caring for the caregiver Archives

Support for Caregivers, with Sue Ryan and Nancy Treaster, The Caregiver’s Journey

September 30, 2024 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Support for Caregivers, with Sue Ryan and Nancy Treaster, The Caregiver's Journey

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Support for Caregivers, with Sue Ryan and Nancy Treaster, The Caregiver’s Journey (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 805)

In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray welcomes Nancy Treaster and Sue Ryan from The Caregiver’s Journey. They discuss the significant challenges faced by caregivers of loved ones with dementia, emphasizing the emotional and practical aspects of caregiving. Sue and Nancy provide valuable insights and resources through their podcast and other platforms to support caregivers. They share their personal experiences and emphasize the importance of businesses recognizing and supporting caregiver employees. The conversation also touches on the need for grace, dignity, and effective communication in caregiving, as well as the broader impact on families and workplaces.

John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced by the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Nancy Treaster and Sue Ryan, The Caregiver’s Journey

Nancy Treaster has been caregiving for her husband for nine years. He has frontotemporal dementia (aphasia), the same type of dementia as Bruce Willis. Her father-in-law, whom she also takes care of, has had Alzheimer’s for five years. When she cracked the code on how to get her husband’s sleeping back on track early in his journey with dementia, Nancy Treaster felt like a “new normal” was finally within reach. The retired software industry veteran who spent her professional life managing strategy for a publicly traded, global company found herself in unfamiliar territory with her husband’s diagnosis, and her usual techniques for quickly changing course and overcoming obstacles weren’t working.

When she reconnected with her friend, veteran caregiver Sue Ryan, the two lamented the lack of candid and practical advice for the day-to-day of caregiving for people living with dementia, and then the two former colleagues did what they knew best—they created the solution. Through The Caregiver’s Journey™, Nancy brings her business expertise, caregiving experience, and acquired knowledge as a Certified Caregiving Advocate and Certified Caregiving Consultant. Nancy lives in Johns Creek, Georgia.

Sue Ryan and her husband were already several years into his journey with Alzheimer’s disease when the pandemic hit in 2020. Given her more than thirty years of experience taking care of loved ones, including her father and grandmother, who had dementia, she naively thought she was well-equipped for this new challenge. Then Covid-created lockdowns occurred and her carefully managed system of support collapsed, just as her husband’s Covid diagnosis arrived.

Already working as a coach and advocate since 2014, Sue dug deep into her wells of support and pulled through, learning and sharing as she went. It was her sharing that caught the attention of her peer in the technology world, Nancy Treaster.

Together, they committed to dedicating themselves and their significant acumen to the task of creating a candid and practical lifeline for caregivers. Thus, The Caregiver’s Journey was born. Sue is a change strategist, speaker, author and executive coach who empowers leaders and caregivers to maximize their potential. With more than 40 years of experience as a business professional while also navigating a variety of caregiving roles, she guides families to become confident, balanced, and supported on their caregiving journey.

She also guides businesses to navigate the global crisis of family caregiving in business so both the organization and their valued working caregivers thrive. Sue has authored/co-authored five bestsellers, created an award-winning online course for caregivers, and is a certified hospice volunteer and caregiver advocate. Sue is a professional speaker, including TEDx, DisruptHR, and Vistage International.

Sue lives in Naples, Fla., where she and her husband made their home until his passing in 2023.

Nancy Treaster LinkedIn | Sue Ryan LinkedIn

The Caregiver’s Journey

The Caregiver’s Journey is a comprehensive online platform dedicated to supporting and empowering caregivers through their challenging experiences. The website offers a wealth of resources tailored to meet the diverse needs of caregivers, including informative articles, practical tips, and expert advice on various aspects of caregiving.

Visitors can access a range of tools and guides designed to help manage the day-to-day responsibilities of caregiving, as well as find emotional support and self-care strategies. The platform also features a community forum where caregivers can connect with others facing similar situations, share experiences, and offer mutual support.

The Caregiver’s Journey podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other major podcast apps.

Additionally, The Caregiver’s Journey provides educational resources, webinars, and workshops to enhance caregiving skills and knowledge, ensuring that caregivers feel equipped and confident in their roles.

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Topics Discussed in this Episode

00:00 Introduction and Welcome to North Fulton Business Radio
01:36 Introducing the Caregiver’s Journey
02:25 The Scope of Caregiving in the U.S.
04:43 Personal Caregiving Stories
05:55 Challenges and Emotional Impact
09:17 Family Dynamics in Caregiving
15:27 Business and Caregiving
18:18 Flexibility for Family Caregivers
18:47 Leadership Advice for Supporting Caregivers
19:51 Team Dynamics and Support
22:00 Corporate and Small Business Strategies to Support Caregivers
23:17 Insights and Practical Tips from The Caregiver’s Journey Podcast
25:13 Detailed Caregiving Challenges
27:05 Engaging and Educational Episodes
29:38 Testimonials and Impact
32:45 Conclusion and Additional Resources

Renasant Bank supports North Fulton Business Radio

Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, with over $17 billion in assets and more than 180 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices throughout the region. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.

