PODCAST · health
Eldercare Illuminated
by Torchlight
Torchlight’s Eldercare Illuminated empowers family caregivers as they overcome obstacles and navigate the complexities of caring for an ill or aging loved one. Tune in for conversations with top eldercare experts, practitioners, or experienced caregivers who can provide practical advice and hands-on tips designed to help you simplify your life while meeting your loved one’s needs. Want full access to Torchlight’s online caregiving platform, including personalized action plans, eGuides, and tools? Have your employer contact us! They can find our information at www.torchlight.care.
Episodes
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Ten Days with Dad: A Conversation with Mark Resnick
Mark Resnick’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014. Five years later, as the disease progressed and COVID began to shut down the country, Mark was plunged into the intimate world of caring for a loved one with a dementia diagnosis in the middle of a pandemic. Mark learned more about...
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Understanding Your Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a U.S. law that requires covered employers to provide employees with protected, unpaid leave for certain medical and family reasons. Yet, many Americans are unsure of the ways in which FMLA could make a significant difference in their ability to...
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How to Become a Badass Advocate for Your Seriously Ill Loved One
Are you caring for a seriously ill loved one? If so, perhaps there are moments when you feel overwhelmed or even powerless as you try to get (and give) your loved one the best possible care. In this episode, join Torchlight hosts Lenore Tracey and Stefanie Boucher for a conversation with Erin...
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12 Conversations: How To Talk to Almost Anyone About Long-Term Care Planning
People are encouraged to plan for retirement (Save money!) and dying (Make a will!). But many of us — maybe most of us — forget that there can be a long (and expensive) time in between. In this episode, host Lenore Tracey talks with author, humorist, and elder law attorney Cathy Sikorski. Cathy’s...
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A Conversation with Kate Washington, Author of Already Toast
If you’re looking for a book to create an engrossing TV series, Kate Washington’s Already Toast should be high on your list. Published in March 2021, the book chronicles Kate’s life as a caregiver after her husband is diagnosed with a rare cancer. Lenore Tracey, host of Eldercare Illuminated…
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Caregiving: Am I Really Cut Out for This?
In this episode, host Lenore Tracey and award-winning documentary producer Paula Sellars consider a question that caregivers don’t usually think about — What if I’m not willing, able, or happy to be a caregiver? And it’s obvious companion thought — But I have to do this anyway! Caregiving is an…
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Secrets to a Good Night's Sleep
Most people know that sleep is essential to good health. But what you might not know is that 60 to 80 percent of us aren’t getting nearly enough of it - not by a long shot. And that’s a big deal. Studies show that insufficient sleep can lead to poorer health outcomes and quality of life, an...
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Home Sharing: Creating Friendships, Support, and Resources
Many families today are struggling with uncertainty and threats to home and hearth. Financial instability is a reality for people who have had their work hours reduced or lost their jobs completely. In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, we’re exploring an idea that predates the country’s...
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Conversations with Working Caregivers: Amy Lyman
The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the lives of young and old alike since March. For caregivers who are juggling work, children, and aging or disabled loved ones, the disruptions have been relentless. We open our first episode of the Fall season of Eldercare Illuminated with a...
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The Coronavirus Scams Epidemic
As if the coronavirus pandemic were not bad enough, it has spawned another epidemic. Testing and treatment scams, product delivery scams, tax identity theft, and a multitude of new and creative ways to get people to divulge private information or click on sites that load malware, ransomware, and...
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Conversations: Exploring Loss and Grief
This podcast was recorded before the coronavirus pandemic. The need to understand the many faces of grief and how to treat each other kindly after a loved one dies is magnified under our current circumstances. Whether you are working remotely or on site, you, your family, and your co-workers may...
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Eldercare in the Time of Coronavirus: Social Distancing and Visiting Your Loved One
In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, Torchlight’s Eldercare Practice Leader, Lenore Tracey, answers questions about the limitations on visiting nursing homes and assisted living facilities as well as the importance of social distancing for caregivers and seniors during the coronavirus...
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Let There Be Music: The Power of Music in Caregiving
Are you currently hesitant or unable to visit your loved one due to the coronavirus pandemic? Is your loved one feeling more isolated than usual as a result of social distancing? If so, music may be able to help him or her fight loneliness and even boost the immune system! Mary Sue Wilkinson…
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Loving Mike: Caring for a Spouse with a Serious Illness
What do you do when your husband comes home with a surprise? He’s got cancer. Host Lenore Tracey opens Season Five of Eldercare Illuminated with a conversation about caring for a spouse with a serious illness. Life is going on with its usual ups and downs: kids’ ball games to cheer at, reports…
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Social Security is not calling!
