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Speaker 1: Personal Life.

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Speaker 2: With Dames Duelsman.

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Speaker 3: It's the start of a new series and I'm very

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Speaker 3: ready for you guys to hear these episodes. Remy and

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Speaker 3: I have been volunteering as a pet therapy team at

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Speaker 3: Apes Garden for several years now. It's a senior living

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Speaker 3: community and they have memory care support and we've been

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Speaker 3: part of this community for so long that it's become

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Speaker 3: really part of our routine of life. And this week

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Speaker 3: I get to bring on some of the incredible employees

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Speaker 3: who make a senior living community like Abes Garden actually

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Speaker 3: work and function every hour of every day. So joining

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Speaker 3: this week is Mallory Grimes, the manager of Community Programs,

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Speaker 3: Chris Cowello, who is the chief operating officer, and Valerie Snyder,

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Speaker 3: the life Engagement manager, and those three are going to

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Speaker 3: share what their jobs mean and how they got into

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Speaker 3: to senior living community work and why it's necessary for

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Speaker 3: people to get involved. So let's do this. I'm joined

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Speaker 3: by Mallory who has been working at Abess Garden for

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Speaker 3: a long time, and we're showing a different side of

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Speaker 3: the senior living community and I'm really excited for you

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Speaker 3: guys to hear this. Mallori how are you.

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Speaker 1: I'm good, how are you good?

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Speaker 3: Thank you for being here, of course, So tell everyone

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Speaker 3: how long you've been working in this field and kind

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Speaker 3: of how you got into it.

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Speaker 1: Your story. Yeah, So I've been working at Abes Garden

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Speaker 1: for eight years. It was really my.

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Speaker 4: First job out of college.

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Speaker 1: I've been here since I graduated. But I grew up

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Speaker 1: really close with my grandparents. I was lucky enough to

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Speaker 1: spend time with them on the weekends, get dinner during

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Speaker 1: the week They'd come to all my games, very supportive,

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Speaker 1: and I would even hang out with their friends as

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Speaker 1: well from church. They all watched me grow up really

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Speaker 1: comfortable with this population, but I didn't know if I

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Speaker 1: could handle it emotionally, and my grandpa and I were

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Speaker 1: especially close, and he died while I was in college

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Speaker 1: pretty unexpectedly, But I ended up choosing social work. I

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Speaker 1: knew I wanted to help people, but wasn't sure if

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Speaker 1: I could handle it, and so I did my internships

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Speaker 1: with older adults and really enjoyed it, and I've been

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Speaker 1: here ever since.

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Speaker 3: So you mentioned that you weren't sure if you were

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Speaker 3: going to be able to handle it emotionally. When did

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Speaker 3: that change? And you were like I have to do this.

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Speaker 1: I think it was just worth it. I think I

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Speaker 1: just decided that it feels so natural. I knew that

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Speaker 1: this is what I wanted to do. In some ways,

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Speaker 1: I think it was a way to honor my grandpa,

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Speaker 1: but it just felt very natural. And I worked really

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Speaker 1: hard in school. I worked hard to make good grades,

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Speaker 1: but I feel like I have a really high emotional intelligence,

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Speaker 1: and so it was really a gift to finally find

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Speaker 1: a field where I could use that in social skills

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Speaker 1: and just have fun.

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Speaker 3: And you say that there was part of that with

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Speaker 3: your grandpa that inspired that. Do you feel like when

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Speaker 3: you're doing your job in your day to day life,

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Speaker 3: are you thinking of him and the things that would

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Speaker 3: help him or would have or things that you wish

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Speaker 3: you could have done with him that allows you to

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Speaker 3: do what you do so well.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think there's so much that I wish I

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Speaker 1: could ask him, knowing what I know now, the songs

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Speaker 1: that we've learned, or the.

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Speaker 4: Stories I've heard, what his life was like early on.

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Speaker 1: I was only eighteen or nineteen when he passed, and

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Speaker 1: so I've grown so much and learned so much.

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Speaker 4: From the people here that I wish I could share

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Speaker 4: as well.

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Speaker 1: I think he would love to have come seen me

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Speaker 1: here and met everyone that I care so much about.

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Speaker 1: But I do feel like I honor his legacy, and

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Speaker 1: I've even met people here that actually knew him, so

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Speaker 1: that was really special.

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Speaker 3: Was that a moment where You're like, this is where

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Speaker 3: I'm meant to be, this is.

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Speaker 1: What I'm meant to be doing When that happened, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think it was probably my second year here, and

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Speaker 1: my grandpa was from West Tennessee, like two hours from here,

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Speaker 1: in the middle of nowhere, so it doesn't make any sense,

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Speaker 1: but I realized that they played football together. Found an

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Speaker 1: old yearbook and the whole first page was from this residence,

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Speaker 1: so they ended up being best friends. It was such

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Speaker 1: a small world, but yeah, I was able to learn

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Speaker 1: some stories that I hadn't heard about my grandpa from

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Speaker 1: someone that had late stage Alzheimer's and happened to remember.

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Speaker 5: Who he was.

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Speaker 3: Was that because you also work very closely. You've brought

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Speaker 3: a program to Apesgarden that helps Alzheimer's within the community

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Speaker 3: outside of this building, you see firsthand what that looks like.

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Speaker 3: And then you have this moment with someone where one

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Speaker 3: of their memories that they're having in the late stage

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Speaker 3: is of your grandfather. What did that feel like?

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Speaker 1: I don't know. In a way, it felt very surreal

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Speaker 1: in full circle. And my grandpa confided in me one time,

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Speaker 1: we were just going to lunch. It was quiet drive.

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Speaker 1: He always took back roads that he admitted that his

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Speaker 1: biggest fear was getting Alzheimer's, and he passed pretty suddenly.

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Speaker 1: But I think I'm grateful that I never had to

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Speaker 1: see him suffer. I'm grateful that he didn't have to

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Speaker 1: go through that. But in some ways, I think that

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Speaker 1: it's almost like paying it forward. I guess I know

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Speaker 1: that he would have been well taken care of. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I guess that makes sense.

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Speaker 3: It does. And you speak of these kind of emotional

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Speaker 3: moments when you are in this job and you're here

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Speaker 3: every day, you're in it and you're seeing all these residents.

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Speaker 3: What are the really cool moments that you're so happy

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Speaker 3: to be part of, and what are the really hard

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Speaker 3: ones that maybe people don't think about.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say some of the hardest moments or

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Speaker 1: the hardest.

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Speaker 4: Parts of this job, I would say would.

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Speaker 1: Be grief and then work life balance. Sometimes. I mean

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Speaker 1: there's seasons of griefs that are so much fun. There's

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Speaker 1: seasons where that loss is coming, and there's moments where

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Speaker 1: it's so unexpected and it kind of catches the whole

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Speaker 1: community off guard. So just finding different ways to cope,

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Speaker 1: noticing the warning signs in myself when you can feel

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Speaker 1: that burnout coming, or yeah, I'm always looking for different

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Speaker 1: ways to work on that in myself. And then work

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Speaker 1: life balance. I'm sure everyone feels that, but I think

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Speaker 1: because this job is so people oriented, it can really

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Speaker 1: take a toll. I spend more time with the people

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Speaker 1: here than my own family or my own friends, and

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Speaker 1: so how do you not take that home right? And

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Speaker 1: it affects you. But I think being so relational is

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Speaker 1: also the best part of the job. And I might

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Speaker 1: it might take a toll on me, but I know

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Speaker 1: that I'm good at it and they would sense it.

