Feb. 11, 2026
Reimagining Dementia Care: How the Hummingbird Project Sparks Joy, Connection, and Purpose
In this episode of Dementia Discussions, I am joined by Elizabeth Fluck and Meredith Eden of The Hummingbird Project, and what a meaningful conversation this turned out to be. If you’ve ever wondered how to truly enhance quality of life for someone living with dementia—not just manage symptoms, but spark joy—this episode is for you.
We talk about the power of social connection, therapeutic engagement, and why isolation can be so detrimental, especially for seniors and those who cannot easily advocate for themselves. Elizabeth and Meredith share how their strength-based, individualized approach is transforming dementia care through creative arts, purposeful activities, and even virtual programming. You’ll walk away with practical insight and, I hope, a renewed sense of possibility.
Episode Timeline
[0:48] – I kick off Season 4 and reflect on the importance of community and connection for caregivers.
[2:12] – Elizabeth shares how volunteering in a nursing home as a teenager led her to a lifelong passion for working with seniors.
[3:55] – Meredith talks about her background in drama therapy and how she found her true calling on a memory care floor.
[7:49] – We discuss why socialization is more than brain games—and why isolation is especially harmful for seniors with dementia.
[10:30] – The origin of The Hummingbird Project and the need for a true “quality of life” model in elder care.
[12:09] – What one-on-one therapeutic engagement actually looks like—and how specialists tailor activities to each individual.
[15:41] – Beautiful examples of rediscovering talents, including harmonizing with a violinist and reconnecting with professional identity.
[16:52] – “They’re going to forget anyway”—we address this common concern and explain why the moment still matters.
[17:57] – How engagement impacts stress levels, body chemistry, and overall wellness—even if the memory fades.
[20:09] – The flexibility of meeting clients wherever they are: at home, in facilities, or even in the hospital.
[22:35] – The virtual engagement program and how even clients who seem “non-engageable” can thrive online.
[29:19] – How the program supports caregivers by filling in afternoon downtime and reducing agitation.
[33:46] – Navigating resistance to care and how Hummingbird can be the first supportive presence in the door.
[35:26] – How services are structured, billed, and customized to meet each client’s needs.
[42:46] – The partnership with Family Caregiver Alliance and the “Let’s Get Away Together” virtual group experience.
[45:17] – Travel themes, shared stories, and creating meaningful community for caregivers and their loved ones.
[50:47] – The flexibility of scheduling and why there is no rigid commitment structure.
Do you have a caregiving story to share? Barbara would love to hear from you! Please leave her a message at 310-362-8232 or send her an email through DementiaDiscussions.net. If you found value in today's episode, please don't forget to rate, follow, share, and leave a review. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and continue producing this content.
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I think this is something that we're understanding as a society. You can't just do the Sudoku puzzles at home to combat symptoms or isolation or all these things, that there's really a component around how you connect with others, having brain exercises or or eating well, all those things are important, but it's really about a lot more than that, and those things, I think, are being more recognized as a whole. We've been talking about it for years, and I think covid really gave us this catapult into more people speaking on this is that isolation is so detrimental to all of us, but especially our seniors, and then especially especially people who can't advocate for themselves in the way that that others can.
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Hello and welcome to season four of dementia discussions. I would really like to take a moment to thank the guests who were on this past year and to thank you the listener. I really could not do this show without you, and over the past couple of years, some of you have called me, so I am encouraging more of you pick up the phone and call me. I'm accessible, and I'm so eager to hear your story. I'm at 310-362-8232, or you can email me at dementia discussions.net so again, thank you. I'm grateful for you and so looking forward to another year of us being together.
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Hello and welcome to dementia discussions, the podcast for and about caregivers. Today on the show, I am thrilled to welcome Elizabeth fluck and Meredith Eden from the hummingbird project, and I'm not going to chat so much about the project as we will, of course, get into it. But without further ado, let's meet our guests. So tell me, Elizabeth, I've known you for a while now. You're here in LA Meredith. You and I have not met, so I'm presuming you're up north. Is that right
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in the Sacramento area? Yes. And then run the virtual program, which is technically anywhere, great.
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Okay, so and we'll get into that awesome. So maybe start out, let's get to know each other. Elizabeth, what brought you to this space, working with seniors, working with seniors with dementia, or
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is it that you're here? Well, I started my journey when I was a teenager, and I was volunteering at a nursing home, and I volunteered there for two years, and my sister was the charge nurse on one of the floors, so I would stay much longer than the typical volunteer, because I had a ride, and my ride would often work very long hours, so I spent lots of extra time above and beyond what the typical volunteer would spend. And at some point, the director of nursing noticed all that I was doing and created a position around the work that I did. So I worked for another two years in high school at that nursing home. And I think I also had a love of dance, which led me to become a dance movement therapist, and also a love of the field of somatic psychology.
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So I went on to study that I'd worked in various ages of the developmental lifespan, and then it led me back to working with seniors. I had done volunteer hospice work, and when hummingbird came up, the quality of life work was really what drew me to the work is that focus on the strength based, and it's just it's a healthy way to work as a professional and and also for the clients
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as well. Yeah, I like that. Maybe we could talk about that strength based program, yes? And Meredith, yeah, nice to meet you.
