparents through this
difficult process, so I know how overwhelming this can be.
Our business model ensures credibility and objectivity. We work directly
for you, and we never receive reimbursement from any provider.
We've helped hundreds of family since two thousand and two,
(33:42):
and we can help you and your family as well.
Call today for a free consultation at nine one three
nine four five twenty eight hundred nine one three nine
four five twenty eight hundred, a placement service with integrity
at Seniorcareconsulting dot com. Welcome back. You're listening to Senior
(34:08):
Care Live on the Senior Care Broadcasting Network. Have a question,
visit seniorcare live dot com. All right, so we considered
moving from our home to senior care community. You listen
to your old pal Steve, and you're going to be proactive,
not reactive, isn't that right?
Speaker 6 (34:25):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Okay, So seriously, oh my gosh, don't put it off
until it becomes a crisis. You are going to be
so sorry that you didn't be a little more proactive
on that. Trust me on that, folks, Just trust me
on that. Okay. So, now you've made the decision to move,
what to determine before ever even thinking about conducting your search.
(34:51):
Don't do the old shotgun approach. Well there's this place
over here, and so and so mentioned this one, and
there's a new one that just popped up on the
way to work, and just go out. Just start looking
at places that you are wasting your time. You need
to know what you're looking for and then have a targeted,
focused list and then go out and see the places
that will actually meet your needs so you're not wasting time.
(35:12):
Let me put it in perspective. The average person spends
or maybe family could be one person fifty to one
hundred hours running around looking at all these places, trying
to do their homework. They're trying to do their best
to get it right. Fifty to one hundred hours. That's
(35:32):
why senior care consulting clients spend about four hours, and
they are all about it. They love it. It's a major,
major time saver because we do most of the work
for you. If you're doing this on your own, what
to determine before beginning your search, you need to know
what level of care you will need. Well, what he
means to level care level of care. Here's how I
(35:56):
look at it. It's related to your licensure, the licensure
of the provider. So if you provide hands on care,
you must be licensed in the state of wherever you're
providing that care, and then the licensure dictates what you
must provide and all of the parameters and limitations and
(36:18):
all the staffing, all the stuff. Okay, So levels of
care long term care, that's the medical model, that's the
highest level. That's the nursing home health center, skilled nursing,
wherever you want to call it. Long term care is
a level of care. It's the highest one. Then you
have assisted living that occupies a wide lane that can
help you minimally or fully with your bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting.
(36:41):
They offer some incontinent support to a point. They manage
your medications, They provide hydration snacks, all of that. There's
a full slate of activities for meaningful social engagement. Doctors
make house calls, actually come into the community, essentially making
a house call. There's transportation if you want to use
(37:02):
an outside doctor or go see a specialist. There's a
lot of support there. It's just not medical in nature
per se. Do you need the residential care level of care?
Do you need the home plus level of care? Intermediate
care facility IICF? Do you need that? You have to determine.
You have to figure out what you need and then
where you fit in that line and that list of
(37:24):
levels of care long term care, assisted living, residential care,
home plus, and intermediate care facility. I see, if all right,
number two, what type of care do you need? So
here's how I break it out. General care, just everyday
general care Do you need memory care that's a special
(37:46):
type of care for someone with cognitive impairment. There's a
lot that goes into that. You may not need it now,
you may need it later, you may need it now. Okay,
you have to determine all these things. Do you need
skilled nursing and rehab? Do you need mental health care
or hospice care or respite care? So we need to
know our level of care, and then the type of care,
(38:08):
and then the big elephant in the room, how are
we going to pay for this stuff? It's expensive, So
you have your payment methods, private pay that means you're
writing a check, You're using your own resources to pay
for your care. And then you have Medicare, you have
Medicaid long term care insurance, which I think the number
(38:29):
is about seven percent of those who will require long
term care actually has a long term care insurance policy.
We need to get that number way up. Are you
a veteran or the spouse the surviving spouse of a
deceased veteran? What're about the vaaid and attendance benefit? You
(38:49):
need to figure all of that out. Location parameters. We
all want to be as close as possible, so it's
convenient to go visit our loved one. The better question
is how far are you willing to drive to receive
the best care. That's the much better question than any
personal preferences and needs. So that's something very very specific.
(39:12):
You know, most of most of my clients don't have
something that specific. Once in a while we do, though,
So I had a gentleman recently, Steve mothers played piano.
She's played that piano for seventy years, a long time.
It's look, it's just part of her DNA, it's hardwired
into her. At this point, she cannot do without her piano.
(39:35):
Can you find a place that will allow us to
take her small piano and put it in her apartment?
She needed the assisted living level at that point. So
I had to make sure that the top options that
we're going to tour and gather information on for them
to consider would accept her piano. Most places did, some
(39:55):
places did not. Okay, another person saying, you know, my
my mother, if it has a beak on it, forget it.
Do not ever serve her foul right, she won't complain,
she won't eat a turkey sandwich or scrambled egg or whatever.
So and no one would ever know that. So you
(40:17):
have to speak up. So your level of care, your
type of care, your payment methods, location, personal preferences and needs.
