The Agewyz Podcast

Jana Panarites
  • 5.0 (5)
  • PERSONAL JOURNALS

Author and (now former) caregiver Jana Panarites engages with unsung heroes — people caring for family members, friends and relatives amid the demands of their own lives — plus experts in the field of aging, and artists who use media to creatively address major health issues and challenge widespread assumptions about aging. Laugh, cry, share and know you're not alone. Note from Jana: I stopped producing this podcast in 2020, but am leaving them here because as we know, caregiving is evergreen. I hope you find comfort in these stories. My latest: https://www.janapanarites.com

  1. Dr. Pauline Boss on The Grief That Has No End

    04/09/2020

    Dr. Pauline Boss on The Grief That Has No End

    The Coronavirus pandemic has forced many residential care facilities to go on lockdown and implement “no visitor” policies.  As a result, family members with loved ones in care facilities are feeling a heightened sense of “ambiguous loss”—a term coined by pioneering educator and researcher Dr. Pauline Boss to describe a form of never-ending grief.  Common in caregivers of family members with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, this feeling of grief arises because the person with dementia is “there but not there.”  Another form of ambiguous loss was noted by Dr. Boss in the early 1970s, when she interviewed family members of pilots who were missing in action during the Vietnam War.  These family members were unable to “let go” of their loved ones because they did not know whether the pilot was dead or alive.  Dr. Boss elaborates on both forms of ambiguous loss and tells us how she has experienced it in her own life.  She offers suggestions for how to lower stress levels and increase our tolerance for ambiguity, for caregivers and non-caregivers alike who are now confronting new and confusing relationships, ruptured by dementia and social distancing. Note: this episode originally aired on May 30, 2019.    Explore the work of Dr. Pauline Boss: Ambiguous Loss Music: "Arashi" by Kakurenbo | CC BY NC | Free Music Archive

    39 min
  2. Nancy Picard: Caregiving in a Crisis

    03/26/2020

    Nancy Picard: Caregiving in a Crisis

    Like many adult children, psychologist Nancy Picard is determined to prevent her aging parents from contracting Covid-19.  But Nancy and her parents live in separate states.  So she's in daily communication with them, and has wired up their house with cameras placed at strategic locations - at foot level, to give her parents some privacy.  A returned Peace Corps volunteer who has supported people from age four to 94 as a clinician and researcher, Nancy also focuses on supporting people's needs for reminders through her health care startup, MemoryBeach.  As a psychologist and as a daughter who has cared for her elderly parents, Nancy understand the stresses of the moment and how everyday can feel incredibly long.  She's here to offer comfort and advice to caregivers, for surviving as individuals with their own needs, and as sons and daughters  tasked with filling the needs of family members and friends. Explore Nancy's startup: MemoryBeach

    1h 8m
  3. Eugenia Zukerman: Like Falling Through a Cloud

    03/12/2020

    Eugenia Zukerman: Like Falling Through a Cloud

    Renowned flutist Eugenia Zukerman has performed in concerts and recitals all over the world.  She was the artistic director of Colorado's Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival for 13 years, and the arts correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning for over 25 years.  And then in her early 70s, Eugenia was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  Instead of crawling into a corner, she picked up paper and pencil and started writing - in poetry.  She has no idea why she wrote in verse, but the words flowed and resulted in her vivid new memoir, “Like Falling Through a Cloud: A Lyrical Memoir of Coping with Forgetfulness, Confusion and a Dreaded Diagnosis.”  Eugenia tells us how she stays positive despite her "gnarly" disease and about how she and her husband Dick are making every moment in life count, whether on tour with "Like Falling Through a Cloud" or among the bears and deers in their upstate New York house.  Dick tells us about his experience of Eugenia's diagnosis, and she reads from "Like Falling Through a Cloud. "  Tune in for a tale of love and the incredible power of music. Eugenia's website: Like Falling Through a CloudFacebook page: Eugenia on FB

    36 min
  4. Jason Resendez: LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's

    02/27/2020

    Jason Resendez: LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's

    Growing up in Alice, Texas, Jason Resendez didn't have any experience with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.   But more recently dementia has started to become an issue in his family.  Now the issue has come full circle: as Executive Director of the LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's Network, all Jason thinks about are the changing demographics in the Alzheimer's community, and in our nation.  That's because the number of Latinos in the US over age 65 is set to triple by the year 2050, when the care and treatment of Latinos with Alzheimer's disease will be a critical health equity issue.  Jason tells us how LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's is coordinating Alzheimer's awareness and brain health promotion efforts in the Latino community, where individuals have unique barriers to the health care system, or issues around stigma and language access that other communities don't necessarily have. Connect: LatinosAgainstAlzheimer'sReport: Latinos & Alzheimer's Disease: New Numbers Behind the Crisis"Celebrating the Power of Memory with Disney's Pixar's Coco" (Jason Resendez, 10/30/19, Medium) Music:"Feels Like Fuzz in My Head" by Dlay | | CC BY NC ND | Free Music Archive"Tomoshibi" by Kakurenbo | | CC BY NC | Free Music Archive