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Speaker 1: If I pulled back. If this was just a paycheck,

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Speaker 1: I don't think I would be making nearly as much

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Speaker 1: of a difference.

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Speaker 3: Does it feel good when you are ending a day

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Speaker 3: and you're just like, I feel like that really mattered?

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Speaker 3: Is that a lot of days for you in doing

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Speaker 3: this job?

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Speaker 1: Yes, I would say that's definitely the best part that

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Speaker 1: I can I can get up every day and leave

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Speaker 1: every day, and I don't have to wonder if I've

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Speaker 1: made a difference or whether or not they're going to

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Speaker 1: make a difference in my life.

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Speaker 3: And you create these really close relationships with so many

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Speaker 3: of them. I feel like you get to have more

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Speaker 3: relationships in your life than most people because of this job.

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Speaker 3: Does that ever stick out to you as you're thinking

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Speaker 3: about this job and the career that you've chosen.

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Speaker 1: Yes, the relationship part is the best part. And what's

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Speaker 1: funny is when they know just as much about my life,

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Speaker 1: Like I can catch myself and like, I don't know

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Speaker 1: why I.

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Speaker 4: Told you that they know all your secret how is

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Speaker 4: your date?

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Speaker 1: Or how is this? Or how are your parents? Or

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Speaker 1: they keep up with my nieces and nephews. They love

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Speaker 1: to look at pictures, and it's a good reminder that

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Speaker 1: no matter what they're going through or why they're here,

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Speaker 1: that they have just as much to offer as they

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Speaker 1: ever have.

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Speaker 3: Do you use them as people to share advice because

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Speaker 3: they have so much knowledge, so much wisdom and things

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Speaker 3: that they've been through. So when you're going through things,

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Speaker 3: do you ever be like, hey, I need some thoughts

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Speaker 3: on this. Does that also help them stay incorporated really

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Speaker 3: into the life outside of these walls and what's happening here?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so. And I primarily work with people

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Speaker 1: with like younger onset or early stage Alzheimer's, and so

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Speaker 1: that's a big thing that I try to educate people

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Speaker 1: on is they still have just as much purpose and

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Speaker 1: just as much to offer. I think the best parts

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Speaker 1: are when you're running around trying to get everything done

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Speaker 1: on your to do list and they stop me and say, hey,

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Speaker 1: are you okay? Like what's going on? There's still that

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Speaker 1: emotional human connection where they can tell if I'm having

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Speaker 1: a bad day, and there's grace. And it's not just

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Speaker 1: a business, it's a family. My coworkers are the same way,

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Speaker 1: and so it's kind of a again, how would you

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Speaker 1: not get attached when you're spending every day with these people.

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Speaker 1: It's the best part of the job.

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Speaker 3: And when you're looking at this job and you were

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Speaker 3: working here and you decided to create this program, which

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Speaker 3: is so awesome of what you do. Touched on the

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Speaker 3: program a little bit before I ask you this question,

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Speaker 3: what is the program that you started and why was

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Speaker 3: that such an important thing to start.

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Speaker 1: So I'm the community programs manager here and we have

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Speaker 1: different day programs for different levels of people with dementia,

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Speaker 1: but I run.

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Speaker 4: The social support groups the early stage.

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Speaker 1: Younger onset.

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Speaker 4: It's a couple days a week.

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Speaker 1: My job is to keep them as independent for as

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Speaker 1: long as possible. The things that people face in the

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Speaker 1: early stages, you know, maybe giving up your keys the

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Speaker 1: earliest signs. What did you notice maybe getting official diagnosis,

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Speaker 1: or having to sell your house. Some people don't have

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Speaker 1: any family left, so being that community that saves space.

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Speaker 1: But I think helping people process as much as they

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Speaker 1: can early on and plan ahead makes the rest of

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Speaker 1: the journey a little easier.

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Speaker 3: And did you see this need for this as you

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Speaker 3: were working in Apsgarden? Why did you feel it was

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Speaker 3: so important for this type of program to exist.

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Speaker 1: I actually I had a mentor that used to work here.

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Speaker 1: We met here and she left to go back to school,

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Speaker 1: but she was here and kind of got it off

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Speaker 1: the ground. It started as a grant based program, and

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Speaker 1: they were like, it seems like we can't find anything

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Speaker 1: else for people with early stage Alzheimer's and dementia. Let's

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Speaker 1: see if the need is out there. Let's just try

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Speaker 1: and get it off the ground. And it went for

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Speaker 1: a year grant based, and everyone wanted to stay on.

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Speaker 1: It was full and that was probably back in twenty

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Speaker 1: eighteen and it's still going strong. It survived. I did

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Speaker 1: it all online during COVID. We went around and taught

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Speaker 1: everyone how to use their computers, and we started a

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Speaker 1: support group for the families who were now full time

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Speaker 1: caregivers at home during a pandemic. It's definitely something that

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Speaker 1: I'm very, very proud to be a part of.

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Speaker 3: I feel like you're the one person that would have

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Speaker 3: this knowledge to answer this in the space of dementia Alzheimer's.

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Speaker 3: What's something misunderstood that we maybe quite not see, Maybe

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Speaker 3: family members don't quite understand or know when this is

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Speaker 3: starting to happen. What is that that you're a witness

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Speaker 3: scene and be like dang, I wish I could communicate

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Speaker 3: this to people to make whether the process easier or

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Speaker 3: understanding what's happening to their loved one better. Across the board,

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Speaker 3: this is open end in whichever direction.

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Speaker 1: You want to go.

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Speaker 3: But I feel like you're someone who has seen just

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Speaker 3: about everything and you can speak to stuff that we

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Speaker 3: might not understand.

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Speaker 1: I would say, especially in early stages, just communicating with

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Speaker 1: them directly. I think there's a lot of like hush

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Speaker 1: hush behind the scenes. You start to make plans without

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Speaker 1: including them, and I know that's not going to apply

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Speaker 1: to people in later stages. I know that usually, but

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Speaker 1: as much as they can be a part of I

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Speaker 1: think it's important. And then a lot of things that

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Speaker 1: I hear is just let me try. You don't have

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Speaker 1: to do everything for me. If I can do it,

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Speaker 1: let me do it. And if you know that I can't,

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Speaker 1: let me try, or you don't pointing out every time

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Speaker 1: I repeat myself. And a lot of that is just education,

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Speaker 1: and so I'll educate my group members too. It's like,

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Speaker 1: why don't you say if you can stop me if

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Speaker 1: I've told you this, or let me know if I've

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Speaker 1: said this already whicheff be prepared for the answer. Just

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Speaker 1: little things that can be really triggering for people, but

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Speaker 1: I think just helping them be as independent as possible.

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Speaker 3: What are some signs of Alzheimer's or dementia that maybe

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Speaker 3: we don't know about because the memory loss is the

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Speaker 3: one that people most recognize, is there other things that

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Speaker 3: people should be looking out for.

