Warning Signs with Daphne Davis

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following podcast is provided by pinnacles senior placements LLC and answers for elders radio. And Welcome back to answers for elders everyone. I am here with a very special guest, Daphne Davis, from Pinnacle Senior placements here in greater puget sound, and we’re very excited to have you on the program Daphne. Well, good afternoon, Susan. You know, I am so excited about your company, mainly because I could go off on several diatribes about national eight hundred numbers that people call and they get into a call center and they’re concerned about their parent and all of a sudden, you know, they don’t really know if they’re doing the right thing, they don’t know the questions to ask, they don’t know what’s available here in the northwest and a company like you is just amazing. And so, Dephiti, tell us a little bit before we start, a little bit about what pinnacle senior placements do. Well, one of the things that I want to share with you that I about seventeen years of working hands on facetoface with families and Susan, I would totally agree with you that doing this over the phone or via email or a fax machine just isn’t as personal, because your loved one is very special and unique in their own rights through their whole life’s journey. And so part of what pinnacle, seem your placements, does is allow for the personal connection to really hear your story and your journey and that we have the time to hear the nuances of who your family member is right what’s going on with them? Why are you even having to consider making a change in their support system? Well, and you know I I lived that life, you know, take care of my mom and we agonized over that. You know, there’s a there’s a part of you that always, you know what, doesn’t want to interfere with your parent. And yet you know, you see those warning signs, and I’m glad we’re talking about that today. Of you know, where’s what’s the affirmation that a family can say, you know what, I need to pick up the phone and I need to call pinnacle, and this is why. So give what are some of the warning signs that you tend to see with seniors, Susan just like yourself. I too personally went through this journey with my father and helping him through the disease processes of Louis Body and Parkinson’s. And though I’ve had the professional experience and my family had heard, you know, some of the little nuances of my job for seventeen years, my siblings and my mom were like you’re still the daughter, Yep, and so when you have the daughter had or the family member had on, it’s very difficult to step away and kind of be professional. But what panicles senior placements does and what Daphnee and our staff does specifically for families, is to be that objective party, to be able to look into a family situation and say, you know, there’s some some signs that are going on, and some of those signs can be a sense of isolation. All of a sudden your loved one isn’t talking as much or the conversation isn’t flowing as freely, that their world is getting smaller. Right. Perhaps it’s that you’re starting to see some nervous survival mechanisms, maybe some laughter, maybe some things that are you know, Oh, Susanne, I got that covered and you come the next week to visit your love not on. It’s not done. And so there’s those those the ways that are loved ones and are elders, as their aging in place compensate for some shortcomings. And it might not always be cognitive. It might be just ability or desire, depression. And some of the things that I always look at is, all of a sudden, if mom’s really been good at paying your bills and all of a sudden the bills don’t get paid, yeah, or they get confused or double pay bills or you know, or just bathing, just, you know, every day. You know what we call Adl’s activity of daily living. If those things are starting to slip, then it’s probably time to intervene and get some professional care. That’s exactly right. Are you look at maybe what’s still lift in the refrigerator, you know, if you’ve been shopping for your parents and you still see the full dozen of eggs and there hasn’t been an egg in the morning or an egg solid sandwich or something like that, or or something some but like the peanut butter jar hasn’t been opened yet and it’s a brand new one a week ago. Those can be cues to you that things aren’t as, they’re not taken care of themselves. Yeah, that there’s something slipping and there’s kind of a three legged stool that I kind of draw to and that’s when you look at nutrition, hh Huh, hydration and the consistency of medication. And if any one of those three legged prongs of the stool are off balance, it will affect the other ones as well. Absolutely. And so if you really pay attention to again, that’s hydration. How much fluid are they taking in? Very important for our elders to be getting a lot of fluid, more than you and I get. The other thing that’s important again is the nutrition. If they don’t have enough calories to metabolize, you know, their medications or to be able to stand up and not be lightheaded, sure all of those things can spiral into something else that may happen inadvertently. And then, of course, the consistency of medications. Depending upon what the disease processes are that are going on for your loved one, they can be more critical than others, but certainly working with your doctors and making sure that the consistency, the timeliness of taking medications is happening, and if that’s starting to slip or you find a pill on the floor and go HMM, that one didn’t get taken. I got dropped instead of in riot right now. Those are little clues that you can start seeing with your your family members well. And I think the other thing which you’re mentioning is a lot of family members are busy and they don’t maybe notice the little things. So when you go to see your loved one or something like that, what are some things that you could if you don’t see your parent on a regular basis? What I mean right now they’re getting together for the holiday or, you know, for a family reunions or weddings or something like that before school starts. What are some things that you know you could say that could be really big signs? Good question, because, as an advisor that goes and works with family members, those are the things that I have to see all the time. Right so I walk in and I’m observing