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Yeah, so nice to meet you. I'm so excited to be here.
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And also, it's so funny. I feel like so many people I meet in this industry have such similar kind of INS as we all kind of have that loved one family friend who was so important to them, and I was no different. My grandparents were my best friends growing up, and just such fond memories of being with them and being a part of their lives as they aged, and some more gracefully than others, but having experienced so many different forms, I really wanted to be in space, and life takes you in different directions, and going to grad school, and my background is in drama, and I'm a registered drama therapist and a licensed MFT, and with that, you have to do so many hours working with different populations. And I did the child play therapy route, and it was fun, but it was not quite my fit. And where my internship took me was Irene swindell's memory floor, and it was just the best time of my. Life, just being able to be on the floor every day and to be doing groups, and to be doing one on one, and really meeting people where they were at I'm like, this is healing. This is where the work actually happens, is being able to spend larger amounts of time with people and the families themselves. And I kind of was plucked from that program right into hummingbird, and I've been with hummingbird ever since. So I've been with hummingbird for almost 10 years.
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And wow, really, when you think of anything else out there, I mean, it's so important to have licensed marriage and family therapists that you go to and you you do more of the private practice setting. I so respect that, and also for me personally, where I found more meaning in my work was not having a 92 year old come to my office for 50 minutes. It was really about breaking down that wall and going into their home and being a part of the environment to really make a big impact and work outside of my license was really where I saw myself and where my my really true calling was.
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So you both have had, yeah, this passion for geriatrics. Clearly, yeah, no, I get I mean, my story is similar, so absolutely, I get it. So what is it like? There's been so so many studies about seniors and seniors with dementia, and the whole socialization piece, which hummingbird project kind of in its essence, is an activity program, right? An individualized activity program for seniors, all seniors, or just seniors with dementia.
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What? What would you guys say?
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Meredith and I were just talking about this yesterday, the program really stems from the work with seniors with dementia.
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However, we have moved beyond that to the extent of our age range goes beyond seniors. We've had clients as young as eight years and as old as 100 plus.
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And we also have clients that have various impairments that are either in the physical or cognitive realm. And we have some clients that may have cognitive impairments that don't directly relate to dementia.
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However, the work we're doing because it is so much about getting to know the person and their situation and what works and doesn't work for them. It is quite applicable to a variety of populations and ages.
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Okay, so not just people with dementia, but for this discussion, especially especially people it works especially well. Yeah, and why would you say it's so important to keep up that social aspect of our lives, even when after a diagnosis of dementia, and through the course of someone's, you know, dementia
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journey, I think this is something that we're understanding as a society, especially in science, so much more in the last decade around you can't just do The Sudoku puzzles at home to combat symptoms or isolation, or all these things, that there's really a component around how you connect with others, and how it has to be kind of more connected to the body, more connected to a holistic approach, and having brain exercises or or doing exercise or eating well, all those Things are important, but it's really about a lot more than that, and those things, I think, are being more recognized as a whole.
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We've been talking about it for years, and I think covid really gave us this catapult into more people speaking on this is that isolation is so detrimental to all of us, but especially our seniors, and then especially, especially people who can't advocate for themselves in the way that that others can.
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Yeah, agreed. I think we all saw that during covid Our clients who just became so isolated and depressed. So yeah, I, I absolutely agree with you.
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So let's talk specifically about the hummingbird project, this unique program that you have.
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And now, really, I suppose national or maybe even international, I'm not sure, but I suppose people can tune in from anywhere now. So there's different components. I was looking on your website, and it sounds like there's different components to the hummingbird project. So let's break it down a little bit, right? And maybe start with your one on one therapeutic activity program.
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Let's talk a little bit about that. What does that entail? Our program, the hummingbird project, began stage elder care solutions, which has been in operation for 25 years, and it started with care management and home care, and part of the home care program developed a quality of life program within our home care so this program that exists in San Francisco area and still continues to have a quality of life component to the program of home care, that is where hummingbird was born 13 years ago. Know, and what is noticed is really how much is needed in the realm of quality of life, because you're checking all the boxes, as far as a person being taken care of, with respect to their ADLs. But there's this big gap in really, what promotes wellness and quality of life is such an important component and someone's well being. And the hummingbird project was created, and like you were saying, the essential component is this one on one engagement, that relational aspect to our component, where you're developing the therapeutic engagements and the activities that you're doing out of that relationship and that getting to know the person and what sparks joy, particularly for them as individuals, which is really the beauty of the program, because you could be going in and doing something completely different from day to day with even a single client. There may be something different, that different threads you pull, and different interests that unfold as you get to know the person.
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And also as part of our program, we have, if there are facilities that are interested, we have groups that we're able to conduct as well that brings you know the whole community together and in various using various modalities or various engagement potential. We also can support various various organizations if they want to go through the seven domains of wellness. And we can do joyful moments series with different organizations as well. And Meredith also has our virtual program, which we can do the one on one engagements. We can also do group engagements in a virtual realm as well. And we do have a collaboration with Family Caregiver Alliance, which Meredith can tell you more about.