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Speaker 1: It's so different for everyone. I think that's one thing

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Speaker 1: that's challenging too. I could put one hundred people with

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Speaker 1: the same exact diagnosis, and it's going to be different

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Speaker 1: for everyone, which is another thing that's hard to grasp.

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Speaker 1: But for some people it might be speech. For some

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Speaker 1: people it's word recall, or maybe their thoughts are totally fine,

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Speaker 1: but you'll notice that putting it to paper what they're

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Speaker 1: thinking is hard, or just certain decisions they make. I

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Speaker 1: would say the most recent person I talked to said

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Speaker 1: that he probably noticed signs in his forties but didn't

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Speaker 1: notice it in himself. I think that's hard to come

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Speaker 1: to terms with. But it was just little things like

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Speaker 1: maybe getting lost and not wanting to admit it.

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Speaker 4: There's a lot that people can.

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Speaker 1: Hide, but not with malicious intent, just.

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Speaker 4: To be protective or they're scared.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: See, And this is why I wanted you to share that,

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Speaker 3: because I think that's really important for family members to

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Speaker 3: understand and just be paying attention a little bit. What's

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Speaker 3: something you've learned from all your experience and doing this

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Speaker 3: job and the work that you do and spending time

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Speaker 3: with as many of the senior living community. As you have,

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Speaker 3: What's something you've learned from them?

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Speaker 1: Honestly, probably to never stop learning that they That's probably

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Speaker 1: something that we preach here that you can teach an

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Speaker 1: old dog new tricks, and we love doing new things here.

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Speaker 4: But they have so many stories and so.

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Speaker 1: Many experiences and so much to offer. And I love words,

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Speaker 1: and I'm constantly running down quotes and words of wisdom

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Speaker 1: that kind of sticks with me. It really resonates with me,

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Speaker 1: and I definitely think that's one thing I've learned. I

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Speaker 1: get yelled at if I don't have plans on a weekend.

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Speaker 1: Every single day. I have a woman that asks me,

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Speaker 1: why are you tired? Did you stay out all night?

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Speaker 1: And I'll say no, and she's like, well why not?

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Speaker 1: You should be you know, So I get in trouble

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Speaker 1: if I'm not out drinking or hang out with friends.

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Speaker 1: They're just great influences in my life and you can't

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Speaker 1: really put a price on it. And if I could

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Speaker 1: share something, I would really encourage our generation to get

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Speaker 1: involved in pick a community or pick an older adult,

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Speaker 1: a neighbor or something, and just form a connection, because

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Speaker 1: I think isolation is really important. To pay attention to

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Speaker 1: and none of us are meant to be alone.

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Speaker 3: Community is very important. Yeah, well, Mallory, we're about to

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Speaker 3: wrap up. Is there any last things that we didn't

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Speaker 3: get to, something you might want to share that is

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Speaker 3: so important or on your heart.

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Speaker 4: I do feel like you have to be called to

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Speaker 4: this field.

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Speaker 1: So for those that are impaths and just sweet and

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Speaker 1: kind and called to this field, just being mindful of again,

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Speaker 1: of the signs of burnout. I'm always grateful to be here,

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Speaker 1: but we do have to take care of ourselves and

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Speaker 1: whether it's a hobby or trips or however you choose

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Speaker 1: to take care of yourself. Just encouraging people that I

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Speaker 1: feel like we lose a lot of people that were

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Speaker 1: born to do this because it gets so overwhelming so fast,

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Speaker 1: and so just being protective of your heart and your

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Speaker 1: mind and loving people and figuring out how to take

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Speaker 1: care of yourself in the process.

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Speaker 3: Thank you so much, Mallori for being here and hanging

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Speaker 3: out and sharing on your story.

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Speaker 1: You're welcome, Thanks for having me.

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Speaker 3: Valerie Snyder joins me right now. She has somebody that

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Speaker 3: I've worked with at Apes Garden for several years now.

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Speaker 3: She was my first coordinator as Remy and I joined

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Speaker 3: on Valerie. Thanks for being here, Thanks for having me.

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Speaker 3: Are you scared, nervous all the things? Absolutely, it's going

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Speaker 3: to be great.

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Speaker 1: Thank you.

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Speaker 3: You're a wonderful human and I've known that from the

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Speaker 3: day that I met you and all the work that

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Speaker 3: we've done together, and I'm really excited for you to

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Speaker 3: share some of your stories. So tell us why you

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Speaker 3: got into this line of work in your role here

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Speaker 3: at Apes Garden.

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Speaker 6: I would say as a young girl, I was just

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Speaker 6: comfortable with older adults or seniors, and my sister and

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Speaker 6: I would go and write cards and pass them out

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Speaker 6: when we would go see my great aunt at a

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Speaker 6: nursing home. I was just always comfortable with gray hair

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Speaker 6: and aging individuals. And my grandmother, my Grandma Smith, would

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Speaker 6: actually take me along to what was called ruth Helm's

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Speaker 6: prayer group as a child, and it was just this

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Speaker 6: big group circle where all these ladies would sit around

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Speaker 6: and pass around cards and everyone would write a card

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Speaker 6: to someone and it could be someone that was a

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Speaker 6: shut in it's not getting out of the house, or

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Speaker 6: someone that had a surgery or wasn't feeling well. And

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Speaker 6: so I learned from a very young age just the

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Speaker 6: love of card writing from my grandmother, and that was

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Speaker 6: one thing that I think nowadays has gone away very

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Speaker 6: lost art. Yes, so I just remember being a part

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Speaker 6: of that group, and I was as a kid, and

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Speaker 6: then everyone else was so much older and being okay

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Speaker 6: with it or comfortable. And fast forward going into my

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Speaker 6: adult years. I studied songwriting for a couple of years overseas,

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Speaker 6: and I studied the Bible for a year in Florida,

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Speaker 6: and I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do

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Speaker 6: and what was next for me. I ended up moving

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Speaker 6: to Georgia, and I eventually had a few jobs that

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Speaker 6: I wasn't particularly interested in, banking and some like administrative

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Speaker 6: type of things. And the last job that I had,

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Speaker 6: I knew that I was not doing what I should

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Speaker 6: be doing, and I was trying to figure out how

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Speaker 6: I could get to the point where I was working

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Speaker 6: with seniors because I felt like that was where my

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Speaker 6: life was kind of going. So still working a job

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Speaker 6: I wasn't necessarily loving. In Atlanta, I started, I guess

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Speaker 6: you kind of say booking or started contacting senior communities

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Speaker 6: in the Atlanta area and I would just go and

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Speaker 6: sing and play for thirty minutes or an hour, and

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Speaker 6: it was there that I really fell in love with

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Speaker 6: individuals with dementia and Alzheimer's. I got to see a

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Speaker 6: little closer up what kind of challenges they had and

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Speaker 6: just who they were, and so I really fell in

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Speaker 6: love with that population. Fast forward a few more years

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Speaker 6: in twenty eighteen, my husband and I moved for him

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Speaker 6: to pursue music, and I really wasn't sure what I

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Speaker 6: was going to do for a job. I was at

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Speaker 6: that time working with a small business that did assisted

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Speaker 6: living placements, so basically helping families find communities like Ape's

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Speaker 6: Garden for their loved ones. So I did that for

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Speaker 6: a year. I ended up working at another senior community,

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Speaker 6: but I really I had heard about Ape's Garden and

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Speaker 6: really wanted to be here in a part of what

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Speaker 6: they were doing, and so I started in twenty nineteen.