Have you or your loved one gotten one (or more) phone calls from someone saying they are from Social Security? Join host Lenore Tracey and elder law attorney Cathy Sikorski to learn more about these scam calls and how to handle them. Need a concrete way to respond to this type of scam call?...
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Bringing Mom Home
In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, host Lenore Tracey talks about her own experience bringing her mother home to live with her toward the end of her Alzheimer’s journey. The decision to bring a family member home to live with you is a big one. It works for some families, and it doesn’t for...
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Won’t you be my neighbor? A Cross-generational Approach to Loneliness
Entrepreneurs Joy Zhang and Madeline Dangerfield-Cha observed the anxiety and stress caused by social isolation and loneliness on college campuses. Smartphones notwithstanding, many college students find themselves aliens in a new world when they begin campus life. At the other end of the arc of...
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Elder Law Attorney or Estate Attorney: Who’s Who
Join this episode of Eldercare Illuminated to learn what an elder law attorney or an estate attorney can do for you — and how to choose the right attorney for your situation. Host Lenore Tracey interviews elder law attorney Cathy Sikorski to get the inside scoop on the tools and documents these...
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Get Dollars and Sense Help with a Daily Money Manager
When handling the bills and the paperwork are just too much for your loved one and you are too busy or too far away, consider hiring a Daily Money Manager. Professional money managers are advocates who help people sort out bills, health insurance, magazine subscriptions, and more to create a…
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Meet Your New BFF: The Aging Life Care Manager
Host Lenore Tracey speaks with Rebecca Wild-Wesley to explore how aging life care managers (a.k.a. geriatric care managers) help families and individuals get the right services and the best services for their loved ones. Engaging a care manager can be as brief as a one-time needs assessment or a...
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Excellence in Dementia Caregiving with Teepa Snow
Enjoy this lively conversation with Teepa Snow and learn new ways to think about and work with a loved one with a dementia diagnosis. With the ability to "put your agenda in your back pocket," you can communicate with humor, flexibility, and respect. The result — more success and satisfaction in...
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Nursing Home & Assisted Living Contracts: Checking the Fine Print
Contracts may not be your favorite reading material. But if your loved one is moving to an Assisted Living Facility or a Nursing Home, you need to understand exactly what you are agreeing to. In this episode, Attorney Christine Boutin shares valuable insights about what these contracts typically...
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Conversations with Working Caregivers: Checking in with Alison
Join this episode of Eldercare Illuminated to hear how this working caregiver and her father are weathering the changes that the last few months have brought. Alison and her siblings were anticipating that driving was about to become a problem for their now 93-year-old father. This and other...
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Resolving Nursing Home Problems: Advocating for Your Loved One
In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, host Lenore Tracey speaks with attorney Eric Carlson about the problems that nursing home residents and their caregivers may face — and what to do about them. Nursing homes throughout the country are bound by federal laws that are designed to ensure a...
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Hidden Helpers: How Hospice Helps Patients and Families
Join this episode of Eldercare Illuminated to learn more about hospice — what is on offer for patients and their families. Not just for cancer patients, hospice services can make the end-of-life experience less scary and more comfortable for everyone involved. A hospice team typically includes...
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Aging in Place: Dr. Sarah Szanton and the CAPABLE Project
In Season 2, we talked about Aging in Place with the founder of HomesRenewed, which focused on ways to make the built environment work for people who wish to remain in their own homes or apartments and avoid moving into a facility if at all possible. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Sarah...
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Welcome to Season 3 of Eldercare Illuminated!
Welcome to Season 3 of Eldercare Illuminated, brought to you by Torchlight. Tune in for helpful tips, practical advice, and strategies for caregivers at all stages of helping an aging loved one. Listen to find out what's ahead in the coming months.
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Understanding Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-Term Care Insurance is the only insurance specifically designed to pay for long-term care - the type of care that many of us can expect to need if we reach old age. Yet not many people know about or understand this type of insurance. Eldercare Illuminated host Lenore Tracey spends time in…
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Hidden Helpers: Speech Therapy & Eldercare
Meet a speech therapist whose work with adults keeps the conversation going! In this episode, Eldercare Illuminated host, Lenore Tracey, meets with a speech and language pathologist. These professionals work with individuals whose medical issues have impaired their ability to speak or understand....
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Conversations with Working Caregivers
Join this episode of Eldercare Illuminated to hear how one working caregiver helped her father move from his home of 50+ years into a facility. Torchlight’s Eldercare Practice Leader spends time with a friend and colleague who is juggling parenting, career, and eldercare as a thoroughly modern...
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Aging in Place: A Conversation with Louis Tenenbaum
In this episode, Torchlight’s Eldercare Practice Leader, Lenore Tracey, discusses aging in place with Louis Tenenbaum. A 2014 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, Housing America’s Older Adults - Meeting the Needs of an Aging Population, reported that “the...