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So you're saying you can meet individually with clients. So that means getting to know, meeting with them, getting to know their particular interests, and then matching them with recreational therapist, or like a what other what? What are your Well, our
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special arts, Thera, yeah, our specialist, our therapeutic engagement specialists, and many of them do have a creative arts background or recreational therapy background or a clinical background. They may be teaching artists or educators that have come to this work from various backgrounds, and oftentimes the engagements have may have some aspect of art engagement, or it may be these individuals that are using their art backgrounds or recreation backgrounds To create creative engagements that relate to maybe the sciences or history, on some sort of intellectual pursuit that the person enjoyed so many times, it can have something directly related to the creative arts, but oftentimes it goes much more beyond that. Yeah, Barbara,
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one of my favorite stories was when I was first starting I was paired up with a client, and that evening, it was like the in with this client is knowing how to crochet. Do you know how to crochet? And I said, not yet. But that night, I taught myself enough crochet that I could go the next day, and I could know the lingo. I could do a simple stitch, and I could be someone who was going to take lessons, or whatever the I didn't know yet, but I knew enough that I could have the language to then make a connection. And it turned out that my stitch was horrible, and I needed I needed lessons, and I needed to figure out my mess.
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And it was enough to where the relationship could spark, and we turned it into this really fun project around how she could be a teacher again. And then we ended up donating that to the local Girl Scouts, and she really felt a sense of purpose and connection to really being able to step into that role as a teacher again. That was our initial project. We then it was just the inn, and we ended up going to museums, and we ended up hiking. She went and started to play tennis again. Lots of different things can stem from that, but it's just an example of it really doesn't matter where the inn is. We'll figure out the way to make that work, because our program, the nice thing about it is we have a structure, we have a philosophy that holds us together and holds us in place. But there's so much flexibility in what we can do with the actual time, because it matters what I'm interested to the point of I can bring and I could show up with those ideas, but the magic happens once we actually meet the client Absolutely, and that's really why we're very picky about the specialists we bring on, because you really have to be able to have this sense of flexibility and eclectic interest and ability to kind of reach into resources as we're 50 plus strong all over. California and Seattle?
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Yeah, I saw on your website. There was a video clip where woman was playing violin with her client, and the woman had a beautiful heart. She could harmonize beautifully. And the family said, Oh, we didn't even know our mom could harmonize. So it was a very sweet clip, yeah, and then another one who was, like an attorney, who you guys were talking about, like legal briefs with him, or something like that, you know, so really, like what you're saying, bringing in who they are, what their profession was, what their interests have been, really drawing them out. Yeah, go ahead. Sorry, Elizabeth,
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what were you gonna say? That's also another thing that comes up quite a bit where we will, you know, we send out weekly reports or and after each of our sessions, and we'll get that response back from family members that are just thrilled to know more about their loved one, and really, at a time of stage of their lives where you wouldn't necessarily expect that. So it becomes these really wonderful, this really wonderful gift to get to know somebody in a deeper way at a time where aspects of their life are generally at this stage of life, you know, getting more limited, and we're able to really buck up against that and keep expanding it out.
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So what would you say, yeah, getting more limited. That's exactly right.
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Like, what would you say as people with dementia, as you right, we all know long term memory is usually good, better, you know, good or better, than short term memory. So what would you say to families who would kind of might be interested in your program, but would say, well, but they're going to forget the minute you leave.
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Like, why would I invest in you guys? If you know my husband or my wife or my mom, is not going to remember what what you guys just did?
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Elizabeth, I feel like we were just talking about this the other day too, and you had such a great response to it.
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Yeah.
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I mean, I think so much is valuable about each individual's each moment, each present moment in each individual's life, regardless of how long we'll have that memory for the rest of our life. From science, what we know is that an experience that we have now can change our oxytocin and cortisol levels, where we're able to really shift the chemistry of a person. So although they may not be able to validate us and being able to explain what happened five minutes later or 10 minutes later, their experience remains in their in their body and in their body chemistry, and can really shift the rest of the day. So I think you know, thinking of that, and you know, even from a science context, and changing that, and changing individual stress levels, we all know, can shift brain health, physical health in ways that are just exponential
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and and to add on that too, I think what also becomes important is when we're there, we're really trying to become an advocate and a catapult for what is the rest of the week gonna look like, and it looks different for every client. But I always assume that when I'm there on Thursdays, at nine, I'm 100% present then, but I'm also trying to plant seeds with the care team. If there's one person on the floor that I can suggest something to, if I can observe something and pass it along to the family, if I can prepare a project and a care provider can now carry that out, because we've been successful, maybe we're organizing photos, or we're putting together a legacy, and there's some certain tasks that do feel appropriate that the care team can kind of take on, and that helps bleed into the rest of the week. And so it's, it doesn't always feel like the one time a week or three times a week, or how often we're in the floor. I think that's sometimes another one of our strengths, or really, I think to me, it becomes one of my challenges, is like, how can I make this time linger? How can I make this experience seep into the rest of their day? And I think we talk a lot with our teams around the transition and how transitions are so important, especially through a dementia lens, is that has to be very sensitive, and that has to be very intentional when we arrive to when we do the experience. However, many experiences fit within that hour, or two or three, and then really how we're leaving, we always want to leave our clients, maybe in a better state, or in a purposeful state, or in the next activity that's happening on the floor or with something in their lap, to read, to drink, to enjoy, if they're somewhere where there's not a family or a specific person to endorse on or to give them kind of that purpose. We're going to try to make that as best we can.