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Speaker 6: At the end of twenty nineteen as a life engagement

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Speaker 6: coordinator and was a part of the team that does

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Speaker 6: all the engagement groups, and I really learned a lot.

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Speaker 6: My background wouldn't have said you're going to be in

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Speaker 6: front of people talking or teaching. I would have never

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Speaker 6: seen myself doing that. I was pretty introverted, and like

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Speaker 6: I was a banker for a long time and I

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Speaker 6: just kind of was comfortable in other fields, but I

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Speaker 6: wouldn't say being in front of people was ever a

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Speaker 6: comfortable thing.

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Speaker 3: Well, and I can speak to this. When I come

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Speaker 3: in here, I always see Valerie and she's in front

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Speaker 3: of a group of older individuals and they're whether they're

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Speaker 3: learning about Hawaii, or they're talking about music with Dolly Parton,

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Speaker 3: or they're having a wine and cheese party. I've witnessed

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Speaker 3: you and so many in front of so many larger

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Speaker 3: groups than here. It really is a drastic change for.

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Speaker 1: You, for sure.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, And so I can say that this job's really

405
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Speaker 6: brought me out of myself, I would say. And so

406
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Speaker 6: I was life Engagement coordinator and then volunteer coordinator for

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Speaker 6: a couple of years, and that's where when you started

408
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Speaker 6: serving with Remy through pet therapy, that's where we connected

409
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Speaker 6: and met and I loved that role and a couple

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Speaker 6: years later was able to take on the life Engagement

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Speaker 6: manager role. So I oversee our life engagement team here

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Speaker 6: at Apes Garden, and we have so many activities and

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Speaker 6: engagement groups happening throughout the day. We do outings and

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Speaker 6: all kinds of fun things. We had a crawfish boil

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Speaker 6: that a family sponsored last week, a resident led sale

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Speaker 6: where we collected proceeds for a charity, and it's just

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Speaker 6: really a lot of things that I'm glad that I'm

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Speaker 6: a part of here.

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Speaker 3: Why is it so important with the role that you have,

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Speaker 3: which is so much about their life engagement and making

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Speaker 3: sure that they're enjoying their time here. Why do you

422
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,600
Speaker 3: feel like this role is so important? Because I see

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Speaker 3: firsthand how important it is, But why do you feel

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Speaker 3: like this is something that really makes a difference for

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Speaker 3: them being somewhere that provides the opportunity.

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Speaker 6: Allowing them to feel purpose in their life, and whether

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Speaker 6: they've lost a spouse or are trying to figure out

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Speaker 6: what's next that abesgarden a lot of times is that

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Speaker 6: place for them to feel community and be engaged with.

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Speaker 3: Something I also know that you told me about was

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Speaker 3: that you wrote a song. Speaking of being a songwriter,

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Speaker 3: You wrote a song with one of the residents, and

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Speaker 3: there was this whole thing and I need to hear

434
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Speaker 3: that story because I know it, but I want everybody

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Speaker 3: else to hear it.

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Speaker 6: We through leading age, which is an organization that really

437
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Speaker 6: advocates for aging adults. They had asked us last year

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Speaker 6: if we would partner with a local songwriter here in

439
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Speaker 6: Nashville and write a song, and so I thought, well,

440
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Speaker 6: I haven't written a song in a long time, but

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Speaker 6: I know a great group of people that could help

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Speaker 6: me do this. And along with the songwriter and also

443
00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:11,080
Speaker 6: individuals from our Memory support our club program was also

444
00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,600
Speaker 6: a part of it. We wrote a song called I

445
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:18,680
Speaker 6: Am Who I Am. And I really can't take any

446
00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,840
Speaker 6: credit for writing the song. I was just there and

447
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:23,960
Speaker 6: maybe I'd have an idea or too.

448
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:26,040
Speaker 3: Isn't that so cool when you think about that and

449
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,640
Speaker 3: the fact that they were part of this song and

450
00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:32,719
Speaker 3: just shared their stories through music, which is so impactful

451
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,080
Speaker 3: for them. What does that feel like when you get

452
00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:36,479
Speaker 3: to be a part of such a big part of

453
00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,080
Speaker 3: their life now, because I feel like that's a big

454
00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:40,040
Speaker 3: memory for them now.

455
00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:44,160
Speaker 6: Yeah, just the process of writing the song the first

456
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,840
Speaker 6: time with the songwriter, and then Kashana is her name.

457
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:51,200
Speaker 6: Kashana came back the second time and she had recorded

458
00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:54,680
Speaker 6: the song, but we put background vocals to it and

459
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:58,000
Speaker 6: sang along. It was really neat how just in the

460
00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:00,560
Speaker 6: course of the months of working on the song. The

461
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:05,800
Speaker 6: residents and club members really remember the song. Anytime I

462
00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,040
Speaker 6: would play it, they would sing along at least the

463
00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:10,240
Speaker 6: chorus I Am who I am, You.

464
00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:10,920
Speaker 1: Are who you are.

465
00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:15,919
Speaker 6: They recalled the song, which was is amazing. If you

466
00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:21,080
Speaker 6: know anyone that's dealing with dementia or Alzheimer's, and we'd

467
00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:23,439
Speaker 6: see it a lot at Apesgarten, there might be like

468
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:27,879
Speaker 6: five minutes where you tell them something and within just

469
00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,880
Speaker 6: within five minutes or a short amount of time, they

470
00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:35,760
Speaker 6: can't recall what just happened. And so for them to

471
00:24:36,359 --> 00:24:40,160
Speaker 6: recall the song and sing it whenever we would play

472
00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:45,119
Speaker 6: it was really neat. It was really cool, and I

473
00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:49,080
Speaker 6: think there was pride. I think that they took pride

474
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,760
Speaker 6: in being a part of that project. We also got

475
00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:57,000
Speaker 6: to sing the song at the Leading Age conference in

476
00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,399
Speaker 6: October where they performed it in front of of a

477
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,040
Speaker 6: few thousand people were there, and it was just a

478
00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,320
Speaker 6: really neat project to be a part of.

479
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:08,439
Speaker 3: It's so cool, and I love when you share that

480
00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,360
Speaker 3: story because I think it's awesome that you're not just.

481
00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:13,840
Speaker 1: Doing the bare minimum right.

482
00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:16,920
Speaker 3: You could just throw on a movie and say life

483
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:21,639
Speaker 3: engagement and We're happy you're doing these things that are impactful.

484
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:22,520
Speaker 1: Every single day.