Renasant Bank supports the Georgia Alliance for Breast Cancer

Georgia Alliance for Breast Cancer (formerly It’s The Journey) is a registered 501c3 non-profit that strives to support Georgia’s breast cancer community by raising funds to support breast health and breast cancer programs throughout the state of Georgia.

GAABC’s mission is to engage with Georgia’s breast cancer community to increase access to care and reduce disparities in cancer outcomes.

Randi Passoff, a breast cancer survivor, founded GAABC in 2002. She created “the kinder and gentler breast cancer walk” based off the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. Instead of a 3-day walk of 60 miles over 3 days and sleeping in a tent, the Georgia 2-Day Walk covers 30 miles over 2 days, and participants sleep in a hotel. Most importantly, what’s raised in Georgia stays in Georgia.

Renasant Bank is a major supporter of GAABC, both in corporately donated funds and employee donations and participation in the walk.

To learn more about GAABC and the 2-Day Walk, go to the GAABC Website.

About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray

With over 800 shows and having featured over 1,200 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!

The show welcomes a wide variety of business, non-profit, and community leaders to get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession. There’s no discrimination based on company size, and there’s never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates business by sharing positive business stories that traditional media ignore. Some media leans left. Some media leans right. We lean business.

John Ray, Business RadioX - North Fulton, and Owner, Ray Business Advisors — **John Ray, Business RadioX – North Fulton, and Owner, Ray Business Advisors**

John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.

The studio address is 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.

John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.

John is the national bestselling author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.

Care for Caregivers of Special Needs Children, with Stacy Georges, Special Needs Respite

July 31, 2023 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Care for Caregivers of Special Needs Children, with Stacy Georges, Special Needs Respite

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North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 685)

Stacy Georges, Founder of Special Needs Respite, was the guest on this episode of North Fulton Business Radio discussing the care for caregivers that her nonprofit offers. She talked with host John Ray about the needs of caregivers who have children who need round-the-clock care. Stacy shared stories of families who have benefitted from having care so they can take a break, what happens when parents don’t get a break, adult special needs children, coming events, and more.

North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Special Needs Respite

Respite care is a form of short-term substitute care for children with special needs, be it mental, emotional, or physical, and is provided by someone other than parents or the usual 24/7 caretakers of the child. It gives parents a break from their exhausting job.

As a group, parents of special needs children are more stressed, and even more at risk for divorce, or worse. Also, according to ARCH National Respite network, three-fifths of family caregivers age 19-64 surveyed recently by the Commonwealth Fund reported fair or poor health, one or more chronic conditions, or a disability, compared with only one-third of non-caregivers.

Respite is something that parents of special needs children desperately need. Although programs in Georgia exist to help these parents, such as the NOW waiver, there is a very long waiting list and very little money available. Many families, as a result, don’t have funds available for such an essential service, putting a strain on them physically, emotionally, and financially.

Special Needs Respite helps bridge the existing funding gap that many parents have when trying to get childcare for their special needs child. They can provide funds that will pay qualified caregivers to care for these children when no other way to pay is available to the parents.

Website | LinkedIn | Facebook| Instagram

Stacy Georges, Founder, Special Needs Respite

Stacy Georges has been serving the disability community for 32 Years. The last 15 years have been focused on serving families here in Metro Atlanta. Even in a densely populated area such as Metro Atlanta, there are families isolated and decimated due to their children’s special needs. This results in loss if hope, and frequently ends in murder suicide. These are the families we can give hope.

Stacy holds a B. A. in Therapeutic Recreation from Purdue University. Becoming a parent was her real education with all its challenges, and especially interacting with parents who had even more challenges with children with special needs. Founder of YourRespite special needs child care, Stacy started Special Needs Respite to help meet the needs of even more parents of children living with special needs.

She is available for speaking engagements to churches and civic groups to further the community understanding of how to minister to Special Needs families.

Stacy and her husband, Tom, reside in Roswell, GA.

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

What is Respite?
Why is Respite important?
What happens when parents DON’T get Respite?
Shouldn’t my Taxes pay for this service?
How can we help?

North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.

Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.

Since 2000, Office Angels® has been restoring joy to the life of small business owners, enabling them to focus on what they do best. At the same time, we honor and support at-home experts who wish to continue working on an as-needed basis. Not a temp firm or a placement service, Office Angels matches a business owner’s support needs with Angels who have the talent and experience necessary to handle work that is essential to creating and maintaining a successful small business. Need help with administrative tasks, bookkeeping, marketing, presentations, workshops, speaking engagements, and more? Visit us at https://officeangels.us/.

Support at Every Turn E42

March 28, 2023 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Support at Every Turn E42

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Support at Every Turn E42

Are you looking for ways to support local businesses or get support as a small business? How about mindset or entrepreneurial tips? Or do you have someone you love living with Dementia?

