PODCAST · health
tendercare
by Chris Punsalan
a show about building tendercare
Episodes
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The Children's Book Making Caregivers Feel Less Alone
The River of Caregiving: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711679/the-river-of-caregiving-by-jocelyn-chung-illustrated-by-sarah-gonzales/ What does care look like when nobody has the words for it? That's what this episode is about, through a new children's book called The River of...
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How to Get Your Parents Talking About Money and Care
Most families avoid this conversation until a crisis forces it. By then, the choices are already gone. In this episode, Shauna, Founder and CEO of tendercare, sits down with Dan Henderson (Assisted Living Locators) and Zahya Beall (Damefender Financial Partners) to talk about why the money...
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The Government Said We're The Blueprint to Elder Care
See if you're eligible for the GUIDE program: https://trytendercare.com/GUIDE Most families navigating elder care feel like they're figuring it out alone. No roadmap, no one to call, no idea what resources even exist. That's the problem tendercare was built to solve. This week, Shauna and Chris...
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Why Does Helping Caregivers Sound Too Good to Be True?
Check eligibility for the GUIDE program: https://trytendercare.com/GUIDE Millions of families are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia at home and most of them have never heard of GUIDE, a Medicare program that covers up to $2,500 a year in respite care, a 24/7 care navigator, and...
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This Is What Changing Elder Care Looks Like
See if you qualify for the GUIDE program: https://trytendercare.com/guide Most people who try to fix something broken get told to be realistic. Shauna Sweeney, CEO and Founder of tendercare, heard a version of that. Someone she respected called what she was building "really noble" and said it in…
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Caring for a Parent with Alzheimer's Alone and Still Showing Up
Most Alzheimer's caregivers don't talk about the dark moments, resentment and grief that starts before the person is even gone. The feeling of watching your peers move forward while you stay in the same place year after year. Jessica Guthrie has been the sole caregiver for her mother Constance…
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What Dementia Caregivers Get Wrong About TV | Allyson Schrier (Founder of ZinniaTV)
Most dementia caregivers never think twice about turning on the TV. It seems harmless and helpful. Allyson Schrier was caring for her husband after he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at 47. She noticed that regular TV wasn't calming him down, it was making things worse. The fast…
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How One Caregiver Turned Her Worst Year Into a Company
Get a free emergency card: https://go.trytendercare.com/youtube When Shauna Sweeney's father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she was crowding into empty conference rooms at work to talk him off a ledge between meetings while trying to look like everything was fine. She was an unpaid family...
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The Part of Caregiving Nobody Talks About at Work
Get a free emergency card: https://go.trytendercare.com/youtube Most caregivers don't hide what they're going through because they want to. They hide it because nobody ever built a playbook for what you're allowed to say. And in that uncertainty, silence becomes the default. Shauna Sweeney, CEO…
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Caregiving for a Parent While Raising Kids (You're Not Alone)
Get a free emergency card: https://go.trytendercare.com/youtube Nobody tells you what happens after the diagnosis. There is no plan waiting for you on the other side of the doctor's office. There is no roadmap for what comes next when you are suddenly caregiving for an aging parent, raising young...
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How One Designer Is Giving Caregivers Their Time Back
See if you qualify for up to $2500 in respite care through the GUIDE program: https://trytendercare.com/GUIDE What does it mean to design something people don't want to use but desperately need? In this episode, Chris Punsalan sits down with Lindsey Klavitter, Lead Designer at tendercare, to talk...
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Why Caregiving Will Never Be Replaced by AI
See if you qualify for the GUIDE program: https://trytendercare.com/GUIDE Millions of professionals are navigating two demanding roles at the same time: building careers while caring for family. In this episode, tendercare founder Shauna Sweeney pulls back the curtain on what that reality…
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Why the Best Engineers Choose Mission Over Money
Find Help for your caregiving situation: https://go.trytendercare.com/yt What does it take to build technology for families who are falling apart? In this episode, Chris sits down with Santiago Minian, Lead Engineer at tendercare, to talk about what it actually means to build software for people…
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Navigating Aging Parents While Building Your Career
What happens when you are building a company while also caring for an aging parent? In this episode, Shauna Sweeney and Chris Punsalan answer listener questions about leadership, guilt, grief, financial decision making, and why caregiving inevitably shapes the way we show up at work. Caregiving...
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Rebuilding Trust in the Aging Care System
This episode is about what it really takes to build trust in a system that was never designed for family caregivers. Shauna and Chris reflect on stepping onto the New York Stock Exchange stage, launching Find Help, and the responsibility of promising families a care plan within 24 hours. Beneath...
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Designing a More Human Approach to Caregiving
This week’s conversation is about conviction. Shauna and Chris reflect on a pivotal board meeting, the public launch of Find Help, and what it really means to build something for families navigating caregiving in real time. Beneath the product updates is a deeper tension many working caregivers...
