Specifically for Seniors - A New Direction

Our guest on specificallyfor Seniors this week, MT Connolly unfortunately had to cancel her podcast at the last minute but MT wIll be on later in the year. MT Connolly is the architect of the federal Elder Justice Act, founder of the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative, a MacArthur “genius” grant awardee, and author of the 2023 book, The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life But we thought it would be fun to revisit a very early podcast from March, 2022 with comedian Robert Klein. This podcast was originally recorded and played only in audio but we found the recording and will rerun it for the first time with the original video We all know Robert Klein from hir more than 80 appearances on the Johnny Carson Show, and his more than 79 film and TV credits. He hosted Saturday Night Live twice and was in the original Cheeseburger Sketch with John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd. Robert was the frst comedian to have ab HBO SPecal and went on to star in 8 more. He's been nominated for 2 Emmy's, 3 Grammys and 1 Tony. His most recent film, Befre I Go , is a sometimes funny, but always moving experience. You will get to know Robert as a person as he and I talk about his career, medicine and dentistry, Johnny Carson, SNL, his family, quitting smoking, politics, health and even the picture on the wall behind him..

One of the most common problems that older adults have is hearing loss and the inability to hear conversations clearly in a group setting especially when there is a lot of background noise even when they are wearing their hearing aids So we asked Brian Taylor, AuD, the senior director of audiology for Signia to come on Specially for Seniors to talk about the problem and the solution.Brian is the editor of Audiology Practices, a quarterly publication of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology, and an adjunct instructor at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Taylor has been an American Academy of Audiology member since 1991. Brian and I discuss the social implications of hearing loss, diagnosis and tyes of hearing loss and a new type of hearing aid by Signia.

This podcast is a must listen for both you and your family's well-being. The stories that Diane Dimond tells about senior guardianship can happen to anyone. Journalist Diane Dimond and I discuss the problems that can occur what happens when a system designed to protect goes horribly wrong. Using stories gleaned from years of research, Diane illustrates how unscrupulous guardians can drain resources designed to allow those incapacitated by mental and physical disability to live comfortable lives and robs family of their inheritance. We’re Here to Help, When Guardianship Goes Wrong is must reading for families who have become caregivers. Diane Dimond has enjoyed an award winning career in radio and television news.She is the recipient of theAmerican Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award. Perhaps you know her from her coverage of some of the nation's biggest stories - including the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, the Michael Jackson case, the O.J. Simpson Murder Case and the Bush-Gore election recount in Florida- in a career that has included NPR, CNBC, Court TV, MSNBC and the "Today" show.

Are you looking for ways to improve your brain health and cognition? Look no further than the latest episode of "Specifically for Seniors" podcast, where Dr. Jennifer Brinckerhoff and Jodi Bornstein discuss the link between quality sleep and brain function. From the importance of deep sleep to tips for improving sleep habits, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to boost their brainpower.  Jennifer Brinckerhoff, M.D. is medical director at Orchard Cove's Wellness Center. Dr. Brinckerhoff received medical degree from the University of Virginia School Of Medicine AND completed her residency in internal medicine with a primary care focus and a fellowship in geriatrics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Brinckerhoff is certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine with a certificate of added qualifications in geriatrics. Jodi Bornstein is an Occupational Therapist with Hebrew Senior Life’s Therapy House Calls program. Jodi has published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy and for the last 6 years has been a guest faculty member at the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Institute of Health Professions. 

Courtney Hogenson, is a Registered Nurse, Advanced Legal Nurse Consultant, Patient Advocate and Life Care Manager with more than ten years of experience in elder care and healthcare worker empowerment. She is also the founder of Call-Light, an innovative healthcare platform that enables patients and nurses to directly negotiate private in-home care engagements anytime, anyplace. In our discussion, Courtney and I tackle the difficult problems involved in elder care including advocacy for hospitalized patients, home care beyond what a family member caregiver or aide can provide and the costs involved. We talk about Courtney's company Call-Light (www.call-light.com) and how to find nursing home care wherever it is needed. Contact: Web Site: https://www.call-light.com Phone: 1-800-476-6523 Patient Advocacy: http://www.aginglifecare.org Contest Information: Text Number : (781) 613-0393 Contest Rules: https://www.specificallyforseniors.com/p/contest-rules/ Your Story Link: https://www.specificallyforseniors.com/p/your-story/

