Aging Well and Finding the Right Fit: Resources, Resilience and Real Conversations

Welcome to the Living to 100 Club Podcast. Here's our host, Dr. Joseph Casciani. Well, hello to everyone joining us today. You're listening to the Living to 100 Club Podcast, and I'm your host, Joe Casciani. I'm passionate about helping people embrace psychologically healthy aging, staying positive, finding purpose, and making the most of all the years we're given, no matter what challenges come along. This podcast is part of a larger mission I call the Living to 100 Network, which brings together 3 powerful tools: these podcasts for insight and inspiration, our Better, Longer, and Happier card deck series, and the Living to 100 Community, a place to connect, learn, and thrive together. To learn more, visit mylivingto100.club for podcasts and blogs, and join our group forum at the livingto100.community and livingto100.solutions to explore the card decks designed to promote wellness at any age. Thanks for being part of the journey. Now let's dive in today's conversation. In today's episode, I sit down with Deanna Liss Executive Director of ElderWorks, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting older adults and their families as they navigate the aging journey. Based in Illinois, ElderWorks has helped thousands through its free counseling, housing guidance, educational programs, and fitness offerings, all designed to empower seniors and caregivers alike. We explore what it means to age well from both a psychological and practical lens. Deanna brings her on-the-ground expertise in memory care, activity program, and resource navigation, offering listeners a clear picture of how elder works, helps seniors live fully and confidently. First, a little background. Deanna Liss brings over 20 years of healthcare experience from hospital systems skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, and memory care communities. In addition to working in healthcare, she has had the honor of assisting many of her own personal family and friends through healthcare challenges ranging from memory loss, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. Deanna is dedicated to patient advocacy and has a strong commitment to compassionately providing all individuals and their loved ones with education, resources, and support, which enables them to make the best decisions to improve their lives. Deanna, welcome to our program today.

Oh, thank you, Joe. I'm so excited to be with you today.

Yeah, glad to— glad you could join us. I'm looking forward to our conversation as well. I always like to begin by asking our guests, well, why don't you tell us what ElderWorks is all about. Give us a broad overview, what it offers, and the population you serve.

Okay, yeah, so ElderWorks is a non-for-profit 501 organization that provides complimentary services, and our, our professional team helps older adults and their families navigate everything aging. Our mission is to provide senior living coordination, advocacy, education to those older adults and seniors and their families by offering information, referrals, and guidance so that they can make the appropriate decisions regarding their future, whether it be in senior living, home care, if it's benefits that they need to understand, or supportive services. So we do provide the educational piece for consumers, and we do provide educational programs for professionals as well. Um, we will be 13, um, in September and have had the honor of, uh, just in 2024, we help manage just under 1,500, um, cases Wow. And when you look at the amount of phone calls and different things that happen, we had over, just under 40,000 people we assisted in 2024.

Wow. Wow.

So it's, it's a calling. It's a passion. We have a team that brings years of experience from many different things. Different careers to come, and it's a, it's a labor of love for us to be able to help people age well.

Well, well, that's great. Congratulations on your anniversary. It sounds like you provide the full complement of services that the older adult needs, and you have your own experience in healthcare and different healthcare systems. So How did your own journey from CNA to Executive Director of ElderWorks prepare you or shape the work that you now do?

So early in life, I'm a, I'm a farmer's daughter. So I learned about the cycle of life early. And then I went to school and graduated high school with my Certified Nursing Aide. I became a laboratory technologist as well. And worked in healthcare in a hospital for years, made several journeys, had worked in skilled nursing, learned from some of the very best professionals out there, nurses and doctors. And then I became a memory care director. During this journey, 3 out of my 4 grandparents had forms of dementia. So I had that from a personal standpoint, uh, that I, um, learned from that. Um, and as I made different choices, I joined ElderWorks, uh, just shy of 4 years ago and, um, came on, um, as a social services specialist so that I could help people and, um, transitioned, um, to executive director. I think, um, the neat piece of, of being with an organization like ElderWorks is it, it really truly aligns with what my heart is, um, being able to help people and enhance their lives. Um, and sometimes that's just navigating to find the right resource. Sometimes it's helping a spouse that might be getting a little bit of caregiver burnout, some, some coping mechanisms, to, uh, working with a, a 93-year-old woman who is is bound and determined to stay fit and not need to do anything but age well in her home. And she wanted to be part of our Stepping Out to Fitness program. So it's just, I'm very blessed. It's, it's a calling, it's a passion. And I work with a dynamic team of individuals at ElderWorks, and we have partners throughout Illinois and throughout the nation really that help us help seniors age, age to the best that they can.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, so you've had really a strong foundation with all of your work in different systems and as a paid caregiver and as an unpaid caregiver and now in an administrative role, you can kind of roll all of these into one, into one position. Yeah. I can see the advantage that ElderWorks has in having you work as their executive director. Yeah.