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So when you're saying on the floor, you're talking about activities at in.
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In a dementia in a memory unit, like, yeah, at a facility, but, and you also see people in their homes, right? Yeah, I
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always say that I will go anywhere someone needs us to go. And that goes in a couple of different ways. Is when we first get brought on wherever they're currently living, but also that we know the population, and we know things change, and we know things can sometimes change from week to week. And so if this week Mrs. Jones is in the hospital, she's still Mrs. Jones in that hospital, like I want to go and I want to visit her, and I want to continue our conversations or our music or our project, because our the whole point of our program is to try, try to combat the fact that someone, oh, well, this isn't a good week, or someone doesn't want to be engaged, or this person is not engageable, is like, the hardest thing for me to hear, because it's not that they're not engageable, is that we haven't found the right thing in the moment that person is still there, and the dignity and the respect is still showing up for someone, even if they're not in their full state. And then that's our job to adapt. It's our job to make sure that we're not over stimulating and we're not coming in too much. We're coming in right where is needed in the moment. And I love when I get to go see someone still in the hospital, because their face lights up, and even if it's to the point of dementia where they're not quite sure what my name is or how they know me, there is this sense, and maybe it's 30 minutes in, but there is this sense of like, oh my gosh, you're here. I know you. You found me. Like, how are we here right now? And like, when you find that little moment, it's like, goosebumps. It like, makes me so happy.
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Oh, yeah, absolutely, those moments of familiarity are so beautiful. Because I think oftentimes we do go in with a preconceived idea of what dementia is and what a person's stage of dementia is and what will be happening for them. And I think that as hummingbirds, we come in open to any possibility that could be present in that moment. And you know there are, through all accounts, clients that we have, that you would, you know they would not, according to many perspectives, know that we're coming however we're noticing. They get ready for us. They do things at that time, at that week that are unexplainable other than somewhere in there there's that implicit memory where the explicit memory may be fading.
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So they're preparing to see you. They're looking forward to seeing you.
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Yeah, well,
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and you made me think, sorry, Elizabeth, I feel like we're just like rolling with this. I hope that's okay. Marc, course. So yeah, right, you made me think too about this happened to us also a lot, as covid happened, and we were really again, as we always had, finding the next creative, adaptable way that we could support our clients. And in that moment, it really was about how we can keep the clients safe, but not let them sit in the room all by themselves. And we heard over and over again from everyone, and honestly, a lot of people that it was surprising to hear from that, oh, that won't work.
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They have dementia. They can't engage virtually. And I think what I love about hummingbird is we said, well, here, let's just try. Let's just see, it won't hurt to try. It's better than what the alternative is, is sitting alone and being isolated. And it was just so beautiful. And it's not for everyone, but over and over again, seeing people who were in their room doing nothing, or as we get new clients now, being like, what's a computer? Or like, I don't know how to do this. And then over the course of a couple weeks, I have clients who are reading again and who are looking at the screen, and they're focusing towards a specific task, and how under stimulated that actually is to the environment of a lot of things going on, having those headphones in and looking directly at me and being able to see our faces and able to see the words large on the screen.
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It's just I've had a couple clients over the last year who family members have said, Oh my gosh, she hasn't picked up her book in years, and now she's reading again. I don't know how much of that she's comprehending, but at this point, I don't find that as the important piece. The important piece is that she's doing the hobby that found that she found joy in and like the spark when she read the words. And like registered that she read the words and sitting there and having the notepad next to her to make that tangible. Second piece, it was like she was a secretary again, and she was back in her space. That is her.
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And to me, I'm like, this was the person you told me was non engageable online. And like, look at where we are now,
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very satisfying.
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So now we're kind of, we are talking about your online program. There's a name for it, right?
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Oh, our virtual, our Virtual Engagement Program.
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Yeah, okay, virtual, YOU'RE A Virtual Engagement Program. So what sorts of things? Because you're right. So many families would say to me, Well, you know, my husband doesn't understand the like, he'll never sit and and talk to someone on the computer that just that just won't happen. Or, you know, he doesn't understand the computer, like, you can't. He has no attention span for that sort of thing. So what sorts of things are you doing, like, Are are you bringing up that client's book on your screen and you're reading it together?
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What? Tell me, yeah, I, I think, I think there's a couple components. So I will say it's so lovely to be in person, and this is why the heart and the majority of our clientele is in person, and we have specialists going into the homes. And that even happens a lot of the times when our virtual component is added, it might be an additional session per week. It might be an extra touch point with a care provider to help give some suggestions.
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There's a lot of different ways that we use our virtual program.
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So it doesn't always, it doesn't always act as the only connection. It could be an kind of extra add on. But when we are seeing clients only virtually online, I always say it's all about how we start and how it has to be really stress free from the beginning. So I'm usually connecting with the responsible party, or whoever's actually going to be available or around to maybe push play or make sure it's charged, or open it up and make sure that we maybe test it out ahead of time.