485
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,080
Speaker 3: Every time I come in here, they're doing something new,

486
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:28,679
Speaker 3: something different, and they just feel like they're still getting

487
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,399
Speaker 3: to experience their life. And I think that's what's so

488
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:35,960
Speaker 3: wonderful about you. And one of your highest qualities, as

489
00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:40,720
Speaker 3: I've witnessed, is patience. I have walked into many conversations

490
00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,520
Speaker 3: roe I mean and I have, and it's like an

491
00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:47,560
Speaker 3: entirely different language. And I think about you every single

492
00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:50,959
Speaker 3: day and you're around this all the time. Why is

493
00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:53,240
Speaker 3: patience so important in this and why is it so

494
00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:57,640
Speaker 3: helpful for them as they're navigating Because I've seen it

495
00:25:57,720 --> 00:25:59,960
Speaker 3: and I can speak to you doing it, but you're

496
00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:04,200
Speaker 3: the one firsthand who witnesses and experiences this every day.

497
00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:08,000
Speaker 6: Just what I have learned about dementia and this disease

498
00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:12,600
Speaker 6: and as it progresses, there are certain behaviors that happen,

499
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,400
Speaker 6: or there's funny things do happen, or they say funny things,

500
00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:20,399
Speaker 6: and it's just really meeting them where they are and

501
00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:24,359
Speaker 6: just understanding that they maybe having behaviors that they don't

502
00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:24,960
Speaker 6: mean to have.

503
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,240
Speaker 3: What are some of your favorite moments or memories from

504
00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,920
Speaker 3: your job and getting to witness beyond the song, because

505
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:33,600
Speaker 3: the song is beautiful in itself. But you've been here

506
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,120
Speaker 3: a long time and doing a lot of different roles,

507
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,440
Speaker 3: so I'm sure you have favorite moments.

508
00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:44,520
Speaker 6: I think anything with music is a way to kind

509
00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:46,919
Speaker 6: of trigger their emotions, and I think that I have

510
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:52,800
Speaker 6: seen an array of motions from them. Sometimes we'll just

511
00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:55,119
Speaker 6: be listening to something and then the next song we

512
00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:57,680
Speaker 6: put on it ends up turning into a dance party

513
00:26:57,720 --> 00:26:59,760
Speaker 6: and they want to get up and dance, and You're like, okay,

514
00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:03,640
Speaker 6: that's you know, just letting them in some ways leading

515
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,199
Speaker 6: because say, yeah, I'm leading this group right now, or

516
00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:08,760
Speaker 6: I'm I'm in charge.

517
00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:09,200
Speaker 1: Of this group.

518
00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:12,439
Speaker 6: So I say, but they really have a lot of

519
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,240
Speaker 6: say and have a lot of pull as far as

520
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:17,560
Speaker 6: where the group goes. What are we going to talk about?

521
00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:21,159
Speaker 6: What's important to them? And so I think some of

522
00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:25,560
Speaker 6: the best moments have been around music and conversations with that.

523
00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:28,480
Speaker 6: And I think there was one time we were talking about,

524
00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:31,960
Speaker 6: what's the song rock around the clock. We've heard the

525
00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,960
Speaker 6: song forever, right Bill Haley and the comments and we've

526
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:39,199
Speaker 6: heard it, and I just was just I don't know,

527
00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:40,959
Speaker 6: I wasn't trying to be silly. I was just like,

528
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,080
Speaker 6: has anyone over here ever rocked around the clock? That

529
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:47,159
Speaker 6: sounds crazy, you know, and just like talked about it

530
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:50,800
Speaker 6: and somebody said, yeah, I've done that, and I was like,

531
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:54,439
Speaker 6: I was just dying. Some music brings out so many emotions.

532
00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:57,440
Speaker 6: And also when you play some of the older songs

533
00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:00,920
Speaker 6: that maybe that they knew from their childhood or they

534
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:04,760
Speaker 6: were a teenager or a young twenty something, these songs

535
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,400
Speaker 6: bring back memories to them.

536
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:10,239
Speaker 3: You've been in this for a really long time and

537
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,480
Speaker 3: you have done these different roles and stuff. So advice

538
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,280
Speaker 3: for maybe somebody who's considering getting into this field or

539
00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:19,040
Speaker 3: thinking about doing the work that you do, what would

540
00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:22,560
Speaker 3: you say? Or motivation or inspiration on any of those levels.

541
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,439
Speaker 6: Yeah, I would second Mallory when she said that it

542
00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,800
Speaker 6: is really a calling if you want to get into

543
00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:33,840
Speaker 6: this field, just like I would say, teaching small children

544
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,760
Speaker 6: is probably not for everyone, and working with seniors may

545
00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,600
Speaker 6: not be for everyone either, But being in this world

546
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:44,400
Speaker 6: so much, forty hours of my week, I can't imagine

547
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:46,320
Speaker 6: why it wouldn't be fun for everyone because we have

548
00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,240
Speaker 6: so much fun here. But I would say, if you're

549
00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:52,040
Speaker 6: not sure what you would like to do with your life.

550
00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:57,680
Speaker 6: Maybe volunteer at a community like Apes Garden and spend

551
00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:02,280
Speaker 6: some time with different populations, whether it's kids or older adults,

552
00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:05,520
Speaker 6: and see if it's something that you might be interested in.

553
00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:11,680
Speaker 6: I think that we need more people to work with seniors.

554
00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:14,640
Speaker 3: I love that. I think that's really great advice. And

555
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,640
Speaker 3: it's how I got involved in the community. Was just

556
00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,640
Speaker 3: trying it out and seeing Remy was the start, and

557
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,600
Speaker 3: then we waded into the waters and we loved it

558
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:27,000
Speaker 3: and it was so rewarding. And the impact that even

559
00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:29,840
Speaker 3: just a couple hours a month that we do is

560
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:33,920
Speaker 3: astronomical just sitting in those rooms with them. So the

561
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,480
Speaker 3: work that you guys do every day is really important. Valerie,

562
00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:38,720
Speaker 3: thank you for being here. Thank you for all you do.

563
00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:39,880
Speaker 3: I'm happy you're here.

564
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:40,360
Speaker 2: Well.

565
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,760
Speaker 6: Thanks for asking Ape's Garden to be a part of

566
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:43,600
Speaker 6: this podcast.

567
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:52,200
Speaker 3: Always, you guys have a special place in my heart.

568
00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:02,200
Speaker 1: I'm joined by Chris right now.

569
00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:05,040
Speaker 3: I am so excited you're here, and I hope you're

570
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:05,760
Speaker 3: not nervous anymore.

571
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:07,040
Speaker 1: How are you feeling feeling great?

572
00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,040
Speaker 5: Thanks for having me, Thanks.

573
00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,360
Speaker 3: For being on to talk now, Chris, share your title

574
00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:14,200
Speaker 3: and your overview of being at Apes Garden.

575
00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:19,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, my role is Chief Operating Officer for Apes Garden Community.

576
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:22,280
Speaker 5: I've been here for ten years. I started off as.

577
00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:26,720
Speaker 2: A continuous quality improvement coordinator, so assessing how the quality

578
00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,080
Speaker 2: of life is for the residents that live here, and

579
00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,480
Speaker 2: then over time I moved into different roles at the HR,

580
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,160
Speaker 2: some training, and then was lucky enough to get put

581
00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,200
Speaker 2: in a position like this to help everybody out.

582
00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:42,360
Speaker 3: So you've really seen all different stages of what Apes

583
00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:46,880
Speaker 3: Garden does works with how it all operates. Yeah, what's

584
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,200
Speaker 3: been the craziest part of working in this field? You

585
00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:52,800
Speaker 3: see all these wild things? What has that experience been like?

