Joining Susan in the studio today is repeat guest Kelly Dunham.  Kelly is both a Community Relations Coordinator and a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist.  She developed a passion for helping others through volunteer work in a nursing home as a youth.  Always energetic and athletic, Kelly has a dream job – she get’s paid to play with her patients.

Since May is Stroke Awareness Month, Eugeria! Radio is highlighting leaders in our community that treat and support stroke patients and their families.  Gwinnett Medical Center provides a full continuum of stroke care that is nationally accredited.  Their hospitals in Lawrenceville and Duluth feature dedicated acute care stroke units as well as stroke rehabilitation programs and services.  Additionally, their extensive rehabilitation services begin with physical therapy and occupational therapy, as well as speech pathology services, as soon as the patient is stabilized. Patients needing continued inpatient care may be referred for inpatient rehabilitation at Glancy Rehabilitation Center or to Gwinnett Extended Care Center.

For more information on Gwinnett Medical Center or Glancy Rehabilitation Center, or for information about their Stroke Support Group, contact Susan at sgaunt@gwinnettmedicalcenter.org, or contact Kelly at kdunham@gwinnettmedicalcenter.org.

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for 20 years.

First Response Safety Training is committed to high quality, affordable training for both healthcare professionals and family caregivers that seeks to encourage the right response in an emergency as second nature.  Tom and his wife have owned First Response Safety Training for 13 years.  They offer certification courses in CPR, First Aid, AED, Fire Safety and Bloodborne Pathogens.  First Response Safety Training and Griswold Home Care will be partnering to offer CPR and First Aid classes in the Tucker area on a regular basis.  These classes will be open to both healthcare professionals and family caregivers!  To reach Tom, call him at (770) 945-6837, or visit their website here:  www.firstresponsecpr.com.

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for 20 years.

Joining Nancy on the show today, Dave Savage is passionate about helping families communicate and memorialize their stories for future generations.  Like Nancy, Dave is a volunteer with Compassionate Care Hospice.  After spending many years in business, Dave became very interested in helping families “record their roots.”  Check out his work at www.memorykeepersvideo.com.

Michael Mullink has also dedicated his life and career to helping people.  Trained as a minister and chaplain, Michael spent most of the last six years as a chaplain for Compassionate Care Hospice.  He recently took on the role of Director of Volunteer Services.  Now he gets to coordinate the services of his “11th hour angels.”  He notes that Compassionate Care Hospice has nearly as many volunteers as it does paid employees.  He is thrilled to be involved with such a selfless and committed group of individuals!  For more information about Compassionate Care Hospice, or to contact any one of our guests today, email Michael at mmullink@cch.net, or call M inhale directly at (770) 220-2723.

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for 20 years.

On the other end of the spectrum, Carl Wilhelm had just completed a long and fruitful career as an ordained minister, a missionary to Ecuador for 15 years, and more than 25 years as a Shepherding Pastor for Perimeter Church.  Ten years ago, looking to retire and spend more time with his family, he also received the Parkinson’s diagnosis.  His world changed overnight.

Listen in as both Carl and Ben share their stories – about how they went from grieving, and even anger, to acceptance, to active participation in using their experiences to help other families deal with their own diagnoses.  These men have faced their own personal struggles to discover a new mission serving others in a way they never expected.  Carl runs a Parkinson’s Support Group twice each month at J. Christopher’s in Duluth, and Ben is also an active member.  To get more information, contact Carl via email at carlw@perimeter.org.  To contact Ben directly, email him at bendjax@gmail.com.

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for 20 years.

Finding she had a knack for working with seniors, she decided to enroll in Valdosta State University’s new Masters program in Social Work.  In 2001 she was part of the second graduating class, with only 30 other students!  A year later, in 2002, Lynn moved to Atlanta, and continued to work as an Activities Director at an assisted living facility.  This work led her to a position as a geriatric social worker for an elder law attorney.  Six years ago, today, Lynn became the first social worker in Emory University’s Department of Neurology Movement Disorders Program.