Once you have that determined, then and then only should
you begin your search and go out and then find
the top places that check all of the boxes. Otherwise
(40:38):
I'm just telling you you are wasting your time and
that contributes to that fifty two one hundred hours. If
it sounds overwhelming, it is. If it sounds really complex,
like Steve, you just turn that into a great big
complex equation. And I was just gonna go look at
some places. Well, it's a complex equation because if you
(40:59):
want to do it right that it is a complex equation. Okay,
if you're like, all right, I'm out, I need some
help with that. If you want to reach out to
my firm, Senior Care Consulting, we help families and individuals
every single day through the search and selection process. The
first thing, guess what we do. The first thing, we
conduct a proprietary geriatric care assessment. We ask we have
(41:23):
a six page worksheet. We ask all of the questions
necessary to determine guess what the level of care you'll need,
the type of care you need, the payment methods, we talk,
We go through all the financials, location parameters, personal preferences
and needs, and that's our starting point. And then we
research the entire marketplace, not just a short list of
(41:44):
our buddies, Okay, we research the entire marketplace and determine
our top providers that check all the boxes that meet
our exact needs. Then we'll go out with you together,
and we will. We'll go out and we'll take a
tour of each place. I am a former nursing home
and assistant living administrator. I think I look at this differently.
(42:06):
I ask a lot of questions that most of my
clients would never know to ask, gather critical information. When
we're done, it only takes about three or four hours
and we're finished, and then I produce a report to
help you make an informed decision. If that's resonating with you,
if you're like, wait a minute, I got my hand up.
I need help. Nine one, three, nine, four, five, twenty
eight hundred or visit online at Seniorcare Consulting dot com.
(42:30):
We'll offer a free consultation. Let's talk about that. We
can definitely help, all right. I'm Steve Keeker, and I
wish you grace and peace. May God bless you and
your family on this day and always join me next
week right here on Senior Care Live.
Speaker 6 (42:50):
Does your business serve the elderly and their caregivers in
our area? There are hundreds of thousands of people either
receiving or providing senior care and they need to know
about you. A unique and successful radio program called Senior
Care Live is the perfect opportunity to let your target
audience know about your amazing products and services. Senior Care
(43:11):
Live is currently adding a limited number of partner sponsors,
and if you're aligned with their mission, they want to
talk to you. They're interested in partnering with hospital organizations,
physician groups, home care providers, estate planning and older law practices,
financial advisors, insurance companies, real estate brokers, home health agencies,
and other providers serving the elderly and their caregivers. Senior
(43:36):
Care Live has a limited number of partner sponsor opportunities,
so call now at nine one three nine four five
twenty eight hundred nine one three nine four five twenty
eight hundred or visit seniorcare live dot com seniorcare live
dot com.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Quid pro quo a Latin phrase that means an exchange
of goods or services where one transfer is contingent upon
the other. Here's an example. I'll recommend your senior care
community if you'll pay me a huge kickback from my referral.
The free referral services have a vested interest in you
choosing one of their business partners. That's how they make
(44:13):
their money. Does this paid recommendation sound objective or credible?
Of course not. I'm Steve Keeker with Senior Care Consulting.
I'm so proud to say we have never received a
single penny from any provider ever. We offer a placement
service with integrity for help finding the right senior care community,
without conflict of interest and without the quid pro quo
(44:37):
called nine one three nine four five twenty eight hundred
nine one three nine four five twenty eight hundred replacement
Service with integrity at Seniorcare Consulting dot com
Are you caring for an aging loved one? Are you
a senior searching for answers? Welcome to Senior Care Live,
a program dedicated to you, providing information, education and resources
for seniors and their caregivers. And now America's Senior care Consultant.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Steve Keicker, Hello and welcome to Senior Care Live. I'm
Steve Keeker. You're Senior Care Consultant and I really appreciate
you tuning in today. We have a wonderful program on
tap with our friends from Kansas City Hospice and Pallady
of Care, David Wiley, He's the President and CEO of
(00:40):
Kansas City Hospice and Pallady of Care and doctor Imman
Williams Christians she is the director of Grief Support and
Counseling again with Kansas City Hospice and Pallaity of Care.
And David and doctor Eymon Welcome back to Senior Care Life.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Thanks for having us.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Good to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
So some folks may be unaware, but Kansas the hospice
and Pality of Cares the area's top provider of grief
support services right along with top quality and of life care.
Is no doubt about that. At least in my mind, David,
So that's a no brainer. But today we're going to
talk about some resources for people who are grieving the
(01:18):
loss of a loved one, and doctor Iman, can you
please start by sharing what grief is and then what
are some common responses to grief.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Of course, so at Kansas City Hospice, we believe that
grief is a natural and human response to loss. It's
something all of us will experience at some point in
our lives, but it looks different for everyone. There is
no one right way to grieve. Grief often comes after
one of life's biggest changes, the death of someone close
to us. That could be a parent, a spouse, a grandparent,
(01:50):
a sibling, a dear friend, someone who played a really
important part in our lives. But grief isn't limited to death.