586
00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,960
Speaker 2: I think what's pretty impressive about it is in really

587
00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:01,440
Speaker 2: difficult moments, how everybody comes together. And throughout my time here,

588
00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:03,800
Speaker 2: stuff that we could have planned for and couldn't have

589
00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:07,800
Speaker 2: planned for came up. And an example, I was on

590
00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:13,720
Speaker 2: my honeymoon and the temperature dropped here and sprinklers popped

591
00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:16,440
Speaker 2: around the community and there was flooding of.

592
00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:17,720
Speaker 5: Water and water more and more.

593
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:21,120
Speaker 2: And when I got to the hotel, I pulled up

594
00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:25,240
Speaker 2: the cameras and I saw so many people here helping out,

595
00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:28,920
Speaker 2: helping residents get to safe places, cleaning up the water,

596
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:34,160
Speaker 2: setting up dinner, and inconvenient places. But in times like

597
00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:37,680
Speaker 2: that where people would get overwhelmed, you can see more

598
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,320
Speaker 2: and more people coming together to really being able to

599
00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:41,360
Speaker 2: help the situation.

600
00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:42,360
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I.

601
00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:44,960
Speaker 3: Bet that was super rewarding, especially because you're away and

602
00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:47,160
Speaker 3: you know you can't do anything and you're just hoping

603
00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:47,960
Speaker 3: it all works out.

604
00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:48,520
Speaker 5: Yeah.

605
00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:51,400
Speaker 2: And I think from my position that also makes me

606
00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,520
Speaker 2: feel good about what we're doing here where I can

607
00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:57,160
Speaker 2: go away on my honeymoon and know that the team

608
00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:00,440
Speaker 2: here is able to manage whatever situation comes up, whether

609
00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:01,280
Speaker 2: it was planned or not.

610
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:04,440
Speaker 3: Yes, and being around so much of that and seeing

611
00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:07,640
Speaker 3: and witnessing so much. What are things that you've learned.

612
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:11,640
Speaker 3: Maybe it's about yourself, maybe it's about the senior community.

613
00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:14,880
Speaker 3: What's been the biggest impact for you that you wish

614
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:16,880
Speaker 3: you could learn all over again.

615
00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:20,200
Speaker 2: I think the great thing that I take away from

616
00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:24,800
Speaker 2: working here or working with older adults is perspective on life.

617
00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:27,040
Speaker 5: Met so many people that.

618
00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:32,320
Speaker 2: Are younger older adults, but also older older adults, and

619
00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:34,440
Speaker 2: they're over the age of one hundred, and they have

620
00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:38,000
Speaker 2: all these great perspectives about how things went in their life,

621
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:40,200
Speaker 2: how they felt about it, things that they'd change or

622
00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,800
Speaker 2: things that they wouldn't change. And I think I started

623
00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:48,200
Speaker 2: working with older adults when I was twenty, and so

624
00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:50,680
Speaker 2: I got to learn from people who are over one

625
00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,760
Speaker 2: hundred at that age about what their life experience was like.

626
00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:57,000
Speaker 2: And I've been able to take pieces of that and

627
00:32:57,240 --> 00:32:59,640
Speaker 2: add it into my life and be able to prepare

628
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,280
Speaker 2: for what might come up and really get to learn

629
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:04,440
Speaker 2: from the people I work with.

630
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:06,920
Speaker 3: Oh, that's so awesome. They have so much wisdom to

631
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:08,960
Speaker 3: share and I found that just in my time here.

632
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,560
Speaker 3: And you look at an experience like this, and you

633
00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:14,600
Speaker 3: said you started doing this at twenty, Why did you

634
00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,000
Speaker 3: get into this? What was the reason purpose behind it?

635
00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:18,920
Speaker 2: At one point, I thought they wanted to be a nurse,

636
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:21,800
Speaker 2: and I was in college and things were not going

637
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:25,200
Speaker 2: my way, and so I dropped out and I thought

638
00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:27,680
Speaker 2: the next step would be to get certified as a

639
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,760
Speaker 2: nurse's assistant, And so I went through that program and

640
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:35,560
Speaker 2: I started working in the nursing home and I went

641
00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,680
Speaker 2: from teaching swimming lessons was like three to five year

642
00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,720
Speaker 2: olds still working with people that were much older, and

643
00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,240
Speaker 2: it was a completely different phase of their life, and

644
00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:47,200
Speaker 2: at first that terrified me, and the things that people

645
00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:51,480
Speaker 2: were going through was pretty difficult. But then over time

646
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:56,680
Speaker 2: again the perspective and the information that they can share

647
00:33:56,680 --> 00:34:00,320
Speaker 2: and their history really changed my feeling about work with

648
00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:04,080
Speaker 2: older people, and I really ended up enjoying it and to.

649
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,000
Speaker 5: The point where I'm still doing it and loving it.

650
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:07,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, and what have.

651
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,200
Speaker 3: You learned about the older community that maybe you feel

652
00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:14,160
Speaker 3: like gets misunderstood or we just don't quite have the

653
00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:16,600
Speaker 3: full perspective on, because I feel like there's so much

654
00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:19,360
Speaker 3: we were talking before this of not a lot of

655
00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:22,560
Speaker 3: people talk about senior living communities and what happens when

656
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:24,000
Speaker 3: they get in. It's just kind of like they go

657
00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:27,719
Speaker 3: and buy. Yeah, what's some things that you've learned about

658
00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:29,680
Speaker 3: them that you wish maybe people understood better.

659
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,840
Speaker 2: I think the power of their voice, their knowledge, and

660
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,279
Speaker 2: their wisdom. I think to your point, and what I

661
00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:39,759
Speaker 2: know this a lot, even when I'm outside of here,

662
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,720
Speaker 2: is that people move in here and then their world

663
00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:47,120
Speaker 2: continues to isolate and their voices become harder and harder

664
00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:49,719
Speaker 2: to get out. And maybe the families don't visit as much,

665
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,160
Speaker 2: or they don't see their grandkids or kids as much.

666
00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:55,640
Speaker 2: And what I've learned from being here and during my

667
00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:59,359
Speaker 2: time here is that the more that you can talk

668
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:02,560
Speaker 2: and communicate and spend time and find ways for people

669
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:07,439
Speaker 2: to express themselves, there's a whole bunch that they want

670
00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:10,880
Speaker 2: to share and they just really need the outlet to

671
00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:13,439
Speaker 2: do it like something like this. It's a pretty amazing thing.

672
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:16,000
Speaker 2: And the longer I'm here, there's just more and more stories.

673
00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,960
Speaker 2: Mallory and I before coming in, we're just going through

674
00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:22,239
Speaker 2: one person after another about all the things that we've

675
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:25,239
Speaker 2: learned from them or to pump ourselves up for the podcast.

676
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,480
Speaker 2: So we are quoting residents that have lived here, and

677
00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,879
Speaker 2: I think all that kind of feeds into it. And yeah,

678
00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:34,759
Speaker 2: they have a lot to share, and that's really the

679
00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:35,480
Speaker 2: biggest takeaway.

680
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:37,200
Speaker 3: Well, now I need to know some of the quotes.

681
00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:40,040
Speaker 5: You're doing a great job, and you're doing it right now.