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So then once we bring in the client, it can feel exciting or interesting, or even if it's hesitant, it's just not, it doesn't have a negative feel. So I think everyone's gonna be on board. Even if we're hesitant, kind of in front of our client, we're always having this kind of positive effect of like, let's just try this. Who knows? We can be curious together. And then that's really where we continue to try. And it's like you said, do we pull up the book that they've written? Do we pull up a Google Earth image of where they grew up? Do we show some art that we know that they're inspired or interested in? Is it a certain part of the world?
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It's really the same way that we would start an in person intake around, where's the gem, or where's the point of connection, and starting with that, it's going to grow. I'll say I've started with a lot of clients where we had to start on FaceTime, or we started with phone calls, or we started by sending mailed packets. And then as comfortability grew, we with this same client, we're now writing our third book, and we run his blog, and he writes blogs weekly. So I think the nice thing is our program has no limit in sight and where we aren't reaching out or having to connect other services. We're following that thread all the way through as someone's interests grow. And so when the idea of a blog came up, because this client wanted to be a writer, they they always saw themselves as a writer, but because of life and things that had happened, they had never actually been published. And so it was a perfect first step of we could be self published.
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Let's publish every week your words matter, and let's get them out there to people. And so organizing that and really bring the project manager is really the role we stepped into there, and we were his project manager to make sure that he got to show up and tell his story, but he didn't have to navigate the ins and outs of the blog or how to upload things, or make sure the photos are the right sizes.
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Those things were interesting to him. If those were, we would have included him in that part of the process, but for him, it was telling the story. So we would listen, draft up the story, ensure that he saw the words. And he loved editing. So it's we're always working with editing and making sure the language is exactly how he wants it to look, and then really figuring out what the image is that goes with what he was talking about, and then having that be published every week, and something that he could tell his friends about, the fact that he could just say, I'm a published writer. Was that feeling of accomplishment for him, and continues to be that
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is a great story. So like for the listener who's thinking, maybe the spouse, who's, you know, wife has a lot of downtime in the afternoon, would you be someone to call to say, Okay, we have, you know, doctor's appointments in the mornings, or we do exercise in the morning, but the afternoon kind of drags. And, you know, my wife, whatever, my spouse, ends up sitting in front of the TV, and we don't snapping, we don't have a lock or or they're agitated. There's more confused, there's sun Downing. Like, would you be a pro? Program to call to say, you know, what could you help in that situation?
00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:50.200
Absolutely and certainly, and that's where we would go from geographic location. Do we have specialists in that exact region that are able to come in and engage, if not, is a virtual aspect of the program a great fit for this person at this time. And then we also for care providers and family members. We also have the joyful moments cards that can give ideas as as and support for those individuals during those times of the day where may be a little bit more challenging, giving ideas and tidbits and ways to adapt engagements in order to spark interest. And hopefully we always know there are joyful moments cards. So we always hope sparking joy, and that really is the goal of our entire program as well.
00:30:50.920 --> 00:30:56.319
So that's a pack of cards. That's a box of cards that have ideas on them.
00:30:57.098 --> 00:31:39.499
Yeah, it goes through each like we've been talking about this whole time, the domains of wellness. So like we were just talking about how we were sparking this person's interest in being a writer, which hones in in the vocational interest and vocational domains of wellness, it also answers to the intellectual domain of wellness, where you're really engaging that person cognitively, and the creative domain of wellness that you're able to really with the writing, engage that creative potential as well. So we're always looking with that frame of reference. So if there is an individual out there that's finding tricky times a day with their person that has dementia, really, going back to those domains of wellness, is really a wonderful framework to get ideas for.
00:31:39.798 --> 00:31:46.479
Well, this person has a tricky time of day. What can we change physically at that time of day?
00:31:43.419 --> 00:31:49.838
What can we change in the environment at that time of day?
00:31:46.479 --> 00:31:59.019
How can we engage their interests in various ways at that time of day? To give that person an anchor at a time that is tricky for them to navigate through that time of day?
00:31:59.019 --> 00:32:21.380
Yeah, and Barbara and to go back to your question too, with the husband or wife, like, Is this someone to call? Is I'll say that's, that's usually where we start. That's usually the phone calls we're getting. If it's not from a fiduciary or a care manager or someone in the care profession, it's usually the actual family member who's going, I'm not sure what to do.
00:32:21.440 --> 00:33:23.000
Or we tried care, and she's just not ready for care. They just kind of sit there, or they're not sure what to do with them, or they're very adverse. I mean, I know this happens to me all the time, even in my family, is I don't I don't need care yet. I don't need help yet, but I'm but they're lonely. There's still something missing, and that's really where we can be. Maybe sometimes the first person in the door that's not a family member to help to start changing the experience around what it's like to be with as we age, as we change, and that's usually the calls we're getting, and we always do a free consultation to anyone who calls that's 30 minutes of time that is really there to listen to the current situation, to decide together, is this something that we want to try? And then how do we want to try that? It's really about every single client. The introduction might look a little different. The way we start might look a little different.
00:33:19.980 --> 00:33:46.240
The amount of time that we're coming in might be a little different, and how we're coordinating or working with the rest of the care team, they might already have care in place. And so we want to make sure that we're aligning with the care team, joining the care team and helping, or there's no one in and we're the first people in the door, which happens a lot of times, too. And we'll just, we'll just join whatever systems in place at the time.
