Tuscan Talks | Senior Living Today

In this episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living Founder and CEO Dr. Larry Pino & Brenda Gurung discuss helping families connect with their loved ones with dementia.Head over to TuscanTalks.com to see show notes, including direct links to resources you’ve heard today.Brenda Gurung, C.D.P. (she/hers) is a credentialed dementia specialist and has served in senior living for over 12 years. She offers empowering, practical insights—always with the goal to improve meaningful connections with people living with dementia. She is the founder of Be Growth Dementia Education, a volunteer Community Educator who regularly presents for the Alzheimer’s Association (and has facilitated over 150 workshops), and holds a number of certifications. An ally, she advocates for inclusive spaces and voices. Health Philosophy: “I provide practical insights to connect with individuals with dementia in a meaningful way that recognizes their own agency, purpose and ability. I enjoy collaborating with families, families of choice and professionals. I strive to be an ally, cultivating safe, open spaces for all.”

In this episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living Founder and CEO Dr. Larry Pino,  Lisa Taylor & Jack York from iN2L discuss engagement technology in senior care.Head over to TuscanTalks.com to see show notes, including direct links to resources you’ve heard today.Lisa Taylor is the Chief Executive Officer of iN2L (It’s Never 2 Late), the leading provider of engagement technology for senior living. With more than 20 years’ experience as an executive leader in the healthcare IT space, Lisa is known for her ability to drive growth through cutting-edge solution development, unwavering focus on client experience and a passion for organizational health. Lisa regularly advocates for the need to engage the senior population to improve quality of life, with a focus on how technology specially designed for this purpose and group delivers impactful results.Jack York is co-founder of iN2L. Originally, Jack did not envision iN2L as a business; the impetus for what became the company was a philanthropic idea to donate computers to assisted living communities and nursing homes in Southern California. With a 15-year background in the Silicon Valley, he saw a vast potential in fostering these connections, but also saw that conventional technology was too difficult for most residents to use in a meaningful way. 

In this episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living Founder and CEO Dr. Larry Pino & Sherri Snelling discuss wellness for older adults and family caregivers, creating "healing spaces" and tips on avoiding caregiver burnout.Head over to TuscanTalks.com to see show notes, including direct links to resources you’ve heard today.Sherri Snelling is a corporate gerontologist, authorpreneur and founder/CEO of Caregiving Club, a strategic consulting and content creation firm with an expertise in caregiver wellness, well home design and brain health/Alzheimer’s. She is the host of the podcast, “Caregiving Club On Air” and author of a series of books on caregiving and wellness including A Cast of Caregivers – Celebrity Stories to Help You Prepare to Care, and the upcoming Me Time Monday – Weekly Wellness for a Wonderful Caregiving Life, The Snug Home – A Family Caregiver’s Guide to Well Home Design. Sherri also conducts her Me Time Monday – 7 Elements of Wellness educational webinars and workshops on healthy aging and caregiver wellness. Sherri writes for PBS Next Avenue, Forbes.com, Thrive Global, USA Today, she has been a TV producer and host and currently does on-air commentary for TV news and radio. Sherri has served on caregiving advisory committees for the White House, the Center for Disease Control & Prevention, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institute on Aging. She is a nationally sought speaker for organizations and employers on a variety of aging and caregiving topics. Sherri has a master’s degree in gerontology and a master’s certification from MIT Sloan School of Management on “Shaping the Jobs of the Future.”

In this episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living’s Founder and CEO, Dr. Larry Pino & Dr. Concetta M. Tomaino, DA, LCAT, MT-BC, discuss scientific applications of music therapy, therapeutic relationship between music and the brain, and implementation of music to care for your loved one.Head over to TuscanTalks.com to see show notes, including direct links to resources you’ve heard today.A pioneer in the field of music therapy, Dr. Concetta Tomaino is both the Executive Director and co-founder of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF) and formerly Senior Vice President for Music Therapy at CenterLight Health System, (formerly Beth Abraham Family of Health Services) Internationally known for her research in the clinical applications of music and neurologic rehabilitation, Dr. Tomaino has lectured on music therapy throughout the United States and in Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Italy, England, and Canada. A past president of the American Association for Music Therapy, Dr. Tomaino was honored at the United Nations with the Music Therapists for Peace Award of Accomplishment. Committed to fostering the broadest access to music therapies for people in need the world over, Dr. Tomaino’s work with the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function has advanced the state of the art and science of music therapy for individuals suffering the effects of brain trauma including stroke, or who are afflicted with such degenerative neurological diseases as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. 

