Empowering Aging: Paula Muller, Ph.D, DSA-NC, CDC, CADDCT, CDP

Paula is helping Aging Adults Connect and Engage with their Loved Ones Far, Near, Simply, and Globally, while providing peace of mind to those who care for them.

She is an entrepreneur of innovative inter-generational communication platform, with extensive experience in scientific research and product development, in the areas of signal processing for medical applications and for audio coding, as well as with data security, web applications and telehealth products and services.

Empowering Aging: Zale Dowlen, JD, MBA, Kingdom Driven Estate & Retirement Planner.

Zale is passionate about helping people to live well and be remembered. He does this with holistic Estate and Retirement planning.

TN Law License: #026816; Accredited Veteran's Affairs Attorney

TN Life & Health License: #2486228

KY Life & Health License: #573946

GA Life & Health License: #3515141

ESTJ/6w5

www.zaledowlen.com

Empowering Aging with Tina Buchanan MSW, ALCM, Founder & CEO of Visionary Care Consultants: 5 Red Flags To Look For During The Holidays.

There is a defining moment, and a resulting “compelling story”, that brought her to where she is today –coaching people like you on exactly what to do to help older adults and their family members maximize and manage resources for their end of life planning. That defining moment in her life happened in late 2016. She comes from a very tight-knit family. They were always very close spending most holidays together especially Christmas. These extravagant gatherings were the doing of her grandmother and grandfather mostly. They always went above and beyond and made these times so memorable for all of the family. Her Grandfather and Grandmother fell ill a several years back and eventually signed onto hospice early 2017. In leading up to this moment, she watched them struggle endlessly. The Veterans Administration, the policies behind long term care benefits, the overwhelm of deciding if they wanted Advance Directives and of course the red tape. She stepped up and became their Care Coordinator in her mother’s sheer overwhelm. She was aggravated by the systems and all of the paperwork that came with the end of life planning.

When Tina realized the fragile nature of her grandparents’ condition, she knew she needed to provide this support to other family members out there that were struggling with the same issues. Before starting Visionary Care, she had been working in the field of end of life care in a corporate environment for about 10 years. She started her journey towards this field when she was in school as she pursued her degree in Social Work. They didn’t get to pick their internships and she always thought she didn’t want to work with the elderly. They say what you resist most is what you need the most. Right? This internship, which she struggled with wanting to accept, single-handily changed her life when she was placed in a skilled nursing home.

The very first patient that she was paired with was a Hospice patient “Mary”. She had no support system and no living relatives. They asked Tina to be her support system. I remember so clearly seeing her in a room alone, stuck in bed all day unable to sit or stand and Tina was the only human that she looked forward to seeing every day. She mentioned that she had nothing to offer Tina and sometimes there weren’t many conversations between them, but seeing the light that spilled over her face during their time together was even more heartbreaking. She needed to navigate these huge decisions alone. She felt tossed uncomplainingly aside and Tina was there to help guide through her last days. Mary and Tina saw each other for a few weeks every day, up until she passed. Tina was heartbroken and more importantly, forever changed. Mary didn’t realize that she had given Tina the most important lesson of her life. She didn’t know that she had changed her forever.

Empowering Aging with Melody Lynch, Founder & CEO of NorthShore Home Care, Gerontologist, End of Life Doula, CPMC. Melody will speak on "Coping With Illness And Building A Positive Care Relationship."

Melody has been working in the health care industry for the last 19 years and has had the opportunity to meet some amazing colleagues and patients who have touched her life forever. While on her journey she began to notice ways we can improve patient care and their overall experiences as well as their families. After working in memory care, mental health, long-term care, assisted living, physician offices, home care, completing an undergrad in health administration, completing rigorous studies with a director of operations at a major health organization, graduate school with a gerontology major along with MBA classes, she had a unique opportunity working with a community to identify a niche market. She began working on an idea that not only incorporated superior care, but also technology. Aging in place has become a major topic as the baby boomers enter this realm and as we continue to address the issue of dwindling Medicare dollars. Her career and education has and continues to be devoted to improving the lives of others.

How many families struggle every day with how they will be able to afford the costs of long-term care? Join national expert Chris Orestis, President of Retirement Genius as he covers a variety of funding options families can access at the time that care is needed:
- LTC-Life Settlements
- Reverse Mortgages
- VA Aid and Attendance
- Insurance and Annuities
- Senior Bridge Loans

Make sure you are able to help families and help your loved ones overcome their greatest challenge by putting these solutions in your tool-box!

Empowering Aging: Kimberly Whiter, Ed.D, DSA-NC, CCA, Creator of the Care Colloquium.
Kimberly is the CEO/Founder of Elder Care Solutions & Creator of The Care Colloquium. She's a bold entrepreneur making creative collaborations to thoughtfully address our nation's care crisis.

Trevor is thankful for his life, his faith and his country. He is fortunate to live in a exciting time of human history where he has the opportunity to reach his full capabilities. He does not want to squander that gift!

He owns The Lighten Group: Home health and hospice consultants focusing on PDGM readiness, licensing, accreditation and sales and marketing solutions.

He is also the Owner of Pacific Coast Home Care located in Simi Valley, California.