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Medicare Misconceptions: How to Advocate for Skilled Care
In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, host Lenore Tracey and elder law attorney Cathy Sikorski shed light on an enduring misunderstanding about Medicare coverage for skilled services. For years, Medicare recipients have been denied coverage for services, such as skilled nursing, physical...
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The Art of Slow Caregiving
When Deb Hallisey became her mother’s primary caregiver, her pace as a busy working daughter changed her relationship with her mom — and not for the better. Since then, Deb has slowed down and become a different type of caregiver. The benefit of doing so has accrued to both mother and daughter…
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How to Advocate for Your Loved One
In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, host Lenore Tracey speaks with elder law attorney and humorist Cathy Sikorski. Cathy has been advocating for her clients as well as her own family and friends for many years. Today she is sharing expert strategies and tips to help you get what you need…
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Welcome to Season 2 of Eldercare Illuminated!
Welcome to Season 2 of Eldercare Illuminated, brought to you by Torchlight. Tune in for helpful tips, practical advice, and strategies for caregivers at all stages of helping an aging loved one. Listen to find out what's ahead in the coming months.
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When Your Loved One's Aide is a No-Show
In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, host Lenore Tracey talks about what to do when your regularly scheduled aide doesn’t make it in for his or her shift. It happens to everyone at some point. The caregiver doesn’t show up, and the day’s schedule is out the window. It doesn’t matter if the...
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Dementia: Strategies for Successful Communication
In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, host Lenore Tracey speaks with social worker and geriatric care manager, Betsy Ross, about how best to communicate with a loved one who has dementia. Betsy shares her years of experience working with caregivers and their loved ones with a dementia...
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Welcome to the Death Cafe
What’s a Death Café? It’s part of a growing movement designed to help us squeamish Americans stop being so fearful of talking about death. Does your family discuss issues around death and dying? Have you and your loved ones expressed your wishes openly and honestly? Do you understand all of your...
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Planning for Care: Advice from an Elder Law Attorney
In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, Torchlight’s VP of Product, Attorney Carolyn Romano chats with Elder Law Attorney, Harry Margolis, about how planning for short- or long-term care needs can protect family assets. In addition to learning what to do today to begin preparing for a loved…
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Making Exercise Happen: Tips from a Physical Trainer
For family caregivers, the first items to fall off the to-do list are often the activities we do to take care of ourselves. Yet personal trainer June Melia has had many clients come to her afraid they will develop the same chronic conditions, aches, and pains that their loved one suffers through....
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Working with Siblings to Coordinate Care
Eldercare is a family affair. In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, we speak with Elizabeth Miller, host of happyhealthycaregiver.com. Elizabeth is an experienced caregiver, who became a certified caregiving consultant to support others. Whether you are the point person caring for an elderly...
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Conversations with a Home Health Aide
Family caregivers often work with side by side with paid caregivers who help their loved ones with personal care, mealtimes, and companionship. How can we make it easy for an aide to help? How do we get in the way? Sometimes this is an uneasy partnership, with the older adult’s welfare in both...
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Caregiver Strategies: When Eating Is a Challenge
Do you take care of someone who can’t eat or won’t eat? Eating is one of life’s pleasures, but sometimes illness gets in the way. For caregivers, this can be a major frustration. In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, Torchlight Eldercare Practice Leader, Lenore Tracey, chats with chef and...
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Where Should My Loved One Live?
In this episode of Eldercare Illuminated, experienced caregiver and Torchlight Eldercare Practice Leader, Lenore Tracey, discusses the different housing options available for older adults – including some you’ve probably never heard of before! Listen now to discover how each of these arrangements...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Torchlight’s Eldercare Illuminated empowers family caregivers as they overcome obstacles and navigate the complexities of caring for an ill or aging loved one. Tune in for conversations with top eldercare experts, practitioners, or experienced caregivers who can provide practical advice and hands-on tips designed to help you simplify your life while meeting your loved one’s needs.
Want full access to Torchlight’s online caregiving platform, including personalized action plans, eGuides, and tools? Have your employer contact us! They can find our information at www.torchlight.care.
HOSTED BY
Torchlight
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Eldercare Illuminated have?
Eldercare Illuminated currently has 45 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Eldercare Illuminated about?
Torchlight’s Eldercare Illuminated empowers family caregivers as they overcome obstacles and navigate the complexities of caring for an ill or aging loved one. Tune in for conversations with top eldercare experts, practitioners, or experienced caregivers who can provide practical advice and...
How often does Eldercare Illuminated release new episodes?
Eldercare Illuminated has 45 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Eldercare Illuminated?
You can listen to Eldercare Illuminated on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Eldercare Illuminated?
Eldercare Illuminated is created and hosted by Torchlight.
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