00:33:46.480 --> 00:34:20.460
Yeah, no, I get that. I get that, sorry, that resistance that you're talking about. I don't, I don't need any, I'm fine. I don't need anything, you know, a lot of hesitancy at the beginning. So I'm sure kind of just getting your foot in the door, just starting is so important, so that a family member, or the person with dementia can see like, oh, okay, yeah, they're interested in some, you know, whatever My background or there's some sense of purpose.
00:34:22.559 --> 00:35:08.219
And I always tell when I when someone calls, I always say, This is so great, because you then now maybe get to be the wife again, or you get to be the daughter again. And I know this goes hand in hand, Barbara, with your work, right? Is care managers do so much in that realm, and where we can step in is on the floor in the current day today is that? What could they do? What is their engagement? So maybe this is the time that the wife can go off to the grocery store, or she could sit down and read her book like she can have that moment without having that guilt or that grief that we sometimes hold as caregivers. To then know you're doing so much to support and by having this break, you're actually going to come back and be a better, better caregiver.
00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:26.780
Yeah, because that you're saying that the sessions could be an hour, two hours, three hours, that that would be a nice break for a spouse or an adult child, absolutely, that would be a really nice respite for them. So how do you charge for your service?
00:35:26.960 --> 00:36:05.880
Yeah, all of the work that we do, we charge by the hour, and our hourly rates range, depending on the region and the specialists, from 130 to 145 an hour. And we do charge for everything we do on behalf of a client. So if we're doing travel to the client, obviously in the virtual program, that's not necessary. And the prep time, the report writing time, if we're ordering supplies for a session, if it's an art engagement and we're researching supplies, or maybe different music, things like that, gathering things together that would best support that client.
00:36:01.440 --> 00:36:35.780
And then, of course, the reports afterwards, which, for many responsible parties, they may be either professionals or loved ones, having that report to really share what we're seeing, what the response is we're seeing to the engagements. And then also, just having an extra set of eyes, we have a number of family members that are at a distance. So it we include pictures and videos that are able to really bring that person into the room during our time together. Yeah, so
00:36:35.780 --> 00:36:42.159
if I hired someone for my mom out of town, then I would hear what had happened during your session.
00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:47.920
Got it after every single Yeah, every single week you're getting a report. Sorry, go ahead.
00:36:48.159 --> 00:39:02.400
Oh, no, I just I'm happy to have been around during an inception of how to bill. And I think what we were realizing is that activity or day centers are great for some people, and thank goodness they exist. But our clientele was really falling in this gap of they want to be at home, or the project is so specific, or their family members really understand that they want something unique or focused on them, and that's the reason for us not having a brick and mortar that they need to come to, that they have to worry about transportation, and who's going to do transportation, it's expensive. By the time they get there, they're exhausted or they're confused, and then we're having to battle other symptoms to then try to have an experience and then sending them home. It didn't it didn't seem to fit our philosophy or our model, and that's why we turned it on its head, and really focused on how we can get out to you, while also keeping really high quality staff members who are dedicated to the work, who have that passion and that background. So when we are there, every second of time that we're spending on behalf of the client is at that elevated level, and that includes, like Elizabeth was saying, being those project managers on things. So it's not always the case. We have clients who don't necessarily use a big we're going in, we're seeing them in the moment, but it's nice to then have that opportunity, if something switches and it's approved by the family, to then be able to put a project together, or to do a scrapbook or to do a legacy project, things like that. And then I have some clients where I'm purchasing museum tickets where I'm taking them to a museum, or I'm purchasing, you know, class tickets for a class that we're going to be taking, and things like that. So that's more get the prep time that I'm doing for that client, where it's it's more just logistics, and managing all those logistics so that it's a success based situation like maybe calling the restaurant ahead with the order, so there's not this moment with the menu that cannot always be a positive experience for some individuals with dementia. So things like that, where you're front loading for the success of Gus, of the situation,
00:39:03.300 --> 00:39:29.659
got it, yeah, good thinking. I had a situation where a client who's had a small burden care brought him, you know, at small burden cares, it's a home. So they have maybe a music therapist, you know, a music person that comes in twice a week, and maybe an art person that comes in once a week. So I tried having him go to an adult daycare program. Total flop. Did not work out at all. So would you be a service like that?
00:39:29.659 --> 00:39:42.940
Could come into and, you know, a small board of care like, let's say a person is at a larger facility. They're not really participating in the activities at the larger facility, you could come
00:39:42.940 --> 00:40:01.679
in and you're making you're making me excited, Barbara, two different things you're bringing up for me is, I love going into Borden cares, because they are so they're so much more intimate. And also I always say is that if I'm seeing or our team is seeing four.
00:39:58.420 --> 00:40:15.780
Three or four people there, that's cutting down our drive time for each so we're still able to do that individualized connection, which is is tricky, and they're not maybe getting that as much. And then we're splitting up our time amongst.
00:40:12.539 --> 00:40:37.940
So if we're having clients in certain areas, that's always our ethical duty to break down and split up our drive time that we're to get to the area. So definitely going into a board and care setting. And then for those big assisted livings, I think we all know they're beautiful, and the programming is so amazing, and that extra cherry on top than maybe, let's say, even an activity program.