everything that’s going on around me. One of the things is just to be aware of what is their core strength, like, hmmm, how easily is it for them to stand up? Is it one or two or three attempts to get up from the dining room table at that family dinner? Are they furniture walking? But I can exactly the walls, you know, and and I don’t want to take anything away from our elders and the full lives that they’ve lived, but many times when you start looking at ambulation or strength issues, it’s very similar to that two and three year old that’s learning how to be real stable on their feet and so kind of get your mom’s eyes or your dad’s eyes on and be able to see. Am I feeling like I lean to lean forward? or Oh, I feel like I want to get up and help my mom because I’m not sure she’s steady, or you watch someone you know bend over to pick up something that they’ve dropped and you eamdately have this gut wrenching feeling like, Oh, I need to get that for them right. Those are indicators of some issues, of a fall risk perhaps, or balance issues, and those are things that you, as someone coming into visit, can just start to watch without meeting any gage of what was happening a month ago or a week ago. That’s just today. How is their core strength? And we are talking to Daphne Davis from Pinnacle Senior placements here in greater puget sound. Dasphone, where do you what’s your area like? What do you serve vid areas do you serve? So Pinnacle senior placements is strongest in King County, Pierce County and Thurston County, with a little bit of support and kit step as well, though. I will tell you, in the seventeen years of me doing this job, I’ve worked everywhere from Marysville to Olympia and anywhere, all the way out, yeah, about to Squim and out to North Bend. So I was helping a family in Philadelphia not too long ago. So they know that story. When the family presents themselves and they need help. That’s what pinnacle is all about. We’re here to help you through your journey, through your parents life story, and not to have it stop when he and here’s the big thing everyone. Guess what? The services a pinnacle senior placements are free. You guys don’t pay for anything. They get actually compensated by the referral of the actual communities or providers that they refer to so to utilize their expertise. There’s no downsize here, guys. It’s all upside and it’s important that we get a professional and somebody that can really identify professionally, like what Da definitely does. She works with families every single day. It’s something that’s really important for you to take a look at, say, you know, step aside. And one of the things definitely you really said, which really resonated with me, is the whole daughter thing. It’s the mother daughter dynamic. I know with my mom initially, when I was starting to take care of her, I was still the daughter and I still always was the daughter, and you know, you should always be the daughter of your parent. Absolutely, and to have somebody to rely on like pinnacle is so important. It’s really important now. So what kind of things do you help families with overall? Obviously homecare you help with. Is that correct? Absolutely. We function as an information post for our families and so I’m kind of like an Alaison between community services and the family, rather than you having to, in the old days, go to the yellow pages or now go to the Internet and just kind of throw a dart at something and say, well, I think I’ll call them, I like the look of their ad. I actually have done some betting for you. And so an in home care, that is certainly an area that is so appropriate for some people to have kind of a stepping stone. I will say, though, for for myself and for my company, one of our highest values is to have a care plan, a support plan that allows consistency of care and not multiple moves or adjustments to the Amen a man. That is the number one thing as such a stressful thing on a senior and you know, that’s something that with a with a professional like you, you’re going to take a look at that, that senior’s care plan, and say, you know, you’re going to take in all the factors, whether it’s a financial piece, whether it’s the health care plan, whether it’s the interests. Obviously we’re will factor in if you have interest less, say you love music and you want to perform music. There’s a lot of communities that are musical. If they’re going to that level, that’s right and I think that’s the key of understanding those types of little nuances about every community and every provider. That’s where you’re actually, you know, paying attention to the little details and that’s what helps and having a continuity of care where a journey is not interrupted and where the quality of life and dignity and, most importantly, the sense of safety is available from the get go and building the relationship of trust and the beauty is families get to stay families. That’s right. I don’t have to turn into the drill sergeant with your parent, and that is not good and it’s like what I always talk about. I always talk about the fact that you should never parent your parent and a lot of times when this transition comes up, your parent is going to be resistant, primarily because the dynamic between you and there’s that fear of the unknown. Somebody like Daphne can come in and help them understand what is to be exp you know what to expect. That’s probably one of my premier things. That I do is, is loosely said, kind of play the bad guy, but I have no vested interest, I have no right or sixty year relationship with this person and I can be unbiased and objective and really listening to what’s important to your parent, what’s important to you as a family, what’s going to make the whole transition as smooth as possible in listening to their heart. That’s what’s important. That that’s what’s important, Daphne. How do we reach to you can reach Daphne Davis, Mike Casper and our whole scinaff at eight hundred and fifty five, seven thirty four one thousand five hundred is one avenue of reaching out to us, but we also have a website at pinnacle senior placements with an Scom. Definitely thank you so much for being on the program and we look forward to having you again soon. Sounds great to me. The preceding podcast was provided by pinnacles senior placements LLC and answers for elders radio. To contact pinnacles senior placements, go to Pinnacle Senior Placementscom