We can grieve many types of losses, like the end
of a relationship or a serious illness, or even changes
to identity or life circumstances. What's important to remember is
that grief is not a problem to fix, but a
(02:13):
process to support, and that's why having the right resources
matter so much. Although grief is a common human experience,
it hasn't been widely recognized as a mental health need,
and as a result, there's a lack of experience among
traditional mental health providers, and that's why we offer specialized
grief counseling.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Excellent, Excellent. So what are some things people should watch
out for if they think they or maybe someone they
care about needs help coping with this grief.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Yeah, so there's a lot of things. So grief can
impact every area of a person's life, not just emotionally,
but mentally, socially, physically, and spiritually. It may affect our cognition,
making it hard to concentrate or remember things or make
decisions that can leave people feel like they're losing their
mind a little bit. I've heard so much that people
(03:03):
will be shopping for the first time by themselves and
they'll wonder what was I here to get? What was
I trying to do? So that is a common experience. Behaviourally,
some people may throw themselves into staying busy, while others
struggle with basic self care or find themselves easily distracted
and tearful. Socially, social relationships can shift, and some grievers
(03:27):
withdraw from others or feel increased tension and their support networks. Spiritually,
it's common to question one's faith, to struggle to find meaning,
or feel a deep sense of loss there And physically,
grief often disrupts sleep and appetite and may lead to headaches, fatigue,
(03:47):
or other symptoms of stress. Each of these responses is
natural and a part of the grieving process, and that's
why it's so important to recognize National Grief Awareness Day,
which is August thirtieth, and that's why we shine a
light on these common symptoms.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Absolutely, it's so important. And you know, we talked a
lot on this show about healthcare options for people who
are aging and managing a chronic illness and facing serious
or even life threatening health conditions. The Kansas City Hospice,
in addition to being a hospice and pallative care provider,
you offer an array of grief support services and can
(04:26):
share more about what services are available for someone experienced
grief or maybe, like you referred to earlier, a non
death loss, because it could be it doesn't have to
be a death, it could be other things.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yeah, that's absolutely right. So on our hospice bereavement side
of things. So this is someone who's lost a family
member on our hospice, the family is eligible for grief
support for thirteen months after the loss because of our
Medicare benefit, and this applies to everyone, and they can
attend community education and support groups and workshops in addition
(05:01):
to our one on one services. And then we also
have our Solace House Center of Grief and Healing and
typically there we see sudden and an unexpected death and
this can include the non death losses that we were
talking about as well, but this is typically more complicated
grief or a combination of trauma and loss. So at
(05:24):
Solace House we offer facilitated peer support groups in the evening.
We also facilitate family and adult grief camps. We just
finished a camp just last month actually, And within the
Solace House we have our Solace House Counseling Program where
we offer individual and family counseling. We've completed more than
(05:46):
thirteen hundred individual counseling sessions so far this year, which
has been incredible on an incredible impact on the Kansas
City community.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
That is a lot, absolutely, yeah, very busy. That's fantastic.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
I'm sorry, go ahead, Oh no, it's I yes. I
could go on for days about all of our wonderful programming.
So Yeah, we serve those who are having prolonged or
complicated grief, those who are having a difficult life transition.
And all of our clinicians are our licensed social workers
(06:22):
or counselors who are trained in and not only GREEF
support but E M d R which is for PTSD,
and they're trained also to work with children. And the
great thing is we take insurance, Medicare, Medicaid. We are
also take private pay, but as a nonprofit, we never
(06:43):
want finances to be a barrier to those that we serve,
and we believe timely support for these kids and their
family is really important to teaching them healthy associate emotional
coping skills and preventing grief from negative negatively affecting their
health and well being throughout their life time.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
And you've described so many great resources. Are there other
things that you'd like to share?
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Yeah? Absolutely so. For example, our hospice Grief Support program
has already hosted thirteen grief support groups, including the newly
revived Cooking for One, and we've already served more than
one hundred group participants this fiscal year.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So cooking for One, So that just seems like such
maybe a basic thing, but you have the loss of
a spouse. You could be sudden or expected and all
of a sudden. I heard this from my own mom.
She said, I don't like cooking anymore. I'm just cooking
for myself. It's not any fun, and so everything changed,
and cooking was a huge part of her life and
(07:45):
the activities anyway. So that cooking for one, it's a
big deal. It really is.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
It is, and it was well attended, and that is
one of those things that you just don't think about
when you lose someone. You shop for two or more people,
and suddenly you're cooking for yourself, and so that is
a life skill that we are honored to help people with.
We also offer other community groups that help connect others
(08:13):
with similar losses to gain insights and education about grief.
So for example, our Navigating Grief, which is a really
short ninety minute workshop. We also have our Grief Journey,
which is over the course of five weeks where you
learn all about grief. We have a men's group. We
have a sorting through what to do with all of
our stuff, and that is specific to those who have
(08:39):
who maybe have a house full of their loved ones
things and they don't quite know what to.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Do with it. Well, there's another one. So you know,
we've been meaning to go through that whole basement full
of stuff, and then all of a sudden you lose
your spouse and you're like, now you have to deal
with that alone. And then you're like, okay, then things
become even more sentimental. Well, I can't get rid of
my husband's clothing, and I can't get rid of rid
of my wife's you know, whatever it is. But you
have to sort through all of that. It's just even
(09:04):
that much more difficult. So that's another huge one. It's
just not top of mind until you're there. You're like, oh, yeah,
that's a big one.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah. Absolutely, those constant reminders when you're walking through your
house and you know how to best honor your loved
one and also part with a few things. We also
have our Nurturing Your Grief in Nature for those who
like to be out in nature, and our most popular
is our Spouse and Partner Loss Group. In addition, we
are launching a new program this fall, the Grief Journey
(09:35):
of Queer Adults, creating an intentional and supportive space for
our lgbd Q plus individuals processing grief I'll also mention
our fall Solid House groups will follow a new structure,
so we're going to have two four week sessions with
a break in between, and this allows more flexibility for
our families and more entry points for our families.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
That is fantastic. If this is resid with you, all
of the grief support and all of the many programs
offered by Kansas City Hospice in Pallady of Care, give
them a call. They want to help you. Don't let
finances stand in the way. We'll figure it out, okay
eight one six three six three twenty six hundred eight
(10:17):
one six three six three two six zero zero can
also go online. This is a fantastic a loaded website.