00:40:38.000 --> 00:42:30.860
And 80% of people are going to that, but the rest of them, that's either they're, there's so many different reasons. And to me, I noticed that it's a little bit like high school sometimes is that it's like, how do you break in? Do I go alone by myself the first time? Or can a hummingbird go with you until you find your niche, until we then are off doing something else. And so I really think of us when we're collaborating with care team, when a client is either being moved to a facility or maybe they've just moved and it's not going as well as we thought it was going to, we're a great resource to bring in in either of those moments to help smooth out that experience. It might be that we are just working with them for a limited amount of time, or it's working so well, they're then off doing a certain piece of their day, and we're coming in to do something else. So we really want to help any transition, and that's a pretty standard transition that can kind of happen if we're working in the home setting, and then a big move is happening, there's obviously going to be a lot of feelings that arise when a move is happening. It might be that it's a downsizing from a three bedroom home that they've lived in for 30 years to now. They don't have their car. They are in a one bedroom. They're expected to go eat in a communal setting, everything about it, it doesn't matter how beautiful it is, it's jarring to anyone, and if there's any type of confusion that's maybe on top of that, having an ally in those moments, I think, is key. And we're really trying to work with the system and the team. We can't fix everything, because it's really about how we can help them adapt and join the environment. But there's a lot of different moments where we've had success of helping someone join into into a new community.
00:42:31.099 --> 00:42:46.360
Good to know. So for those transitions, you guys really do great work. So you guys mentioned your connection with the Family Caregiver Alliance? What is that? Maybe talk about that a little bit.
00:42:46.599 --> 00:43:09.719
Yeah, we've been partnering with Family Caregiver Alliance for about five, five or six years, and the group, as lots of things that were virtual at the time stemmed from both of us, both organizations, trying to figure out a way to reach a lot of people who are at home.
00:43:04.500 --> 00:43:38.119
We started our virtual program, and it's once a week, most most Tuesdays at 1pm Pacific Standard Time. And the whole point of the group is to be able to be with and so it's for caregivers and their partners to join together, or for their a caregiver to join as maybe an escape, a time alone, but to be in a room around people who get it, who are maybe experiencing the same thing, or something adjacent to what they're experiencing, without having to talk about it.
00:43:38.119 --> 00:44:03.840
So we're always doing something interesting. There's an elevated sense of we're learning together, or we're laughing together. It's definitely a community. It's open to everyone, which is the lovely thing about Family Caregiver Alliance, it's they sponsor it, and we then host it, so we're putting together all of the programming, so then it can be free to the participants to join, to get that that link to share with with everyone. Great.
00:44:03.840 --> 00:44:09.179
Yes, that would be great. And what sorts of like, What would people expect if they get on there?
00:44:09.300 --> 00:44:13.260
Oh, I lose days. Yes.
00:44:09.300 --> 00:44:34.519
We started as a travel group so that the title says it, let's get away together. So with that, we then started opening it up to our regulars. What do you want to hear? What would be interesting to you? And we are, are going to be starting in 2026 our 28th series, we go eight at a time. And every series is it evolves from people's interests.
00:44:34.519 --> 00:44:50.739
So it might be that we're going to a location. It might be we're looking at a certain artist. It might be that we Gosh, what's an interesting one? It's the smallest animals, unusual animals in the world. So very finite, small topics as well.
00:44:50.739 --> 00:45:05.460
And then we have had a lot of history buff and music buffs over the last year or so, so we're bringing a lot more of that in as well. So if you come and you're interested. Did, your voice will be heard. And there might be a whole group about a topic that you'd find interesting.
00:45:05.820 --> 00:45:17.219
That's great. So let's say like you had a great you and your spouse had a great trip to Paris. So would you be showing a picture of the Eiffel Tower, or what the Champs Elysees?
00:45:17.519 --> 00:46:40.539
Or, yeah, it really mirrors. And that's really where we get a lot out of it. It mirrors, it's a little window into our virtual program. Of course, it's by group, so we're not able to go in those nooks and crannies and kind of go off down the rabbit hole, as we would if it was an individual session. But it's kind of painting the picture is, hey, here's a topic. This is our background for discussion. We're going to ask open ended questions. It's we're understood. It's kind of the unspoken piece in the room is that some people might be able to share more clearly. Others might be able to share in a certain way, and all voices are welcome. We utilize the chat a lot as maybe couple might be on mute and they're having their own discussion around the topic, but for the first time in a while, they're able to be on even playing field experiencing something together, and then they're commenting, or they're reminiscing, or my favorite is when someone jumps up and goes to the next room and gets a picture off the wall of them in front of the Eiffel Tower, and they're showing us that, and we're celebrating together like life's experiences that they might have anyone might have forgotten about for a while, and they were kind of reminiscing together. That's great when my favorite story, I hope I'm getting it right, is that there was a gentleman in the group that had this expertise of being an aerial photographer, and then came back and led one of the let's get away together groups.
00:46:40.539 --> 00:46:50.619
So that just shows how we'll follow threads and support anyone who's stepping forward to share with the community of, let's get together. Let's go together.