682
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:45,800
Speaker 2: That's real classic That we have a Lordy Lordy Roger's

683
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:46,520
Speaker 2: over forty.

684
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:50,000
Speaker 5: That one gets stuck in my head quite a bit.

685
00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:51,920
Speaker 5: Things like that, but.

686
00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:54,399
Speaker 2: Those are kind of the regular ones that we use.

687
00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:58,279
Speaker 2: But yeah, that everybody has their own story and there's

688
00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:02,239
Speaker 2: something that you can talk about with every person that's here.

689
00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,239
Speaker 2: Or every person that's lived here that can make you

690
00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:06,320
Speaker 2: a smile or give you a good laugh.

691
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:09,839
Speaker 3: What do you feel like is your hardest moment that

692
00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:13,160
Speaker 3: you've had to face while doing this job.

693
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,319
Speaker 5: I don't know about the hardest moment. I think.

694
00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:22,920
Speaker 2: Overall, where it gets challenging is that there are a

695
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:28,960
Speaker 2: lot of people here that we want to.

696
00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:28,120
Speaker 5: Help meet their needs.

697
00:36:28,719 --> 00:36:31,120
Speaker 2: Everybody has an idea of what they want when they

698
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,000
Speaker 2: move in here, and there's the families that we want

699
00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:36,319
Speaker 2: to help please, there's the people that live here, they

700
00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:39,279
Speaker 2: are the people that work here, and then everybody else

701
00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:41,840
Speaker 2: that visits and comes in and out. And I think

702
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:47,320
Speaker 2: on a day to day basis, I think the challenge

703
00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:50,320
Speaker 2: is helping to make that happen. I think the positive

704
00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:52,799
Speaker 2: part and the reason why I like being here and

705
00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:55,840
Speaker 2: being in a role like this is that we're surrounded

706
00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,280
Speaker 2: by people that are trying to make those things happen,

707
00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:02,319
Speaker 2: and we have a board and CEO that really help

708
00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:05,880
Speaker 2: support that and give us the opportunity to help everybody's

709
00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:06,959
Speaker 2: needs as much as we can.

710
00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:08,400
Speaker 1: And that's super tough.

711
00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:11,440
Speaker 3: You talk about families, and you probably witness a lot

712
00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:16,399
Speaker 3: of emotions when people bring their loved ones here. How

713
00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:19,000
Speaker 3: do you navigate something like that because it's such a

714
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:21,240
Speaker 3: big change that's happening, not just for the person who's

715
00:37:21,239 --> 00:37:24,160
Speaker 3: coming in here, but also the families. Yeah, what's that

716
00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:26,120
Speaker 3: adjustment period? Like, what's that experience?

717
00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:29,200
Speaker 2: It can take some time and the biggest thing is

718
00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:33,400
Speaker 2: getting an understanding of what everybody's goals are. And another

719
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:39,080
Speaker 2: tougher area to navigate is nobody really chooses to move

720
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:42,000
Speaker 2: into a community. People want to live at home as

721
00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:45,600
Speaker 2: much as possible. But when they do move in here,

722
00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:47,759
Speaker 2: what does a great day look like for them? For

723
00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:50,640
Speaker 2: the family, what does a great day look like for them?

724
00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:53,240
Speaker 2: And what can we do to help make that happen?

725
00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:58,040
Speaker 2: And really understanding everybody's life story, their history before coming

726
00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:00,520
Speaker 2: in here, and we get to know people at this

727
00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:04,520
Speaker 2: one point of their life, but the relationships that spouses,

728
00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:08,120
Speaker 2: their kids, and the people that move in here have

729
00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:10,960
Speaker 2: can be all over the place, and we really just

730
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,719
Speaker 2: need to better understand everything that's going on so while

731
00:38:13,719 --> 00:38:16,080
Speaker 2: they're here, we can help them have the best day possible.

732
00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:18,880
Speaker 3: And I think that's so helpful for so many people

733
00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:22,240
Speaker 3: to understand, because when it's all happening, life's just happening,

734
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:24,160
Speaker 3: right and you're just moving someone in. You're like, Okay,

735
00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:27,640
Speaker 3: we're good, it's happening, and you're not really thinking about

736
00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:30,080
Speaker 3: that aspect of what does this day to day look like?

737
00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:31,680
Speaker 3: How can we be helpful in making sure that their

738
00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:35,200
Speaker 3: lives are enriched by this change? And I think just

739
00:38:35,239 --> 00:38:36,920
Speaker 3: hearing from you that you've seen a lot of that

740
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:40,359
Speaker 3: happen will be helpful for people. I want to ask

741
00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:43,000
Speaker 3: you too, because you have witnessed so much, what's like

742
00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:45,600
Speaker 3: the craziest moment you've had at AB's garden.

743
00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:50,480
Speaker 5: I do think the sprinkler situation was pretty crazy.

744
00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:53,640
Speaker 2: There's so many pipes that burst and the mount of

745
00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:57,960
Speaker 2: water that came in and yeah, everybody, Yeah, pulling up

746
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:00,520
Speaker 2: the cameras and seeing all of that going on is

747
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:01,680
Speaker 2: pretty wild.

748
00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:02,600
Speaker 5: I think.

749
00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:06,760
Speaker 2: This on a positive side. A good thing that happened

750
00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:10,680
Speaker 2: is we had the Nashville Opera come here and they

751
00:39:10,719 --> 00:39:15,680
Speaker 2: do the opera on wheels, and the first time they came,

752
00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:18,440
Speaker 2: they brought in the whole trailer and they opened up

753
00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:21,319
Speaker 2: a stage in our front parking lot, and we had

754
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,400
Speaker 2: residents that were sitting on their patios to watch. We

755
00:39:25,239 --> 00:39:28,120
Speaker 2: set up a whole area for people to go outside.

756
00:39:27,719 --> 00:39:31,840
Speaker 5: And serve drinks and an impressive level.

757
00:39:32,239 --> 00:39:34,879
Speaker 2: You don't think something like that could happen, but here

758
00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:39,560
Speaker 2: he had professional performers singing opera, the hits of opera,

759
00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:41,960
Speaker 2: and then he had all these people out there to

760
00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:46,640
Speaker 2: enjoy it. And things like that are surprising because you

761
00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:49,400
Speaker 2: don't necessarily wake up thinking how am I or how

762
00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:53,040
Speaker 2: are we going to get opera here? But what we

763
00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:55,160
Speaker 2: are lucky enough to be in a place to have

764
00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:55,800
Speaker 2: that happen.

765
00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:58,480
Speaker 3: That's so cool. I know that probably meant so much

766
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:00,440
Speaker 3: to so many of them because do you even hear

767
00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:04,040
Speaker 3: their stories on doing this podcast, And so many of

768
00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:06,239
Speaker 3: them were influenced by music in so many ways, and

769
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:08,839
Speaker 3: that's a huge part of their life. So I can

770
00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:11,560
Speaker 3: only imagine what that was like. And I also want

771
00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:15,200
Speaker 3: to know too, from your side, why do you feel

772
00:40:15,239 --> 00:40:17,800
Speaker 3: it's so important to try and get more people into

773
00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:20,640
Speaker 3: this line of work? Because you are an operating officer

774
00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:23,239
Speaker 3: now you ever see employees, You see what this work

775
00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:25,480
Speaker 3: looks like and why it's important. What would you tell

776
00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:28,080
Speaker 3: people who are maybe looking potentially to get into something

777
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:30,759
Speaker 3: like this and why it might be necessary.