There's so much on it. Kchospice dot org. And we'll
have more with David and doctor Ramon coming up next.
But first, the Senior Care Live Question of the week.
Grief refers to emotions experienced after a loved one dies.
(10:39):
Is that statement true or false? What do you think?
Speaker 1 (10:43):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. For more information, visit Seniorcare Live dot com.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
We'll have more with Steve coming up next.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
A recent Internet search for nursing homes in Kansas City
provided thirty two million results. It's daunting to think that
there are over three hundred and fifty senior care communities
to choose from in the Kansas City metro and on average,
you'll spend fifty to one hundred hours trying to find
a place for your loved one. If this sounds overwhelming,
that's because it is. I invite you to reach out
(11:24):
to Senior Care Consulting. We've been serving family since two
thousand and two. With our premium service, we do most
of the work for you. You'll spend just a few hours
of your time finding the best place available, and you
can trust us to be objective because we don't receive
reimbursement from any provider. We work for you. To learn more,
(11:46):
call Senior Care Consulting at nine three nine four five
twenty eight hundred nine nine four five twenty eight hundred,
a placement service with integrity at Seniorcare Consulting dot com.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Welcome back. You're listening to Senior Care Live on the
Senior Care Broadcasting Network. For more information, visit seniorcare live
dot com. Now back to the Senior Care Live question
of the week. Grief refers to emotions experienced after a
loved one dies. Does that stay true or false? And
the answer is false? The answer is false in doctor Amon,
(12:31):
why is that statement false?
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Yeah, it's false because while grief is experienced after a
person dies, it's also experienced for other losses in life,
including those not related to death. While there are emotional symptoms,
grief effects all aspects of your life, including cognition, behavior,
social interactions, spiritual beliefs, and physical health.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
All right, we're visiting today with David Wiley and doctor
Ramon from Kansas City Hospice in Palaty Care. You can
reach out to the great team at Casey Hospice at
eight one six three six three two six zero zero
or online at Kchospice dot org. And doctor Imon earlier,
you mentioned grief camps. You talked about that just a
(13:16):
little bit. What is grief camp and what does that
look like?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Yeah, grief camp is a supportive and healing space designed
specifically for children, families, and adults who have experienced the
death of a loved one. At its core, it's a
place where grieving kids get to be around others who
get it. Their comfort in not having to explain why
they're said or why certain days are harder than others.
(13:42):
Camp blends traditional fun like swimming, golf, tree climbing, laser
tag with intentional grief support activities like sharing pictures of
loved ones. Recently, actually we hosted Camp Aaron for seventy
and that had seventy three campers, forty eight children, twenty
five adults, and that's our largest camp ever. Campers enjoyed
(14:04):
all of the facilities we were at Great Wolf Lodge,
and people had really great things to say. So the
kids got said camp eron made them feel like their
grief matter to someone. One kiddo said, camp Erin helped
me come out of my shell and talk about my grief.
And one of our younger campers said camp Erin was amazing.
(14:26):
They were perfect. They didn't mess up anything.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
You know, and it's hard enough to deal with your grief,
but when you're a kid, how do you process that
this is beautiful? Really? It really is.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Yeah, So this is their place to be around others
who get what they're going through and are having similar
life experiences. Our caregivers also got to complete their own activities,
including nature weaving, painting, grief scrabble, meditation, and sound bath.
They learned more about communicating with and parenting children who
(14:58):
were grieving, how to deal with their own grief in
their adult only sessions. One of the caregivers said, painting
brought back great memories of my dad, and I learned
that it is okay to cry and that I am
not alone in my grief. So the goal is to
help kids and families learn to cope with their grief
through facilitated support activities and also have fun and let
(15:20):
them be kids with their peers who have similar experiences
with loss. We are also planning an adult only grief
retreat in October. Applications are open for that, and this
is for grieving adults who are seeking a more immersive
overnight experience.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
All right, you've shared a lot of information today. Where
can our audience go to stay up to date on
grief support services that will be provided through Kansas City
Hospice this fall and winter.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Yeah, they can visit our website at kight Kchospice dot
org slash grief for information on other services, or call
us at eight one six three six three twenty six hundred.
There are other resources about grief you can read on
our website, including our Journey's newsletter and ways to sign
(16:07):
up to receive more information. You can also call Solace
House to speak to someone, and please encourage anyone who
is having any immediate crisis to call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline at nine to eight.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
All right, doctor Mon, thank you so much for all
that fantastic information. And David doctrimond mentioned the Kansas City
Hospice grief support programming is available for families whose loved
one was served by your hospice program. It's part of
the Medicare hospice benefit, and that your community wide grief
support programming is available free of charge to anyone who's
(16:47):
experienced a loss, including sudden and unexpected loss. So how
are these extensive services funded and is there also an
insurance or reimbursement benefit for that or maybe another they're
source of funding.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
You know, it's a great question, Steve, and there's a
couple aspects of this to discuss. You know, Hospice grief support,
like doctor Mond said, is really part of the deal.