00:46:50.980 --> 00:46:52.480
That's a great story. Yeah, I
00:46:52.480 --> 00:47:01.019
was just gonna say Yeah, exactly, elevating his voice in the moment that he felt like he was able to share in the way that he was proud of and his wife is proud of in the
00:47:01.019 --> 00:47:05.219
moment, and are those, mostly people with dementia who are sharing
00:47:05.820 --> 00:47:42.099
it is mixed bag. And I will say once, I think we can agree on this, all of us is once you're a caregiver, you're always a caregiver. So we sometimes have people say, Well, my loved one passed. Can I still come and I say, this is your community, and we grieve at different stages, and this will always be your community. And we've had some people stay on for quite a while after, as they are able to then still be with until they maybe find their next thing that that helps them bring joy. And we want this to be a space for the community, and I think let's get away together.
00:47:38.179 --> 00:47:43.539
Has evolved into that and has become this beautiful space.
00:47:43.539 --> 00:47:47.559
And, yeah, yeah, a cohesive group, which is wonderful.
00:47:47.860 --> 00:49:39.380
I'm glad you mentioned the joyful moment series. That was a wonderful series. And I remember even in that group, there was a gentleman who had been in the Navy, been on submarines, and had this whole story about how they had to dock, and they cut the submarine in half in order to fix what they needed to fix, and then put it back together. And he had a picture as well, and they brought the picture like it was on the wall and but they brought the picture closer to like the computer for everyone else to see. So yeah, and there was a lot of that that that happened in a joyful moment series where there would be things that would be brought to the screen. And then also, I think what Meredith was saying definitely about the virtual where there's this idea that people you know may may not engage, but Meredith invited me into do some virtual work with a client that had hummingbirds three days a week. And it was also a client that Meredith had been engaged with from day one for seven years until end of life. And, yeah, there was, you know, the facility would shut down when there would be, you know, a covid outbreak, and then no one could go in and visit, and no Meredith is like, well, it will take them a while to set up the, you know, the zoom. It won't be in a different way, because there won't be a one on one person there, but you could always order grub hubs. So, you know, ordering Grub Hub and getting that into the person, and having that be a shared experience, and having it be there. And it was also a time where, you know, the person was feeling unwell and not able to eat, and they're like, Oh, this is the first thing the person ate that day. So just them, just there's always these little gems that unfold in ways, from just an idea, like, especially like Meredith, you know, guiding me in that and leading me to just how many ways can we think outside the box and really continue to have that connection and engagement, regardless of, you know, a situation that unfolds?
00:49:39.619 --> 00:49:41.739
Yeah, it sounds like you guys are very creative.
00:49:41.800 --> 00:49:47.440
I like that you think out of the box to connect with people. It's wonderful well,
00:49:47.440 --> 00:50:38.360
and I think maybe the last thing is more logistical in how often we see clients, I will say we're seeing clients from one. Once a month to six times a week. It depends on a lot of different factors, but I think it's sometimes important to start with just a phone call and seeing if it's a good fit, and then deciding together what amount of time. And the nice thing is, we've been able to, sometimes in certain moments, bulk up and see someone a couple more times because there's something specific going on these months, and then need to go back down for a while because of something else. And so the whole point of the program is to be flexible in that way for whatever reasons might arise.
00:50:34.639 --> 00:50:47.619
And then that's also where the virtual piece comes in. Is that if we're seeing them once a week, but we can have another touch point throughout the week that's going to go a long way.
00:50:47.800 --> 00:51:03.059
Yeah, that's a good point. So the flexibility you have seeing people more more often, less bad week, less often they have a doctor's appointment or something, some conflict, and you can go down if needed, I
00:51:03.059 --> 00:51:19.380
see there's no commitment in any, in any way, like you're not committing to this specific program for this amount of days or this amount of times on this specific day. You know it's, it's really we craft around the individual in every, every aspect of
00:51:19.380 --> 00:51:29.360
that good to know. That's good to know. Well, thank you for being here today and educating us on the hummingbird project. I so appreciate hearing you guys.
00:51:29.420 --> 00:51:43.539
This is a wonderful program, not just in California, but the virtual program brings people from all over, which is really, that's terrific. So thank you. I appreciate you guys. I'm grateful for you.
00:51:44.079 --> 00:51:46.300
Thank you, Barbara, this was actually having us.
00:51:46.480 --> 00:51:54.639
Yeah, it was fun to talk together and just to be in company that appreciate similar work. Absolutely.
00:52:00.280 --> 00:52:06.539
Thank you for joining us today on another episode of dementia discussions.
00:52:02.699 --> 00:52:50.800
If you're a caregiver or know someone who's a caregiver that would like to be a guest on the show, please call me at 310-362-8232, or go to dementia discussions.net. Forward, slash contact and let me know. I would love to have you remember that you can follow dementia discussions on Apple podcasts, Spotify Google podcasts and many more. If you listen on Apple podcasts, it would mean a lot if you would leave me a review for any other information about this podcast. Please visit me at dementia discussions.net and please share this podcast with someone you know, if you think it may help. Thanks again for listening, and I'll see you here again next time on dementia discussions,
00:53:02.679 --> 00:53:02.980
foreign,
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