Category: Seek On Blog (Consumer)

When it comes to practicing good sleep habits, our nation is not doing a very good job, said Dr. Bill Thomas, nationally renowned geriatrician, author, and Lifespark Independence Officer. “It doesn’t matter what part of the country you live in or how old you are, Americans aren’t getting enough healthy, restful sleep,” he said. Lack […]

The COVID pandemic was a brutal lesson on the importance of having an advance care directive in the event of a sudden health crisis. But advance care planning goes beyond whether or not an individual wants to be put on a breathing tube, said Kristin Stevens, RN, NP, Lifespark APP Supervisor. “Identifying end-of-life wishes is […]

I don’t know many people who want to think about their own death. Planning for death, or the period right before death, is a tough subject. Personally, I’d rather think about taxes. But I’d also rather have all those plans made before they’re necessary. The last thing my loved ones should have to worry about […]

“People sometimes assume palliative care is hospice care,” said Matt McGraw, DNP, APRN, Lifespark Nurse Practitioner, who specializes in primary palliative care. It’s an understandable mistake, he said, given that hospice is a part of palliative care and that they share the goal of bringing comfort and improving quality of life for clients and their […]

If you’ve ever been on a roller coaster—the Cyclone on Coney Island, Valley Fair’s Wild Thing, the Matterhorn at Disneyland—you’ve probably experienced that heady mix of exhilaration and terror, followed by relief when the ride is finally over. You might even want to go again, knowing that you’ll end up back where you started. Not […]

Pop artist Andy Warhol was famously quoted as saying, “In the future, everyone in the world will get a chance to be famous for 15 minutes.” Maybe he was predicting the future of health care, where everyone would get 15 minutes with their primary care physician. Because that’s the reality of our health care system […]

Katie Uphus, Lifespark Hospice Volunteer Manager, is a passionate advocate for hospice volunteering. Before joining Lifespark, she volunteered with several hospice providers and trained as an end-of-life doula, experiences that fueled her desire to help people see end of life as an opportunity for transformation, joy, and connection. Jenny Johnson and Anne Herman are two […]

“Fear of falling is a gradual, insidious spiral,” said Julie Varno, Physical Therapist – Case Manager with Lifespark Home Health. “It might start with a fall, but not necessarily. Either way, you become less active, which leads to weaker muscles and stiffer joints which, in turn, affect your balance and your ability to react. Then […]

One day last summer, about a year after Dana Bushway, RN, Lifespark Life Manager, started working with Lifespark COMPLETETM member, Julie*, she got a frantic call from her client’s son and primary caregiver, Ben*. He’d been having trouble breathing, he told her, and upon examination, the doctors had found blood clots in his lungs and […]

In her role as Life Advisor, Cindy Sarvie, Licensed Social Worker, has responded to hundreds of calls from people looking for resources to help them live more independently. In addition to requests for transportation, snow shoveling, and grocery delivery, clients have asked her about skydiving recommendations and where to get a glass eye polished. “The […]