So when you have a loved one on hospice and
they die on our service, we help families for thirteen
months as part of that offering, and that's free. A
good percentage of our Kansas City Hospice Solace House Center
(17:22):
for Grief and Healing grief support programs described are one
hundred percent philanthropically supported. For example, our group sessions that
we offer in the spring and in the fall, which
support the entire family, are free to the community. We
also provide a support to individuals who are not ensured
using a sliding scale, and typically that ends up being
free to the participant. You know, these most likely are
(17:45):
folks who have experienced a sudden or tragic death. You know,
you either you know people or you may just have
to listen to the news to understand how prevalent tragedies
are and when they impact children often sometimes, you know,
we are able to extend our services into schools across
the metro And finally, we do have our licensed counseling
(18:05):
program that doctor Man mentioned called Solace House Counseling, and
those licensed therapists do accept insurance and Medicare and Medicaid
for reimbursement. For those without a means to pay, then
we're still able to help them and that's thanks to
our donors. So at the end of the day. It's
the generosity of individuals, businesses, volunteers, and foundations and other
(18:26):
grant partners who make this important work possible, and all
of the community supports this help. It helps us provide
on an annual basis, more than fifteen hundred different people
on an annual basis. So it's really our donors and
our grant partners that have stepped up to ensure that
we've been able to expand this capacity as our community's
(18:49):
needs have grown, and something especially significant during and since
the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
All the impact is just absolutely amazing, David, You think
people choose to give to programs like these?
Speaker 4 (19:03):
You know, grief is universally a human experience that all
of us have or will experience sometime, you know, with
the death of somebody that's close to us. Making a
financial gift in honor of a loved one who's died,
or in recognition of the impactful grief support services provided
that perhaps one of our specialists has helped you with
that can be a meaningful experience. It can help remember
(19:27):
and honor the legacy of a loved one. It empowers,
It's an empowering feeling to be able to pay it
forward to take care of others that when you've been
taken care of, and you know, we've had people that
actually have provided a legacy gift, like in their estate
plan in order to help us do this great work.
But estate plans are amazing, but every single dollar counts.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Absolutely, that's fantastic. If you want to reach out to
Kansas City Hospice and look into, you know, participating in
some of these programs, maybe making a donation and finding
out about all the fundraising activities. We're going to talk
about that here in just a moment, but here's the
phone number and in the contact information. Definitely reach out.
(20:11):
We've we have reached so many people through this broadcast
and they're like, you know, we heard about that. That
makes sense. I'm just retired and I'm bored to pieces.
I want to volunteer, or I have some money, I
want to make a donation. This sounds fantastic. Here's the
phone number eight one six three six three two six
zero zero eight one six three six three two six
(20:34):
zero zero or online at Kchospice dot org. We'll have
more with David and doctor Eymon coming up next.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. Have a question, visit Seniorcare Live dot com.
Stick around.
Speaker 5 (20:51):
We'll have more with Steve coming up next.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Hello, this is Steve Keeker, President of Senior Care Consulting.
I'm so excited to announce that we are expanding nationwide
by awarding Senior care Consulting franchises. We help our clients
find the right senior care community, including assistant living, memory care,
long term care, and continuing care retirement communities. We are
(21:22):
not another run of the mill, free referral service. We're
very different. We offer replacement service with integrity. Owning a
senior care consulting franchise offers many benefits. Our market is
not affected by the economy. Operate from your home office
and enjoy work life balance. Pour your passion into a
business you can be proud of. For more information about
(21:45):
owning a senior care consulting franchise, call eight three three
seven two two three seven two six eight three three
seven two two three seven two six, or visit Seniorcareconsulting
dot com. Welcome back. You're listening to Senior Care Live
(22:09):
on the Senior Care Broadcasting Network. For podcasts to the program,
visit Seniorcare Live dot com or wherever you get your podcasts.
All right, today we're visiting with David Wiley and doctor
Raymond from Kansas City Hospice in Pallady of Care at
eight one six three six three two six zero zero
online at Kchospice dot org. And David, if someone listening
(22:34):
today is interested in becoming a Kansas City Hospice Solace
House donor, what's the first step? What do they do?
Speaker 4 (22:42):
You know, Steve, it's a great question. If somebody wants
to support the Solace House or our CAC Hospice Grief Support,
or frankly any of our programs, you can make a
secure donation online at Kchospice dot org forward slash donation.
We have options for one time or recurring donations, or
if you're uncomfortable with online donations, you can certainly just
(23:05):
call us at our main number eight one six three
six three two six zero zero and we'd be happy
to help you. We also have a great event, our
signature fundraising event called Sunday Night Live. It's another powerful
way to support families served by Kansas City Hospice throughout
the year.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I love that one. That's so much fun. Tell us
more about Sunday Night Life.
Speaker 4 (23:27):
You know, Steve, I know that you love it and
it's always so fun to see you there, and I
hope everybody marks their calendar. You know, this is our
big event to come together. It's my favorite night of
the year.
Speaker 5 (23:37):
You know.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
We welcome individuals and businesses from the entire metro area
and actually some of our vendors from out of town
come in town to the KC Live block down, Power
and Light for Sunday Night Live. And our theme this
year is shine On. And it's just five to eight
on Sunday, October fifth. You don't have to worry about
missing the Chiefs game or cutting out early because they
(23:59):
don't even play till Monday night in Jacksonville.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
So well, thank the Lord.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
Yeah we lucked out.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Yeah, the timing was perfect on this one, you.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
Know, celebrating all the ways people around Kansas City show
up and shine on. You know, our friends, our team members,
people that we've lost who shine on in our memories.
