Category: Seek On Blog (Consumer)

“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 […]

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,” […]