Oh, thank you for that. I'm, I'm just one of the team. As we say at ElderWorks, we're a we, we're not an I. There's a we in ElderWorks, there's not an I. So what I don't know, I have a team that can help me and sometimes they reach out to me, but it's all about our, our older adults and our seniors aging well.

Yeah. And how far do you spread? You're, you're in Illinois outside of Chicago, as I recall. So what's your reach?

So we, we cover all of Illinois and we— fun fact, we now have part of our team in Indiana. We have part of our team in Arizona. We have a team member in Florida and one in South Carolina. So we do focus primarily on Illinois. But we've had so many people reach out that we're expanding our partnerships and our reaches so that when somebody reaches out, we do have a resource and a connection for them so their lives can be enhanced.

Yeah. Wow. So what are— I mean, I'm sure you're facing a lot of questions every day and people reaching out for guidance and assistance. What, what are some of the biggest challenges that you're facing?

I think when we look at the challenges we're facing or the challenges that the seniors are facing—

well, the seniors, I mean, what are the challenges they bring to you? Yeah.

Yeah. So I think what we're finding is a lot of seniors don't know of the resources or the benefits that they could take part in. So it's helping them navigate. Sometimes they're overwhelmed by options. Sometimes they're in urgent need or having to make decisions in crisis. So that's why we like to do a lot of our consumer education and provide programs so people can plan, because they have more choices when you're able to plan. Sure. We do see a recent health crisis sometimes when people are reaching out. We do have individuals that sometimes there's a disagreement on how mom or dad should, should be or where they should be.

Sure.

Sometimes we're helping navigate that. But a lot of times it's just having them understand what those options are. What, what does a senior living community offer for someone or what do those resources look like to age well at home. Those are most of them.

You know, people are able to take advantage of the services once they know about them. So one of the big barriers is helping people know what you offer, helping people understand what the range of services are and how you can help. Yeah, that's always a challenge. I mean, because we know so much about aging and aging well and aging in place. And how do we get that information to the— I'll call them consumers for the sake of this conversation— how do you get that information to people to help them make these informed choices, informed decisions?

It is a challenge. And unfortunately, some older adults like to look at more of a I'll deal with it when I'm old.

Yeah.

And I'm not kidding. I've had a 98-year-old tell me that. But here's the thing. If, if they open their eyes and are open, open their hearts and open their minds to the resources, they really can help control what options are out there for them to plan so that they do age well and what that independence looks like as they age.

Yeah. Yeah, so interesting. So you mentioned, you mentioned to me that you've compiled a senior resource directory for the area. Tell us about that. What does it offer users?

So the ElderWorks Senior Resource Directory can be found both online on our website at elderworks.org um, or we do print 10,000 copies each, uh, 2 years when we go to print. In that directory, there are all of the government programs and non-for-profit resources we could put together. There are social and recreational programs. Senior centers are in there, um, transportation meal programs. We put in different articles and different pieces on Medicare and downsizing and scam prevention and technology. So what we had a senior lovingly call it, and this is a quote from her, so don't take it, don't take it from me, is she goes, this is, this is the senior Bible. This is like when I need something, this is what I go to. And so it helps families be able to research options, identify local and federal, state, state and federal resources. There are trusted partners of ElderWorks in there as well. It just helps them guide. And when we say it's a senior resource directory, it's not a tiny little thing. It actually is a fairly big book. It's a, it's a good inch thick, if not longer. So we put that out every 2 years. We got this version. So this is the 25-26 version. It came out in March and we, I think we've already put almost 6,000 copies out of the 10,000 that we print. So it is a resource that is in demand and professionals use it as well as families. So it is a labor of love for our team and those behind the scenes that, that create it and edit it. And it's an ongoing process. We're already working on the next version, but it, it really is probably close to the number one resource in Illinois that is a printed copy that people can access.

Yeah, that's great. How do you get them to people? I mean, how do they— you have mailing lists, of course, but how do you go beyond your, your list?