We have so many champions and donors and supporters who
help us shine on. Every day. We're celebrating all of them.
So guests, we'll enjoy, you know, a unique fun filled
(24:28):
evening with food, drinks, games, raffle, prizes and more. And
if anybody's interested in purchasing tickets, you can do that
on our website also with a forward slash SNL, or
you could always call us and we have raffle tickets
and silent auction will be up on the website soon,
so you know, even if you can't come out to
(24:49):
Shine On, if you will with us in October, you
can still support the families in Kansas City. So I
appreciated a lot. All of the proceeds stay right here
in Kansas City to help us do our great work.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
And this is this is so unbelievably important because this
provides some much needed funding to help you go way
above and beyond what is what is required and they're
in Maybe we should talk about that next time. It's
it's unbelievable if you are a foodie. Okay, I'm a
little bit of a foodie. There is all kinds of
(25:22):
food and samples and everything down and there's so much
fun and and raffles everything. It is a fantastic time.
Sunday Night Live the premiere fundraising event for Kansas City Hospice.
All of the money stays in our community and help
Kansas City Hospice and Paalady of Care serve those in
(25:44):
our community. Eight one six three six three two six
zero zero. We're online at Kchospice dot org. Forward slash
s n L And David and doctor Ymon, thank you
so much for being here today. Keep up the fantastic work.
You're just You're awesome. I love you, Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
We appreciate you too.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
All Right, now we're going to shift gears and discuss
when to consider moving from your home to a senior
care community. The following thing should trigger the conversation. So
number one, when it is no longer safe to live
at home a red alert safety issue, Okay, leaving the
stovetop burners on. That's just about I think maybe the
(26:25):
most common one I've heard. Now we have a fire risk,
and I've heard of some near misses. Unplugged to think,
flip the breaker if it's gas. Usually there's a shut
off valve, wandering away and can't find your way back home.
Oh boy, this one's really common as well. I'm just
going to go out for a walk and all of
a sudden, it's things are just not looking quite right.
(26:46):
In a little confusing and you're like, oh boy, I'm
a little bit lost now. And again this is related
to having dementia, and God bless them. You get a
little bit confused. You may even go out for a drive,
which is really, I think a lot more scary. First
of all, you probably shouldn't be driving at that point,
and you drive away, and now the streets aren't looking
as familiar as they once did, and you're like, ah,
(27:09):
where am I? And you get lost. You may even
drive to another state, and that's why we have all
of these silver alerts popping up all over the place.
Now I need to find them. Usually it has a
happy ending. Unfortunately, sometimes it does not. That's a big,
big safety issue. Number three, experiencing malnutrition and dehydration because
(27:29):
they're not able to cook for themselves, or maybe they're
eating junk food all the time. They're not drinking, they're
not keeping their hydration up, especially here in the summer.
Unsanitary living conditions due to neglect or just the inability
to keep everything up. Injured at home, frequent falls, frequent hospitalizations.
It's pretty obvious this one flies under the radar, but
(27:51):
it's super important. A major safety issue not taking your
medications properly, maybe not taking them on time, maybe not
taking them at all. Okay, your skip a dose or
skipping a day, that's a huge issue. And then of
course the terrible ones which I just can't stand, elder
financial abuse or maybe even physical abuse, or emotional or
mental abuse. When it's no longer safe to live at home,
(28:14):
that absolutely has to trigger the conversation of considering moving
from home to a senior care community. Number two. I
would call this a really close to maybe even a one.
A when the caregiver's health and well being are in decline.
We're talking about your mental health, your emotional health, your
spiritual health, and of course your physical health. So when
(28:34):
you are a caregiver and you just pouring yourself into
this person that you love so much, your spouse, your parent,
whoever this person is, and I see this happen a
lot in elderly spouse caring for an elderly spouse, and
we have the heroic caregiver happening here. You place your
own needs second, Your own needs are placed on the
back burner, and you skip your own doctor's appointment and
(28:57):
dental appointments. You skip so events like the book club
with the ladies, the coffee and donuts with the guys
telling fishing stories in the donut shop on Friday morning.
You stop going to church, You just kind of back
out of everything, and you become isolated. And then the
stress starts just piling on and piling on, and you
(29:18):
never get a break. You never get a break from it,
and then you're just being crushed by the stress. I
can't tell you how many times I've seen or heard
about the caregiver passing away from the stress of it
all before the person they're caring for, And by allowing
(29:42):
that to happen, you have completely defeated the purpose. Now
you're not here to care for your loved one, this
person that you sacrificed everything for. You put all of
your own needs on the back burner. Now you're not
here to make sure they're getting good care and to
watch over them and to make sure that they're getting
everything that they need and deserve. Stress is a very
(30:03):
very powerful force. You can't let that happen. Oh no,
I've got it. I've got it. But if you can
clearly see with your own eyes that don't have it,
you may have to have an intervention. Don't let this
person suffer with their health and maybe possibly even pass
away before the person they're caring for. It's unnecessary and
(30:27):
it is avoidable. You may have to step in on
that one. Okay. Number three, when to consider moving from
your home to senior care community when the cost of
in home care becomes maybe just unaffordable. I'm a huge
fan of home care home care services, huge fan. But
and you could bring in home care support for you know,
(30:51):
four to six hours a day for a couple of
couple of days a week, two or three days, the
caregiver gets a full break. They get to go out
and have lunch with their friends, get their hair cut,
go to the doctor's office, just get a break, take
a deep breath and recharge and come back in. It's
unbelievably helpful for the caregiver and for the person receiving
(31:13):
the care. They get to visit with a different person.
