Tag: Demystify

9. Janet Porter

~ Henrik de Gyor ~ Leave a comment

Dr. Debi Lynes interviews Janet Porter about palliative care in the home for any stage in life

Janet Porter

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Takeaways

Open a dialogue and invite a conversation about aging in place end of life. It may be difficult to open that conversation, but it sounds to me like the rewards are exponential.  What is palliative care? How death with dignity and having a quality of life is the most important thing.

Transcript

Debi Lynes:                   00:03                Hi and welcome to aging in place for every stage in life. What if you could visit or have a home that would accommodate anyone at any age, any physical ability at any time? How cool would that be? That’s what we’re doing here at aging in place. Why me? Because I’m a doctor of psychology and I specialize in physical spaces in health and wellness. Also, I love designing with intent at any age. Why now? Because we the baby boomers want to age in place gracefully and we want our families around us as much as we can and why you the audience? Because we want you to experience what it’s like to have a home that’s safe, aesthetically pleasing, and that you can live in at any age with any ability at any time. I’d like to introduce you now to Aging in Place Podcast for every stage in life.

Debi Lynes:                   01:05                Hi and welcome to aging in place for any stage in life. I am here today with my friend Janet Porter. I am thrilled to have you here with us. I would like before we even began to chat about palliative care and everything we’re going to talk about for you to share a bit about your history. It’s fascinating.

Janet Porter:                 01:23                Sure, Debi, thank you for inviting me. I am a hospital administrator by background. I had a guidance counselor in college tell me “you should be a hospital administrator”. And that’s what I’ve been most recently. I was at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, but I’ve also been passionate about leadership development throughout my career. So I’ve spent a lot of time as a faculty member at a lot of universities teaching leadership development and I’m most recently been very involved in governance. So I’ve been on the board of AARP.  I’m on the board of trustees at Ohio State and relative to today’s topic, I chair the hospice board, hospice care of the low country and Hilton Head because I’ve been very passionate, not only about leadership development, but about end of life throughout my career.

Debi Lynes:                   02:11                Well, you know, talking about aging in place at any stage in life, I think we often have a misconception that that is really about older people dying at home. I think the goal for this podcast is to really help people understand what it’s like to be able to have anyone at any time come into your home and feel comfortable. And I think it’s really interesting to talk to you today about palliative care, what it is and really about what it’s like at the end of life to age in place and specific things we may need.

Janet Porter:                 02:42                Okay.

Debi Lynes:                   02:43                So let’s get started and talk a little bit first about what palliative care is.

Janet Porter:                 02:48                Sure. Palliative care is a specialty in medicine, just like becoming a radiologist or an emergency room physician. And you actually get board certified in palliative medicine and it’s really physicians who oftentimes have all different types of backgrounds. They might be a pediatrician, they might be an internist, they might be a radiologist, they might be a nephrologist, but they’re often dealing with complicated patients and end of life patients. So palliative care doctors learn the process of really symptom management and managing the complex illness of patients and they’re often brought in as a referral at end of life because they’re usually very expert at also having the tough conversations.

Debi Lynes:                   03:30                It’s really interesting when you’re talking about it. When I think of palliative care, I think of end of life, no more active treatment interventions and it’s more about quality and comfort. What was interesting about what you said is also complex cases, so not just end of life.

Janet Porter:                 03:49                Right. So we have patients who get referred because of complex medical problems. They might have GI problems, they might have, you know, serious arthritis. They might have lots of different complicated problems. A lot of contraindication with medicine, met various prescriptions. Sure. And they’ll get referred to a palliative care physician to help them manage the complex care and all their symptom management and may be with that patient for years. It is true that a lot of doctors who specialize in end of life care had been trained in palliative medicine. I’m a faculty member in Harvard’s leadership program in palliative medicine and those physicians in that program and nurses and others come from a whole variety of backgrounds, but at their heart really want to help people die with dignity at end of life.

Debi Lynes:                   04:37                So let’s bring that back to the aging in place in your home. Why is that so important to remain at home?

Janet Porter:                 04:45                Well, you know, one of the things that surprised me because my parents were not like this when I joined the board of AARP, is how, what, how many people want to age in place, aging in place and dying in place is the strong preference. 85 90 95% of people do not want to leave their home. And so this is a really relevant topic because people not only live a fully.

Debi Lynes:                   05:11                Correct.

Janet Porter:                 05:11                In their home as long as possible, but oftentimes, I mean, mostly patients want to die at home. Also.

Debi Lynes:                   05:17                Let me ask you a question. Is this a United States thing where we want to stay? Well, where we typically have older people go to facilities or nursing homes as opposed to multi generational living?

Janet Porter:                 05:31                Well as you know, other cultures are in other countries are often much more respectful of elderly elders and honor them and want to honor their wishes and do have multi generational support with families living.

Debi Lynes:                   05:46                Yeah exactly.

Janet Porter:                 05:46                Close to each other. United States is so large and people are so young. People are so scattered now.

Debi Lynes:                   05:52                True.

Janet Porter:                 05:52                That it’s very unlikely they’re living close to their elderly parents.