So within our, within our experiences, so we'll have a bunch of copies that will go out at our Aging Better Expo, which is in August at Stonegate. So we'll have people that will come and pick up directories. We've had People come to the center. We also, ElderWorks participates in a lot of local health fairs and resource fairs. So a lot go that way. And then we work with a lot of police social workers, case managers from hospitals, doctors' offices, and a lot will utilize those as well. And then our center is in Palatine, so some people do come in. We do have seniors that will ask us to mail them, and for a small donation, we will do that because we're a not-for-profit and postage isn't cheap, but we will get those out.

Yeah. And it's also available online, as you mentioned, so people can get it there.

Yeah. So we have a lot of families that do choose to use the online version, and it's really neat. Our team was able to set it up on our website so it's like you're flipping through a book. We actually— you're a page turner.

Yeah, you pages, uh-huh. Yeah, well, that's great. So that can be updated as well, probably easier than the printed version.

Yeah, yep. And, and, and changes happen all the time. Um, that's why, um, people will reach out to our team and speak with our advisors or our specialists because the changes— we make changes within our system as we learn them. It's harder to change a paper copy that'll get updated for the next printing, which will come out in '27. But that's why if they can't find what they're looking for, we're just one phone call away. If you would think of us as a senior guidance counselor, like you had a high school guidance counselor, think of us as a senior guidance counselors. We can help them navigate just about anything aging.

Yeah, that's, that's a valuable resource because aside from things changing, there's always new programs coming out and new services. When I was doing my series of card decks, I was just astounded at how many resources there are available on a federal level for seniors. I mean, education and healthcare and fitness and all kinds of programs that are either adopted by the federal government or associated with nonprofits. But anyway, there's a lot of new programs, a lot of innovative programs that are available. So you're keeping tabs on that for your, for your members. That's great.

We try really hard. As I said, we have a professional network of resources that range from legal to senior housing, to hospice, to home health, private duty caregivers, long-term care brokers. And everybody has something different. And with that network, we're able to pull those resources. If somebody hears about something we don't know about, they're so willing to share it for us. And then we try and share it as soon as we know so that we can keep everybody informed and engaged in everything aging.

Sure. I'm guessing, maybe hoping, that you have mental health professionals listed in your, your directory.

Or we do. Yeah, we do.

Yeah. So another program that you told me about is your fitness program and how you offer different fitness activities and programs for your members. How does that work?

So ElderWorks Stepping Out to Fitness program is a year-round wellness initiative. And it encourages older adults to stay active and connected. That's physically and mentally. Participants will track their physical movement, whether it's walking or biking, doing some stretching. We have a dancer that sends in every time she goes to one of her dancing classes, but they track that on a calendar and send that to us once a month, and then they are, entered into win a monthly raffle, but it really is more than that. There is a monthly newsletter, there are different programs, and we really focus on inspiration, wellness tips, trying to keep everybody going and engaged. So physical fitness nutrition awareness, and mental health and social engagement. Those, I would say, would be the 3 pillars of Stepping Out to Fitness. All of the seniors that sign up do receive a free Stepping Out to Fitness t-shirt. We have sponsors that have helped us with that for our program. And it's, it's inclusive, it's fun, it's motivating, and And really, it's to allow those individuals who don't get out much to have something that they can do to engage. So there is virtual education and fitness programs that go with it. We have been very fortunate to have chair yoga and tai chi and fall prevention and different classes like that, that we've done virtually. They can be seen on our website. Or on our YouTube. But I think the really fun thing about this is we're connecting older adults that are across the country. For one of our fitness class, we had California, Hawaii, Maine, and Utah all on the same exercise class. And so it really takes the world and makes it a little bit smaller. And it's really impressive how each older adult can be motivational to another. It's one thing for us that are in the industry of aging to be supportive, but there's a whole nother meaning and another layer of connection when one older adult is helping another older adult with positivity.

For sure, for sure. Yeah, so I can see, um, it sounds like when people sign up for the program, they can kind of create a baseline and then set their own goals, whether it's physical or nutritional or maybe attitudinal, and they can track progress.

So there's a monthly calendar that they can print and track out what they would like to do. Yeah, some people, some people really do it for the social. Some people have a goal of losing 5 pounds. Others want to try something new. We just had somebody sign up for Stepping Out to Fitness that their, their avenue has always been gardening. But their family got them a trike bike. And at 80, they're, they're now going out biking.

Yeah.