If so, then check out this episode of Collaborative Connections Radio Show and Podcast with host, Kelly Lorenzen.

She was on-air with Michelle Zipser, owner of Cognitive Care and Counseling, Thomas Barr, Vice President of Business Development at Local First Arizona, and Carla Reeves, owner of Carla Reeves, LLC.

They gave amazing insights, resources, and tips for all of the above and more.

Cognitive Care and Counseling provides counseling, education, and consultations to care partners/caregivers and family members of people living with dementia as well as older adults going through a life transition. They help you care for yourself, so you can care for your loved one.

Michelle Zipser worked as a medical social worker in hospice and palliative care for the last 20 years and has been a caregiver herself.

She knows and understands that this caregiving journey can create many emotions that we could never anticipate.

Having a counselor who understands this can make all the difference. Michelle focuses on meeting her clients where they are at and understands that everyone is on their own journey.

Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn.

Founded in 2003, Local First Arizona is a nonprofit organization committed to community and economic development throughout Arizona. Our work connects people, locally-owned businesses, and communities for meaningful actions that build a diverse, inclusive and prosperous Arizona economy, including:

Educating consumers about the interconnectedness of the economy — how and where they spend matters.

Training small businesses to be more resilient, while helping our larger partners tell their story as champions of Arizona.

Creating programs and events that make it fun and easy to discover local businesses and buy local.

Targeting systems of inequity and building prosperity for all Arizonans by proactively identifying comprehensive solutions and taking action.

Thomas Barr is the Vice President of Business Development for Local First Arizona, the largest coalition of local businesses in North America. He advocates for a strong local business community that contributes to building vibrancy, equity, and prosperity across the state.

A proud Arizona native and graduate of Arizona State University, Thomas leads the business coalition of Local First Arizona by advocating for the economic and cultural benefits provided by building strong local economies.

Thomas steers the strategic direction of LFA’s major programs and initiatives as well as the engagement of over 3000 businesses across Arizona. As Vice President, Thomas guides the direction and execution of LFA’s major initiatives and key partnerships, as well as the collaboration of 40 staff implementing work in entrepreneurship programs, small business advocacy, environmental sustainability, urban development, local food systems, and community building.

He frequently speaks to groups locally and nationally, presenting the impact of Local First Arizona and the importance of local economy work in building prosperity.

Outside of Local First Arizona, Thomas contributes his time to many causes and organizations throughout the Valley including Young Nonprofit Professionals – Phoenix, Equality Arizona, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Heritage Square Foundation, Phoenix Legal Action Network, and ONE Community.

Additionally, he serves as a director on the board of the American Independent Business Alliance, the leading national organization supporting the growth and development of local business alliances across the country. Thomas is a 2018 Phoenix Magazine and 2021 Phoenix Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree, alumni of Arizona Leading for Change, and alumni of Valley Leadership Institute’s 40th cohort.

Most recently, Thomas has been appointed to the Small Business Advisory Council for the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.

Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn.

At Carla Reeves Coaching, they believe people are far closer than they realize to what they deeply desire, but trapped by an outdated way of thinking that prevents them from achieving their most important goals.

For over a decade they have been helping ambitious leaders identify their blind spots and overcome the internal barriers that keep them from taking their life to the next level.

For over a decade, ambitious leaders and hyper-achievers have been relying on Carla Reeves to call out their blind spots, challenge their thinking and expand their perspective.

She is known for her compassionate, direct, and truth-telling candor.

Carla believes in ditching the illusion that life will be great “someday” in the future and teaches leaders how to move out of survival and forward with intention, now.

She is the host of the podcast, Differently. Journaling changed her life and she’s now changing other people’s lives by coaching with a journal. It has proven to deepen and accelerate the impact for her clients.

She is the mother of two, was born and raised in a sleepy beach town in California and now lives in AZ on a small farm with cows, chickens and her beloved husband.

Connect with Carla on LinkedIn.

About Collaborative Connections

The purpose of Collaborative Connections Radio Show and Podcast is to build a connected community, one collaborative show at a time. We highlight local non-profits, associations, small and family-owned businesses.

By bringing 4 like-minded people together for an hour of in-depth conversation, our hope is that they connect and collaborate in life and business in the future.

About Our Sponsor

KLM is a business development firm helping entrepreneurs, small and family-owned businesses start, grow and scale through consulting, marketing and project management. Combining those three things has been a trifecta, or triple advantage to business owners.

Entrepreneurs & small business owners come to KLM for support in all areas of business. If you need to duplicate yourself in any area of your business, we can help. If we don’t do exactly what you need, we know someone who can.

Business owners can continue to do what they love while having the support they need when they need it, with the help of KLM. We help you figure out what needs to get done AND DO IT FOR YOU!

About Your Host

Kelly Lorenzen, CEO of KLM, is an award-winning entrepreneur with over 15 years of business-ownership experience. She is also a certified project management professional.