778
00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:35,439
Speaker 2: Yeah, my personal perspective is before I thought they wanted

779
00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:36,920
Speaker 2: to be a nurse. I thought they wanted to be

780
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,479
Speaker 2: a teacher. And I had always worked with kids, and

781
00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:46,680
Speaker 2: nothing ever seemed to really click. And I liked doing it,

782
00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:49,000
Speaker 2: but it wasn't what was driving me. And then when

783
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:50,839
Speaker 2: I started working with older adults, it.

784
00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:54,279
Speaker 5: Really change my day.

785
00:40:54,719 --> 00:40:58,720
Speaker 2: And what I got to do is have a regular

786
00:40:58,880 --> 00:41:01,759
Speaker 2: relationship with all the people that I met here. And

787
00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:05,040
Speaker 2: I know most people when they go to school and

788
00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:08,000
Speaker 2: they go to become a doctor, they probably want to

789
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,960
Speaker 2: be a pediatrician. If they do want to do therapy,

790
00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:14,080
Speaker 2: they want to work with kids, or social worker, or

791
00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:17,040
Speaker 2: you go to be a cooker chef, you want to

792
00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:20,080
Speaker 2: work in these really great restaurants. We have all of

793
00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:24,760
Speaker 2: that stuff here and we try and provide a setting

794
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:27,600
Speaker 2: where you can be as creative as you want in

795
00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:31,759
Speaker 2: each of those different fields and when you work with

796
00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:35,520
Speaker 2: older adults. The thing that appeals to me the most,

797
00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:38,279
Speaker 2: that I wish more people would know about getting in

798
00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:42,920
Speaker 2: this industry is you can be very real with everybody

799
00:41:43,080 --> 00:41:47,920
Speaker 2: and that there's not really much bs. They want to

800
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:51,239
Speaker 2: know exactly what you're thinking. They want to have a

801
00:41:51,280 --> 00:41:55,160
Speaker 2: real conversation, they want to be able to joke around

802
00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:58,239
Speaker 2: and balance all of those things. But I don't have

803
00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:00,000
Speaker 2: to try and be a mentor for anybody.

804
00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:01,560
Speaker 5: I don't have to be a role model.

805
00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:03,239
Speaker 2: All I have to do is be a person that

806
00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:06,080
Speaker 2: is listening to them and helping them meet their needs,

807
00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:09,000
Speaker 2: and it makes it for me, I think a lot

808
00:42:09,239 --> 00:42:13,120
Speaker 2: easier and appealing than all these other different areas that

809
00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:14,240
Speaker 2: you can get into.

810
00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:17,240
Speaker 3: I love that. I feel like that's really important, especially

811
00:42:17,239 --> 00:42:19,479
Speaker 3: as you know, people are graduating and trying to figure

812
00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:21,920
Speaker 3: out what their lives look like, and maybe this is

813
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:23,680
Speaker 3: something that we're touching on that they might not have

814
00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:28,400
Speaker 3: thought of. I will always like to end on its motivation, advice,

815
00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:30,960
Speaker 3: or maybe something we didn't talk about that you is

816
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:32,200
Speaker 3: really heavy on your heart and you want to make

817
00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:34,680
Speaker 3: sure to share. So the floor is kind of yours

818
00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:37,040
Speaker 3: to share anything at this last moment, maybe you didn't

819
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:37,760
Speaker 3: get too.

820
00:42:37,880 --> 00:42:43,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, I would emphasize more looking into working with older adults.

821
00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:49,240
Speaker 2: I think there's stat after stat that shows are people

822
00:42:49,239 --> 00:42:52,239
Speaker 2: over sixty five, The number of those people continues to

823
00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:55,040
Speaker 2: grow and grow, the number of people that are under

824
00:42:55,080 --> 00:43:00,120
Speaker 2: eighteen continues to become less and less, and there's the

825
00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:04,719
Speaker 2: giant gap of people that need our help as much

826
00:43:04,719 --> 00:43:07,399
Speaker 2: as anybody else, and that there are all these really

827
00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:12,160
Speaker 2: great positives and working with older adults and you get

828
00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:16,560
Speaker 2: to really be able to have a pretty great day.

829
00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:19,200
Speaker 5: Where in my role.

830
00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:22,560
Speaker 2: I do the budgeting, I have meetings and those things

831
00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:25,200
Speaker 2: like that, but we get to go to a sounds

832
00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:28,880
Speaker 2: game and we get to go for walks in the

833
00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:32,880
Speaker 2: courtyard and they're just My day has this whole range

834
00:43:32,920 --> 00:43:35,799
Speaker 2: of things that what you would think of in this

835
00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:39,160
Speaker 2: role of just sitting at desk crunching numbers or working

836
00:43:39,200 --> 00:43:41,680
Speaker 2: on different strategies. Those are fun and that's why I

837
00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:43,840
Speaker 2: like being in this role. But I get to sprinkle

838
00:43:43,880 --> 00:43:48,080
Speaker 2: in all these great one on one situations and group engagements,

839
00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:51,760
Speaker 2: to mocktails last week with the residents.

840
00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:56,000
Speaker 3: And the they have giant parties here. Yeah.

841
00:43:56,160 --> 00:43:56,640
Speaker 5: Crazy.

842
00:43:57,080 --> 00:43:59,879
Speaker 2: You get to mix in everything, and that's really what's

843
00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:04,000
Speaker 2: about working with older adults and especially in senior living.

844
00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:06,439
Speaker 3: Oh well, Chris, thank you so much for sharing and

845
00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:08,279
Speaker 3: talking about your story. Is great having you.

846
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:10,040
Speaker 5: Here, Thanks for having me appreciate it.

847
00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:12,960
Speaker 3: And next week and maybe the week following, we'll see

848
00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:15,200
Speaker 3: how long this goes for. But it's a resident time.

849
00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:17,600
Speaker 3: I'm going to be doing it in a few parts

850
00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:19,840
Speaker 3: because honestly, there's just too much gold to put in

851
00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:23,200
Speaker 3: one episode. The residents you'll meet from Apes Garden Go

852
00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:28,440
Speaker 3: Buy Brenda, Carol, Dave, Larry, Sandra, Shirley and Ward, and

853
00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:30,719
Speaker 3: they're going to share their life stories, any regrets they've

854
00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:34,640
Speaker 3: had in life, the things they've accomplished, advice and of

855
00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:36,520
Speaker 3: course there's a whole lot of laughs along the way.

856
00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:39,759
Speaker 3: And all of these humans are over eighty years old,

857
00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:43,200
Speaker 3: so they have expertise, knowledge and wisdom that I cannot

858
00:44:43,200 --> 00:44:45,799
Speaker 3: wait to share with you all. So do not miss it,

859
00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:48,920
Speaker 3: make sure you subscribe, and as always, thank you for

860
00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:50,279
Speaker 3: being here. I love you.

861
00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:50,880
Speaker 2: Bye.