And that's good too. This is a positive thing. But
when the need rises to that level of twenty four hours, okay,
I mean we're talking some big time expenses. We're talking
thirty five to forty dollars an hour. Do the math
on that. That's too expensive for a lot of folks.
If you had to pay for that for very long,
that should trigger the conversation of considering moving maybe to
(31:36):
assisted living. And it's instead of paying fifteen thousand, twenty
five thousand, thirty thousand dollars a month, maybe you could
spend seven thousand dollars a month to get twenty four
hour care in the assistant living level. Okay, And it's
not the same, it's not one on one, but it's
a cost effective alternative at some point, at some point,
the math just doesn't add up. And then, last but
not least, when the care you provide is just not enough,
(31:58):
why not consider your role from being the caregiver that
hands on care provider to the care manager, meaning let's
go out, let's find a great care provider, and then
you can stop being the caregiver and return to your
traditional role as the loving spouse, the loving son or daughter,
in my case, the loving grandson. Okay. If you have
(32:21):
any questions about any of this, if you need help
exploring your options at the facility level, give us a
call at Senior Care Consulting. We offer a free consultation
nine one three five twenty eight hundred or visit online
at Seniorcare Consulting dot com. Don't go way, I have
so much more for you right around the corner.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
You're listening to Senior Care Live on the Senior Care
Broadcasting Network. To contact Steve or a guest on his show,
this is Seniorcare Live dot com.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
We'll have more coming up.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
So you've been living independently at home, but now it's
not working out. It's time to begin searching for a
senior care community. But with hundreds of independent living, assisted living,
long term care, and memory care options, how are you
supposed to determine the best place for you. Hello? I'm
Steve Keeker, and this is exactly why I created my firm,
(33:22):
Senior Care Consulting. I help my own grandparents through this
difficult process, so I know how overwhelming this can be.
Our business model ensures credibility and objectivity. We work directly
for you, and we never receive reimbursement from any provider.
We've helped hundreds of family since two thousand and two,
(33:42):
and we can help you and your family as well.
Call today for a free consultation at nine one three
nine four five twenty eight hundred nine one three nine
four five twenty eight hundred, a placement service with integrity
at Seniorcareconsulting dot com. Welcome back. You're listening to Senior
(34:08):
Care Live on the Senior Care Broadcasting Network. Have a question,
visit seniorcare live dot com. All right, so we considered
moving from our home to senior care community. You listen
to your old pal Steve, and you're going to be proactive,
not reactive, isn't that right?
Speaker 6 (34:25):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Okay, So seriously, oh my gosh, don't put it off
until it becomes a crisis. You are going to be
so sorry that you didn't be a little more proactive
on that. Trust me on that, folks, Just trust me
on that. Okay. So, now you've made the decision to move,
what to determine before ever even thinking about conducting your search.
(34:51):
Don't do the old shotgun approach. Well there's this place
over here, and so and so mentioned this one, and
there's a new one that just popped up on the
way to work, and just go out. Just start looking
at places that you are wasting your time. You need
to know what you're looking for and then have a targeted,
focused list and then go out and see the places
that will actually meet your needs so you're not wasting time.
(35:12):
Let me put it in perspective. The average person spends
or maybe family could be one person fifty to one
hundred hours running around looking at all these places, trying
to do their homework. They're trying to do their best
to get it right. Fifty to one hundred hours. That's
(35:32):
why senior care consulting clients spend about four hours, and
they are all about it. They love it. It's a major,
major time saver because we do most of the work
for you. If you're doing this on your own, what
to determine before beginning your search, you need to know
what level of care you will need. Well, what he
means to level care level of care. Here's how I
(35:56):
look at it. It's related to your licensure, the licensure
of the provider. So if you provide hands on care,
you must be licensed in the state of wherever you're
providing that care, and then the licensure dictates what you
must provide and all of the parameters and limitations and
(36:18):
all the staffing, all the stuff. Okay, So levels of
care long term care, that's the medical model, that's the
highest level. That's the nursing home health center, skilled nursing,
wherever you want to call it. Long term care is
a level of care. It's the highest one. Then you
have assisted living that occupies a wide lane that can
help you minimally or fully with your bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting.
(36:41):
They offer some incontinent support to a point. They manage
your medications, They provide hydration snacks, all of that. There's
a full slate of activities for meaningful social engagement. Doctors
make house calls, actually come into the community, essentially making
a house call. There's transportation if you want to use
(37:02):
an outside doctor or go see a specialist. There's a
lot of support there. It's just not medical in nature
per se. Do you need the residential care level of care?
Do you need the home plus level of care? Intermediate
care facility IICF? Do you need that? You have to determine.