    43 min
  5. Leslie Gray Streeter: Black Widow

    02/13/2020

    Leslie Gray Streeter: Black Widow

    Veteran writer Leslie Gray Streeter established a loyal readership through her Palm Beach Post column, "That Girl." Now a general entertainment columnist at the Post, her writing for the newspaper began in the early 2000s and eventually included mentions of Scott Zervitz, referred to in Leslie's column as The Gentleman Friend when she and Scott were dating, and The Mister after they married.  Baltimore natives who went to the same high school but didn't know each other well at the time, Leslie and Scott had re-met after 20 years and become soul mates for life. But tragedy struck in 2015, when 44-year-old Scott died of a heart attack and Leslie became a widow.  By her own admission, she was not cut out for the role.  Five years after Scott's death, Leslie shares her moving love story and twisty path through grief and loss toward healing in her new memoir, Black Widow: A Sad-Funny Journey Through Grief for People Who Normally Avoid Books with Words Like "Journey" in the Title.  On the show and in print, Leslie has a few things to say about grief.  Aging, too.   Buy Black Widow:  Amazon | Barnes and NobleLeslie's website: Leslie Gray StreeterColumns in the Palm Beach Post: PB Post

    46 min
  6. Medication Overload: Time For An Action Plan

    01/30/2020

    Medication Overload: Time For An Action Plan

    In the last two decades the number of people age 65 or older who are taking five or more medications has increased 300 percent. A problem that is much bigger than America’s opioid crisis, the scope and impact of over-prescribing in older adults is detailed in “Medication Overload: America’s Other Drug Problem,” a report co-authored by The Lown Institute’s Judith Garber, a Health Policy and Communications Fellow at Lown; and Shannon Brownlee, Senior VP at the Institute and author of the book, “Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer.” We talk with Shannon and Judith about what’s driving the practice of over-prescribing, solutions that have been effective in tackling the problem and what you can do to prevent adverse drug events. This episode airs on the heels of a newly-released report from Lown titled, “Eliminating Medication Overload: A National Action Plan.”  Note: this episode originally aired April 11, 2019. Original Report: Medication Overload: America’s Other Drug Problem Just released: “Eliminating Medication Overload: A National Action Plan” Lown Institute Action Plan Issue Briefs (quick takes):Reducing Pharmaceutical Industry InfluenceImplementing Prescription CheckupsImproving Information at the Point of CareRaising Awareness of Medication OverloadEducating and Training Health Professionals

    45 min
  7. VIP Care Management With Sonja Kobrin

    01/16/2020

    VIP Care Management With Sonja Kobrin

    Geriatric Care Manager Sonja Kobrin was in her twenties when she began caring for the grandparents who raised her. She had no help and was traumatized by the experience, but it informed her approach years later, when she cared for the biological father who had been absent in her childhood. This school of hard knocks training has influenced Sonja’s holistic and comprehensive approach to helping her clients at VIP Care Management, the Palm Beach County, Florida company she co-founded with her husband in 1993.  Tune in for real talk from a compassionate care manager who shares her insights and advice, and stories of families in crisis that may sound familiar. Explore the services of VIP Care ManagementSouth Florida Contact: 561-588-5151Toll free: 877-588-5158

    41 min
  8. Deirdre Fishel on her documentary film “Care”

    01/02/2020

    Deirdre Fishel on her documentary film “Care”

    Award-winning filmmaker Deirdre Fishel walked around in a state of rage during the making of her documentary film, “Care,” which delves into the world of paid care from the perspective of both workers and care recipients. Deirdre talks about the making of her film, and about how her vibrant but frail mother influenced her decision to make it. As we head into the 2020 presidential elections, “Care” is a must-see film for candidates—and a powerful tool for advocates.  Note: this episode originally aired June 8, 2017. We have an update at the end of this broadcast. Watch the trailer: Care Website for Deirdre's film: CareLearn more: Domestic Workers United Music: “Alya” by Dlay | CC BY NC ND | Free Music Archive Episode Art/Photo by Heidi Gutman

    50 min
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Ratings & Reviews

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About

Author and (now former) caregiver Jana Panarites engages with unsung heroes — people caring for family members, friends and relatives amid the demands of their own lives — plus experts in the field of aging, and artists who use media to creatively address major health issues and challenge widespread assumptions about aging. Laugh, cry, share and know you're not alone. Note from Jana: I stopped producing this podcast in 2020, but am leaving them here because as we know, caregiving is evergreen. I hope you find comfort in these stories. My latest: https://www.janapanarites.com

Information

  • Creator
    Jana Panarites
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2020
  • Episodes
    222
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jana Panarites
  • Show Website
    The Agewyz Podcast