And so they're like, this is new. I'm gonna try it once a week for now. And, and it's as engaging as they want to be. But there's the— it's the overall fitness, it it leads to overall wellness and, and aging better.

Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of like instead of the, the wearables that people might use to track their steps per day or their weight, they're engaging with the program. But also, I think what's important is that they're not compared to others. They're comparing themselves to their own baseline and where they want to be tomorrow. That's their goal. They don't want to surpass the person next to them or the person in another seat. They, I think they, the importance is, am I doing more tomorrow than I did today or yesterday? So that's the goal. And that's, I think that's smart. So it's very individualized. That makes sense.

It is individualized. We do have individuals that wear these smartwatches and they'll write down, I did 2,000 steps.

Yeah.

Or I took a 10-minute bike ride.

Mm-hmm.

But it's them sharing their accomplishments. We have individuals that send us pictures so that we can put them in the newsletter of them doing their activities. But yes, it is very individualized and it is not competitive, if you will. It's competitive with yourself. And we've had we've had a couple of individuals that going grocery shopping is their physical activity, and they do that twice a week, but then 3 days a week they have it written down that they are doing meditation.

Mm-hmm.

And that's part of the mental health and, and being able to do that. So each and every person can do something different.

Yeah. And that's good. It's not competitive. You're, you're looking at yourself and how you are progressing towards your own goals. That's important. Sure. And I know when you and I spoke earlier, I had shared my focus on outlook and attitude and seeing opportunity ahead rather than seeing decline ahead, and how important that is to, you know, our own mental well-being and psychological well-being. How does that How does that fit in ElderWorks program in terms of their attitudes? And I'm sure it's not all a bowl of cherries for all of your people. Sometimes people do face some challenges. How does their attitude and outlook come into play?

I think when you think of a positive mindset and a sense of purpose, they're not just uplifting. They're essential ingredients to aging well. When we stay motivated and we embrace each day with intention, as you said, we don't add years to our life, we add life to our years. And aging is not about limitations, but it's about discovering new ways to grow, connect, and thrive. So when we have somebody that has reached out that is struggling, it's finding little ways that they can— you use the word challenge themselves, right? To look at something different. Sometimes it's journaling. Sometimes it's making that phone call to a high school friend you haven't seen in 30 years. It all looks different. But if you believe you're old, you will be old. If you have a Peter Pan philosophy that I'm gonna be 90 but I'm never going to grow up, sometimes that might be a good philosophy to have, right?

That might work. Of course that might work. Yeah, and I say age is only a number. It's, uh, gets— it gets us into more trouble than it's worth sometimes, so let's put that number aside and just focus on what I'm doing and what I'm capable of doing and building on that, building on my strengths. Let's let the weaknesses go. Let's let what we used to do go. Let's, let's, you know, when we don't have anymore, we can let go of that too and focus on what we have, what we can do, and continue to build on that. That's great. Yeah. So, what about solo agers, people who don't have a family and There are a lot of people that never married, no children, and they're living alone. How does that— does that come into the picture at all?

Yeah, ElderWorks actually has a solo senior program. And I think one of the key things is aging solo doesn't mean aging alone. You know, helping our individuals that are solo build strong networks of friends and trusted professionals community resources, that all can provide support and connection and give them peace of mind. I think part of that with our solo seniors is helping them plan and, and plan to age well. It's very— it is similar to what our message is for any older adult, but it's more important because they need to plan ahead. They need to communicate their wishes. If we have a couple, a senior couple, they normally know what the other one would want. They've been together for years, but when you age on your own and age independently, sometimes you have to have a trusted friend or resource, a case manager, help look at what that looks like to, to set down things legally, and you need to select those people carefully. You You want them to know what your wishes are. And if and when you can't make those decisions, that they will make those decisions in your best interest by what your wishes are. Honestly, doing that preparedness keeps the independence, it keeps them aging well. And just because they are solo doesn't mean they're alone. And, and there are ways of connections with, with socialization and different pieces. So ElderWorks is really here to help solo agers navigate everything from housing to resources or care in the home and planning for the future. And we're here every step of the way if they want it.

Yeah, well, that's great. And you're absolutely right, loneliness is not the same as being alone. People can be alone and not lonely, and it doesn't mean they can't reach out. They can reach out, of course, and we want to have more engagement and more connection. But that being alone doesn't mean that they're lonely. Yeah, thanks for that, Diana. So looking ahead, what's, uh, what's on the docket for 25, 26, 27 for all the work you talked about reaching into other states. Is that going to continue?