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How People Actually Get Help With Caregiving
This week on the tendercare podcast, we’re talking about why we built Find Help and what actually happens when families need support and don’t know where to turn.We hear it all the time: “My parent is getThis week on the tendercare podcast, we’re sharing why we built Find Help and what actually...
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Building a Company While Caring for Aging Parents
Caregiving doesn’t happen in isolation. It unfolds alongside careers, parenting, relationships, and life’s biggest responsibilities. In this episode, we talk about what it means to keep showing up as a caregiver even when everything else feels overwhelming.Shauna reflects on caring for aging...
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The Biggest Legal Mistakes Families Make With Aging Parents
Most people find conversations like this after life throws them into a moment they weren’t prepared for. A diagnosis, a fall, a sudden hospital discharge, or the realization that a parent can no longer manage alone. Suddenly the questions hit all at once. What do we do next? Who makes decisions?...
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What No One Tells you Before Your Parent Needs Care
Download our free app here: https://go.trytendercare.com/youtube Kevin is the owner of Best of Care, a home care organization that supports thousands of families across Massachusetts every week. But what makes this conversation special is not just the scale of what his company does. It's the way...
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The Biggest Mistakes Families Make When Moving a Parent
Most people who click on a conversation like this are navigating a decision they never imagined having to make.A parent is starting to decline. The house they’ve lived in for 30, 40, even 50 years suddenly feels unsafe.Your family is juggling emotions, logistics, guilt, grief, and the fear of...
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What Families Misunderstand About Dementia Care
What do you say and what do you not say when you walk into a room to visit someone with dementia? In this episode, Chris sits down with Adria Thompson, a speech-language pathologist, professor, and dementia educator known for making families feel understood while teaching dementia care in a way...
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What Does Being a “Good” Caregiver Mean?
What happens when the holidays feel less like family time and more like survival mode for a sandwich caregiver? In this episode, Chris sits down with tendercare CEO and founder Shauna Sweeney to talk honestly about juggling kids, caregiving, and the emotional weight of Alzheimer’s and dementia...
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Caregiving Isn’t Meant to Be Done Alone
In this deeply personal conversation, award-winning journalist Lisa Ling opens up about more than a decade of living in the sandwich generation — caring for her father through dementia, supporting her aging mother and mother-in-law, while raising young children and building a demanding career.…
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Understanding the End of Life: A Hospice Nurse’s Guide for Families
Hospice Nurse Julie has spent nearly a decade at the bedside of people in their final days. In this episode, she explains what actually happens near the end of life, why the body changes the way it does, and how families can find comfort in a moment that feels overwhelming. We talk about the…
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THIS is How You LEAD When Everyone Needs You
This episode is a candid look at what it really takes to lead when everyone needs you. Chris Punsalan sits down with tendercare founder and CEO Shauna Sweeney for an honest conversation about carrying a mission, raising young kids, building a once-in-a-lifetime team, and staying steady under the...
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What EMTs Check First When They Arrive (Most Families Aren’t Ready)
When 911 is called, first responders have about 10 minutes on scene to assess, stabilize, and transport. In that window, wrong or outdated information can be as dangerous as no information at all. In this interview, a veteran EMT, Laurie Pensiero, shares what actually happens on scene, why the…
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Bruce Willis’ Dementia Was Mistaken for Marriage Problems
When Bruce Willis’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, opened up about his frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis, she revealed some of the most common and painful truths of caregiving. Families often mistake early signs for personality changes, walk out of a diagnosis with no clear plan, and carry the...
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The Nurse Who Guides Families Through Final Days (Rare to Find)
Most families don’t realize that peaceful, dignified end-of-life care at home is even possible.In this conversation, we sit down with nurse practitioner Diane Pagan, who has spent nearly three decades caring for older adults, many in their 90s, in their final days of life. Diane shares what...
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One Mistake That Can Leave Your Mom ALONE in the ER
One mistake in the ER can leave your mom completely alone. No ID, no medical records, no emergency contacts. It happens every single day, and most families don’t realize how unprepared they are until it’s too late. In this podcast, Chris and Shauna share a real story from the ER where an elderly...
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The #1 Reason Caregivers Burn Out (And How to Fix It)
Most caregivers won’t say it out loud, but the real reason they burn out isn’t the hands-on care. It’s being the messenger. Sharing the same painful update five different times. Repeating bad news until their voice is gone. Managing endless email threads, documents, and accounts that no one else...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does tendercare have?
tendercare currently has 31 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is tendercare about?
a show about building tendercare
How often does tendercare release new episodes?
tendercare has 31 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to tendercare?
You can listen to tendercare 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 tendercare?
tendercare is created and hosted by Chris Punsalan.
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