Category: Seek On Blog (Consumer)

“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 […]

In 2019, Lifespark and UCare, an independent, nonprofit health plan, launched a partnership to improve health and life outcomes for seniors in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. What drew the two organizations together is a shared passion for helping people age magnificently. Lifespark spoke with Amy Wickman, RN, Vice President, Clinical Services at UCare, to learn […]

It’s natural to assume that pharmacists are in the business of dispensing medications, but experts in senior-savvy pharmacy are upending that business model. “As geriatric pharmacists, we look at each client with deprescribing in mind,” said Terri Fagan, RPh, CGP, Director of Clinical Services at Consonus Pharmacy. “It might seem counterintuitive, but deprescribing is the […]

When Bryan Robles talks about his beloved grandmother, Yancha, it’s as though she’s still dancing on this Earth. “She was larger than life and always down for anything: she’d play baseball with us, come to punk rock shows with me, go out for late-night sushi, and invite me and my friends over for happy hour,” […]

When Beth Nemec’s father, a former accountant, started showing signs of dementia, she stepped in to help her mother take over the household accounts. In spite of the convenience of having her parents’ monthly Medicare insurance payments and mail-order pharmacy bills paid automatically from their joint account, Beth had some concerns. As Director of Community […]

Fred and Noreen had spent the day doing things they loved—seeing live theater, eating dinner outside at a favorite restaurant, and going for an evening stroll. “It was just a beautiful, normal, perfect May day,” Noreen said. The couple, who were married six years ago, enjoyed an active lifestyle that included concerts and plays, walking, […]

After Grace, 98, was hospitalized for pneumonia in 2022, her daughter, Gail, started researching hospice and home care providers. This wasn’t new territory for her. A decade earlier, she had looked into home care agencies when her father’s health started failing. Her sister, Geri, who lived with their parents in the Twin Cities, was able […]

When Dr. Ben Bache-Wiig, MD, Lifespark’s Executive Medical Director, began practicing internal medicine some 30 years ago, primary care physicians were given the time to get to know their clients, build long-term, trusted relationships with them, and follow them from clinic to hospital to rehab—wherever their care took them. “That model of care doesn’t exist […]