Yeah, I think our growth is going to be there. We've had families that we've helped in Illinois and then they've moved on to a different state. We want to, you know, be able to help as many people that reach out. So as a nonprofit, you know, we're always looking for ways to be able to help, but we So we, we're looking at, we just completed a fundraiser. Mm-hmm. We did our very first Speakeasy fundraiser to help us be able to provide these services. We have the Aging Better Expo, which is on August 13th at Stonegate Banquets in Hoffman Estates, and that will have 12 different educational classes. Mm-hmm. And about 90 to 100 educational resource booths. So it's a, it's a big day. Um, I am going to have to get back, but I think it's the 11th one we have done. So that's coming up. And then we have many different programs that are coming up. Medicare and understanding Social Security are huge. Um, so doing the education on those pieces, um, we also are very focused on technology for seniors and scam prevention because unfortunately with the times of changing, um, sometimes, uh, those humans that aren't so kind to others, um, seem to have issues and we want to make sure that we're helping our seniors age well that way as well to protect their future. There's, there's, the future is bright. Aging, aging should be exciting and choosing what you want. But I will say helping seniors plan well so that they can make decisions not in crisis is on the forefront.

Yeah, yeah, planning and preparation. And I agree 1,000%. It's, it's time to open new doors. It's time to look at new opportunities. I love to talk about that. Yeah, your footprint is big and it's important. We've got some outside noises here. I apologize for that. That's why I've turned my audio off occasionally. But anyway, how can the listeners, my Living 200 Club listeners, support or provide any help to ElderWorks?

So if they want to, they can go to our website, which is elderworks.org. They can find our resources there. They can look at the senior resource directory there. They can find consumer events there. And for our professionals that are listening, ElderWorks, as part of what we do, we also provide continuing ed, educational opportunities for professionals, nurses, social workers, nursing home administrators. The list goes on, but they can look there as well. If, if anybody wanted to do a donation, there is the availability to do that. But all of our consumer, all of our education is on there. But even more importantly, you can on there say I want to be contacted by an advisor and I want some help, I have some questions, and they can do that straight from our website. Or if someone wants to call ElderWorks, they can use our toll-free number, which is 855-462-0100, or they could send us an email, which would be just help@elderworks.org. So, h-e-l-p at e-l-d-e-r-w-e-r-k-s dot o-r-g. And any of our team would be more than delighted to help them navigate. And for those professionals out there that might have a topic that they think is relevant for an older adult, feel free to reach out to us because we're always looking to share the newest and latest things with our seniors.

Well, thank you. Elderworks.org, 855-462-0100 is the number, and an email address is help@elderworks.org. That's great. So people can connect even if they're outside of Illinois. They don't need—

you don't need to restrict your services, your support We do focus on Illinois, but as I said, we're growing. So we do have, we have dedicated advisors in Indiana and in Arizona right now. But anybody that reaches out, our goal really is to create an awareness of healthy aging and opportunities and helping seniors advocate for themselves. So we're hoping to you know, be here for the next 13 years or longer.

Well, good for you. That's— that you're giving the tools to people to help them age better, age healthier, age happier, whatever it takes. You're providing this array of tools and kind of a toolbox for, you know, for whatever people need. That's great. That's great. Yeah. So what's the final takeaway? What would you like to share with our listeners that you hope they remember from this conversation?

The final takeaway: aging's gonna be what you make it. And, and there are resources, there are things like Living to 100 Club and other podcasts and organizations on aging well. You just need to open up your eyes and open up your mind, and those resources are here, and you can age well as well. And if you need the help, ask ElderWorks. We'll be here to help any way we can. And Joe, it was an honor to be with you today.

Well, thank you very much, Deanna. I appreciate and applaud you for what you're doing and what you're going to continue to do. I think that's a great resource. It's a national resource, and gold stars to you for that, and to your team as well. So that's good. Yeah. Yeah, so looks like we're out of time. Uh, thanks for that, Deanna. Thanks. But before we wrap up, I just want to remind my listeners to visit my website for my blogs and podcast library. That's livingto100.club. And visit my new community for connection and experiences. That's livingto100.community. And if you're part of our senior living community organization, don't miss my card decks series. That's livingto100.solutions. So I've got a few Living to 100 dots: dot club, dot solutions, and dot community. Three pathways. So, um, thanks very much, Deanna, and thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in. Hope to see you next time.