Lynn is very passionate about her work with Movement Disorders.  Though her work covers seven different movement disorders, Parkinson’s Disease is the most common.  To that end, Lynn is also the coordinator for the American Parkinson’s Disease Association’s information and referral center.  Coincident with Lynn’s appearance on the show, Eugeria! Radio wants to make our listeners aware that April is National Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month.  To that end, there are a number of events coming up including a golf tournament at Smokerise Country Club, a fundraising walks, several educational events, two shows with Lamb Chop and Mallory Lewis, and more.  For details on these events, check the APDA Georgia Chapter’s website at www.apdageorgia.org/.  Also don’t miss an opportunity to hear from Emory’s researchers on the latest ideas in Parkinson’s Disease research:  “Community Conversations with Emory Parkinson’s Disease Researchers” on Saturday, June 1, 2013 from 10:00 am – 1:30 pm in the Claudia Nance Rollins Building, 1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, 30322.  To register, go to www.udall.emory.edu/community_outreach.

To find out more about the Movement Disorder Program at Emory University’s Neurology Department, or to reach Lynn directly, call her at 404-728-6300.

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for 20 years.

Growing up in upstate New York, just south of Rochester, Johnna later went to the State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo, earning a degree in Sociology.  She later attended the University of Georgia, earning her Masters Degree in Social Work.

After spending 25 years in sales and marketing, Johnna felt called to return to her roots.  After earning her masters in 1991, she worked for a variety of health providers, including hospitals, hospices and even did some teaching.  Ten years later, Johnna decided to take her experience into the home, and formed JG Options.

JG Options deals with clients referred for depression, anxiety and mild cognitive impairment.  She now has 15 clinicians that work with her to serve the entire metro Atlanta area and beyond.  Her services are typically covered by Medicare, providing mental health assessments and mental health therapy in the clients’ homes.  She tells us that she treats the patient by treating the entire family!  For more information, please call Johnna directly at (770) 414-9742 (office), or (404) 277-3226 (cell).

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for 20 years.

After earning her degree, Anissa worked in pharamaceutical sales.  About five years ago, she had an opportunity to observe hospice up close when her grandfather passed away.   Given her education in social work, she decided to learn more about hospice.  This ultimately led her to her current position at Halcyon Hospice.

Halcyon Hospice was formed when owners Don Cole and and Jack Drauhon purchased both Compassionate Hospice and Altus Hospice.  The company was named after the Walt Whitman poem, Halcyon Days, referencing that period of calm during the winter, when storms do not occur.

To get more information about Halcyon Hospice, check them out on the the web at www.excellenceinhospice.com  or call them at (678) 328-1700.

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for 20 years.

Another Atlanta native, from a rival high school and a rival University (Grady HS and Georgia State University), Dan Wolbe has been in the mortgage business for more than 40 years.  About 13 years ago, Dan saw a need and an opportunity in the reverse mortgage business.  Dan is currently a mortgage broker for Liberty Home Equity Solutions.  Through reverse mortgages, Dan helps seniors stay in their own homes as long as they want to stay.  Listen in as Dan describes the traditional use of a reverse mortgage, and also talks about how a senior can use a reverse mortgage to buy a new home!  Dan can be reached at (770) 984-0125.

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for 20 years.

Sharon followed her husband to Atlanta 18 years ago.  After missing the closeness of her family relationships for a number of years, Sharon found a surrogate family in the senior community when she took her first position at an assisted living community as an Activities Director.  Now, ten years later, she still feels like the senior community provides her with a surrogate family!  After a brief break, Sharon recently returned to Sunrise at Ivey Ridge as the Director of Sales.

With Sharon on the show today is Executive Director Yolanda Doley Hunter.  Sharon met Yolanda in 2005 when they both started working at Sunrise Ivey Ridge.  Yolanda is from New Orleans via St. Louis.  She holds a Masters of Education in Counseling.  She originally joined Sunrise at their community in East Cobb in 2002, and was promoted to Executive Director in the Fayetteville community in August of 2003.

Sunrise at Ivey Ridge is a beautiful community offering both assisted living and memory care in Alpharetta.  Sunrise at Ivey Ridge offers beautiful Southern-style housing facility, complete with a rocking chair on the front porch.  They are located at 2950 Old Alabama Road.  For more information, call Sharon at 770-475-6622, or stop in for a tour!

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for 20 years.

Listen in as Lisa describes the value her team provides as they evaluate everything from in-home care options to care recommendations made during a doctor’s appointment.  It is clear that Lisa loves her work, and is committed to caring for every aspect of a client’s care.  To find out more about Lisa’s proactive, problem-solving approach, contact her at 770-579-9177, or visit her website at www.seniorcareopt.com.

We want to thank Griswold Home Care for sponsoring today’s show.  Griswold Home Care has been a preferred provider of high quality, affordable in-home senior care in Atlanta for 20 years.