Priscilla Long is a Seattle based writer of science, poetry, creative non-fiction, fiction and history and a longtime independent teacher of writing. Her awards include a National Magazine Award, ten of her essays have been honored as “notable” in various editions of the Best American Essays. She wrote a science column for The American Scholar online. Priscilla has an MFA from the University of Washington and grew up on a dairy farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, USA. Priscila's book, Dancing with the Muse in Old Age, is about thriving in old age. It reflects the new ways of looking at old age as a potentially dynamic, happy, and productictive time. Priscilla and I chat about ageism and creativity and her concept that old age is a time to begin creative work. We talk about "models" - people who in their later years were creative and productive. We consider the meaning of the word "retirement" and share our thoughts on whether that word should not be used any longer. We talk about the advantages and challenges to being an oder creator and her feeling about how we should shape a new sort of old age.

Dr. Robert Krim is a leading expert on the factors that have driven and continue to drive Boston (and Massachusetts) to be the most innovative city in the US.. He Co-authored Boston Made: From Revolution to Robotics: Innovations that Changed the World. His revelations about Boston have been made into a permanent exhibit at Boston’s Logan Airport Terminal C - From Massachusetts to the World: Four Centuries of Innovation which draws millions of visitors each year. Most recently he co-founded the Innovation Trail a 2- hour guided tour through Kendall Sq and Downtown Boston of 21 sites of innovations which originated here and changed the nation or the world. Boston Magazine awarded the Trail tour as “the Best Walking Trail” In Boston in its Best of Boston July ’23 special edition. Bob taught for a decade at Clark University and became a tenured professor at Framingham State University. Now, a semi-retired professor at Framingham State, He teaches Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and founded the “co-working” Entrepreneur Innovation Center. Bob is the author of Boston Made: From Revolution to Robots: Innovation That Have Changed the World. He headed up a 20+ year long study of moree than 450 inovations that originated in Boston and changed the nation and the world. He worked with hindreds of organizations, universities and companies to tell the story. Please take a moment to take this brief survey, submit the results to https://www.specificallyforseniors.com/contact. Thank you. Question 1: Would you like to see more presentations like this one? Question 2: Would you be interested in watching and listening to a live, streaming podcast in which you couuld ask questions of the guest while the podcast was in progress? Question 3: Would you be interested in participating in a podcast club in which participants would watch a podcast and then discuss?

"Best If Used By" is a new play about aging and ageism inspired by, and performed by, 2 senior-citizen actors beloved on the North Shore. Written by North Shore writer/actor Doug Brendel (DougBrendel.com) the world premier is presented by Firehouse Center for the Arts and Ipswich Art Association with performances October 12-15,2023 at Firehouse, Newburyport. We talked with the author, Doug Brendel and director Kristina Grundmann as well as the two actors in the play Rebecca Axelrod and Barbara Bourgeois who shared their views on the play, their lives and presented a brief sketch from the show.

This is the fourth episode in Specifically for Seniors podcasts in conjunction with Hebrew Senior Life and Orchard Cove's kseries on cognitive fitness, In the first episode we spoke with Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone on Brain Health and Cognitive Fitness. In the second episode of the series, we reviewed the relationship of physical exercise and brain health, in the third we discussed challenging your brain and learning new things. John Ralston has been the Director of Culinary Services at Orchard Cove Senior Living Community in Canton Massachusetts for 14 years. He previously held similar positions with Hilton and Marriott Hotels. Tina Reilly is the Clinical Nutrition Manager at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center. Previous to this position, Tina was the Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Kindred Hospital, Boston. Her experience includes being a dietician at several Boston hospitals, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Tina has a B.S. in Clinical Dietetics. Link to Mind Diet Component Servings and Scoring: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KY0qeZFyxgPypQFJGjbl4jLd2M2JGnF3/view?usp=share_link

Alexander Keyssar is the Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy. An historian by training, he has specialized in the exploration of historical problems that have contemporary policy implications. His book, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States (2000), was named the best book in U.S. history by both the American Historical Association and the Historical Society; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. A significantly revised and updated edition of The Right to Vote was published in 2009.  Prof. Keyssar chaired the Social Science Research Council's National Research Commission on Voting and Elections, and he writes frequently for the popular press about American politics and history. Keyssar's latest book, entitled Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? (2020), is published by Harvard University Press. problem for President Biden than Donald Trump,