You have to figure out what you need and then
where you fit in that line and that list of
(37:24):
levels of care long term care, assisted living, residential care,
home plus, and intermediate care facility. I see, if all right,
number two, what type of care do you need? So
here's how I break it out. General care, just everyday
general care Do you need memory care that's a special
(37:46):
type of care for someone with cognitive impairment. There's a
lot that goes into that. You may not need it now,
you may need it later, you may need it now. Okay,
you have to determine all these things. Do you need
skilled nursing and rehab? Do you need mental health care
or hospice care or respite care? So we need to
know our level of care, and then the type of care,
(38:08):
and then the big elephant in the room, how are
we going to pay for this stuff? It's expensive, So
you have your payment methods, private pay that means you're
writing a check, You're using your own resources to pay
for your care. And then you have Medicare, you have
Medicaid long term care insurance, which I think the number
(38:29):
is about seven percent of those who will require long
term care actually has a long term care insurance policy.
We need to get that number way up. Are you
a veteran or the spouse the surviving spouse of a
deceased veteran? What're about the vaaid and attendance benefit? You
(38:49):
need to figure all of that out. Location parameters. We
all want to be as close as possible, so it's
convenient to go visit our loved one. The better question
is how far are you willing to drive to receive
the best care. That's the much better question than any
personal preferences and needs. So that's something very very specific.
(39:12):
You know, most of most of my clients don't have
something that specific. Once in a while we do, though,
So I had a gentleman recently, Steve mothers played piano.
She's played that piano for seventy years, a long time.
It's look, it's just part of her DNA, it's hardwired
into her. At this point, she cannot do without her piano.
(39:35):
Can you find a place that will allow us to
take her small piano and put it in her apartment?
She needed the assisted living level at that point. So
I had to make sure that the top options that
we're going to tour and gather information on for them
to consider would accept her piano. Most places did, some
(39:55):
places did not. Okay, another person saying, you know, my
my mother, if it has a beak on it, forget it.
Do not ever serve her foul right, she won't complain,
she won't eat a turkey sandwich or scrambled egg or whatever.
So and no one would ever know that. So you
(40:17):
have to speak up. So your level of care, your
type of care, your payment methods, location, personal preferences and needs.
Once you have that determined, then and then only should
you begin your search and go out and then find
the top places that check all of the boxes. Otherwise
(40:38):
I'm just telling you you are wasting your time and
that contributes to that fifty two one hundred hours. If
it sounds overwhelming, it is. If it sounds really complex,
like Steve, you just turn that into a great big
complex equation. And I was just gonna go look at
some places. Well, it's a complex equation because if you
(40:59):
want to do it right that it is a complex equation. Okay,
if you're like, all right, I'm out, I need some
help with that. If you want to reach out to
my firm, Senior Care Consulting, we help families and individuals
every single day through the search and selection process. The
first thing, guess what we do. The first thing, we
conduct a proprietary geriatric care assessment. We ask we have
(41:23):
a six page worksheet. We ask all of the questions
necessary to determine guess what the level of care you'll need,
the type of care you need, the payment methods, we talk,
We go through all the financials, location parameters, personal preferences
and needs, and that's our starting point. And then we
research the entire marketplace, not just a short list of
(41:44):
our buddies, Okay, we research the entire marketplace and determine
our top providers that check all the boxes that meet
our exact needs. Then we'll go out with you together,
and we will. We'll go out and we'll take a
tour of each place. I am a former nursing home
and assistant living administrator. I think I look at this differently.
(42:06):
I ask a lot of questions that most of my
clients would never know to ask, gather critical information. When
we're done, it only takes about three or four hours
and we're finished, and then I produce a report to
help you make an informed decision. If that's resonating with you,
if you're like, wait a minute, I got my hand up.
I need help. Nine one, three, nine, four, five, twenty
eight hundred or visit online at Seniorcare Consulting dot com.
(42:30):
We'll offer a free consultation. Let's talk about that. We
can definitely help, all right. I'm Steve Keeker, and I
wish you grace and peace. May God bless you and
your family on this day and always join me next
week right here on Senior Care Live.
Speaker 6 (42:50):
Does your business serve the elderly and their caregivers in
our area? There are hundreds of thousands of people either
receiving or providing senior care and they need to know
about you. A unique and successful radio program called Senior
Care Live is the perfect opportunity to let your target
audience know about your amazing products and services. Senior Care
(43:11):
Live is currently adding a limited number of partner sponsors,
and if you're aligned with their mission, they want to
talk to you. They're interested in partnering with hospital organizations,
physician groups, home care providers, estate planning and older law practices,
financial advisors, insurance companies, real estate brokers, home health agencies,
and other providers serving the elderly and their caregivers. Senior
(43:36):
Care Live has a limited number of partner sponsor opportunities,
so call now at nine one three nine four five
twenty eight hundred nine one three nine four five twenty
eight hundred or visit seniorcare live dot com seniorcare live
dot com.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Quid pro quo a Latin phrase that means an exchange
of goods or services where one transfer is contingent upon
the other. Here's an example. I'll recommend your senior care
community if you'll pay me a huge kickback from my referral.
The free referral services have a vested interest in you
choosing one of their business partners. That's how they make
(44:13):
their money. Does this paid recommendation sound objective or credible?
Of course not. I'm Steve Keeker with Senior Care Consulting.
I'm so proud to say we have never received a
single penny from any provider ever. We offer a placement
service with integrity for help finding the right senior care community,
without conflict of interest and without the quid pro quo
(44:37):
called nine one three nine four five twenty eight hundred
nine one three nine four five twenty eight hundred replacement
Service with integrity at Seniorcare Consulting dot com
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