In this episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living’s Founder and CEO, Dr. Larry Pino & Suzette Graham, Patriot Angels Owner/CEO, discuss VA benefits with an emphasis on Aid and Attendance. Patriot Angels not only assists Veterans, but also their surviving spouses to secure these benefits.In 2012, former Mrs. Alaska, Suzette Graham founded Patriot Angels to lead a change in helping U.S. Wartime Veterans get approved for their Aid and Attendance pension from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Suzette has spent a lifetime advocating for the vulnerable. In February of 2000, Suzette received the “Heroism Award” from the governor of Alaska, Tony Knowles, for her lobbying efforts in getting the laws changed to better protect children in the custody of the foster care system. As Suzette’s passion for assisting the vulnerable came to fruition, she established a team of advocates dedicated to providing funding solutions and VA benefits navigation to Veterans, widows, families, caregivers, and communities. By utilizing veteran pension funds made available through the Veterans Administration, our veterans and their families can better afford their choice of accommodation in a senior living community, as well as alleviate the stress behind long-term funding.

In this episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living’s Founder and CEO, Dr. Larry Pino & Laura Olson, Ph.D., discuss systemic policy flaws in America's approach to elder care and the challenges Laura faced as a long-distance caregiver. A compelling story of laughter, tears, outrage and so much more, Laura’s book, Elder Care Journey is a window into long-term care industries such as nursing homes and home care agencies that consume a significant percentage of taxpayer dollars but often fail to provide quality care.Head over to TuscanTalks.com to see show notes, including direct links to resources you’ve heard today.Laura Katz Olson is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Lehigh University. Professor Olson has published nine books, the most recent of which is Elder Care Journey: A View from the Front Lines (SUNY Press, 2016). Her other books include: The Politics of Medicaid (Columbia University Press); The Political Economy of Aging: The State, Private Power and Social Welfare; Aging and Public Policy: The Politics of Growing Old in America; The Graying of the World: Who Will Take Care of the Frail Elderly; Age Through Ethnic Lenses: Caring for the Elderly in a Multicultural Society; The Not So Golden Year: Caregiving, the Frail Elderly and the Long-Term Care Establishment; The Handbook of Long-Term Care Administration and Policy; and Heart Sounds (her first novel).

Each of the COVID-19 variants affect seniors differently. But what are these variants? Where did they come from and how exactly did they spread?In this episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living’s Founder and CEO, Dr. Larry Pino & Tuscan Gardens Regional Director of Health Services Mary Gillette discuss COVID "State of the Union," after the Omicron variant, and how it all affects our seniors.Head over to TuscanTalks.com to see show notes, including direct links to resources you’ve heard today.Mary Gillette MSN, RN, CNS is the Regional Director of Health Services for Tuscan Gardens Senior Living. Mary is responsible for the direction and oversight of all clinical aspects including subject matter expertise, training, leadership, compliance with State and County regulation, as well as federal when necessary, review and implementation of company standard clinical operating procedures, risk management, quality assurance and prevention programs.

Vita was born in Lewiston, Maine. She started piano lessons at 7 years of age. She was the only 10-year-old girl at the piano, in an all-boys brass band, who played at the Capital of Maine in Augusta. In her senior year of high school, she had two singing leading roles in two operettas: “Chonita” and “Down in the Valley.” Vita received a full scholarship to attend the leading music school in Montreal, Canada: Vincent d’Indy. She competed and was chosen to play at the International Festival of Music in Ottawa, where she won a scholarship and two trophies. Head over to TuscanTalks.com to read more about Vita's musical journey.

A study on the use of “life storybooks” was conducted at a nursing home in Ireland in 2008. The findings from this study have important implications and provide insights into the importance of life storybooks in supporting the delivery of quality person-centered care. In this episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living's Founder and CEO, Dr. Larry Pino & Beth Sanders from LifeBio discuss the benefits of sharing life stories.Head over to TuscanTalks.com to see show notes, including direct links to resources you’ve heard today.Beth Sanders is the founder and CEO of LifeBio.com and MyHello.com, two solutions capturing life stories for better health through social interaction and tapping into memories and experiences. She is the creator of the LifeBio Reminiscence Method, a form of narrative care in senior living and health care settings and for older adults living at home.

According to the National Institute of Aging, higher levels of education may help preserve memory in the face of accumulating age-related brain pathology.  In this episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living's Founder and CEO, Dr. Larry Pino & Kevin Brennan from One Day University discuss continuing education for seniors.Head over to TuscanTalks.com to see show notes, including direct links to resources you’ve heard today.Kevin has spent his career in various marketing roles. Prior to joining One Day University, Kevin was Director of Marketing at AT&T Adworks. Most One Day U students have learned about a myriad of subjects from our fascinating professors. And best of all, at One Day U there are no grades, no tests, no homework – just the pure joy of lifelong learning!

As a caregiver to someone with cognitive decline, you might be curious about the different terms of memory care and what to expect.  In this inaugural episode, Tuscan Gardens Senior Living's Founder and CEO, Dr. Larry Pino & Joshua Freitas discuss memory care, diagnosing and planning care for your loved one.Head over to TuscanTalks.com to see show notes, including direct links to resources you’ve heard today.Joshua J. Freitas is an award-winning memory care program developer and researcher. His cutting-edge training philosophy is pushing the dementia care industry forward with the mantra: understand, connect, and engage. Freitas holds five certifications related to dementia care and has studied at some of the world's most renowned colleges and universities including Lesley University, Harvard University, and Berklee college of music. He is dedicated to improving dementia care.