Debi Lynes:                   05:56                But with that mind, I think as a baby boomer, someone who’s over 50, I’m not so gracious about being transported to a facility. I think I’m going to really, I want to know more about this. I want to know how to age in place. I want to know today at 60 or 66 how to create a home that I can age gracefully and, or die with quality. And I want my kids to create a home for me that I can visit.

Janet Porter:                 06:26                Yes.

Debi Lynes:                   06:26                And stay engaged and involved. So it’s really back to everything you’re talking about.

Janet Porter:                 06:32                Yes you know, it takes me back to my grandfather who was about 70 years old and in, in a little town called Verona, Pennsylvania. And he said he was having heart trouble and I, when the ambulance came, he was like, I’m not leaving my home. You know, I am fine here. I’m out. And he handed the car tech and died in the ambulance, but he was, he didn’t want it. He was walking down those stairs and he wasn’t going on a gurney, you know, and so many of us, that’s, that’s, that’s what place we found safe. And hospitals are, you know, oftentimes challenging places in terms of infection rates and errors. And so say home is a safe, safer place a lot of times.

Debi Lynes:                   07:10                it is a safer place. One of the things we talk about on the podcast a lot is how to create that safer place from a being on the board of AARP, number one and number two, just having an end of life interest, passion and specialty. What are some things that you can think about that are just easy ways to make your home more visitable?

Janet Porter:                 07:32                Well, the first thing of course, is to live on one story. I mean that’s the most surprising thing to me is the number of people that I know who choose to live in homes that have many stairs to.

Debi Lynes:                   07:44                Show up.

Janet Porter:                 07:44                Which is very difficult. So either being on a one story house or a one story house that has a bedroom so that you can be on one floor is the major thing because it’s the biggest obstacle to people being able to stay in their homes is stairs.

Debi Lynes:                   07:59                Okay.

Janet Porter:                 07:59                Either stairs coming into the house or a second or third story.

Debi Lynes:                   08:02                Let me ask you a question about going back to palliative care for just a moment and ask at what point do do palliative care physicians or even the process of palliative care come into play? In other words, as a patient who has a chronic disease, at what point would I perhaps call in a palliative care physician.

Janet Porter:                 08:25                At any point you can ask your physician, your primary care physician, just like you could ask to go to see an orthopod or an ophthalmologist.

Debi Lynes:                   08:35                Sure, sure.

Janet Porter:                 08:36                Or you can say, my symptoms are so complex and require such management, I’d like to be a referral to a palliative care physician. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of them around the United States. The big cities have them, but it’s tough to find outpatient palliative care. We’re getting in terms of producing more people who have this interest, but it’s tough to get them when you’re an inpatient. It usually happens because the family insists we’d really like to talk to a palliative care doctor. And that oftentimes then leads to the tough conversations about what really mom or daughter or sister wants at end of life.

Debi Lynes:                   09:14                And I think that those are the two questions I want is what does palliative care really look like, number one. And then we’ll take a break. What does it look like and then come back. And I think during the second segment, I’d love to talk about, having tough conversations.

Janet Porter:                 09:30                Okay.

Debi Lynes:                   09:30                So let’s talk first about what palliative care looks like to the patient.

Janet Porter:                 09:34                To the patient who let’s say a patient is an inpatient and the family says we’d really like a palliative care consult that involves a physician who’s understanding the full scope of illness of the patient and what the treatment plan has been, but is also really focused on symptom management and what symptoms are they trying to get under control, whether it’s end of life or not. It’s oftentimes the symptom management that’s critical to get the patient home, which is where they want to be. So palliative care can be helpful with the symptom management so that the patient can go home and then home care or if it’s end of life, hospice care can care for them, but have palliative care. Also good at having the conversation.

Debi Lynes:                   10:14                Exactly.

Janet Porter:                 10:14                Tough conversation with the family at end of life.

Debi Lynes:                   10:19                We’re going to have a take a quick break. We’re going to come back and I’d like to talk about what those tough conversations look like, how we begin to have them. And then I’m also very interested in the component pieces of those conversations. What just popped into my mind was what about do not resuscitate? What about who is the executor of my estate? I’m thinking all at once. Things that my mind is like too much to comprehend. So stay with this. We’ll be right back here on aging in place.

Debi Lynes:                   10:50                Hi, I’m Dr. Debi Lynes design elements are psychologically and physically supportive and conducive to health and wellness. To learn more about what Lynes on Design can do for you, for more information on certified aging in place and facilitative and supportive design, look for us at lynesondesign.com. That’s L-Y-N-E-S on design dot com.

Debi Lynes:                   11:16                We are back here on the Aging in Place Podcast for any stage in life. I’m here again with Janet Porter and we’re talking, we’re somewhat all over the board, but the focus is on palliative care and that has sort of morphed in and something that you’ve taught me in preparing you and I talked about this at lunch one day about asking the tough questions, having to tough conversations. So I’m going to turn this over to you. This is pretty interesting.

Janet Porter:                 11:42                Well, in the United States…

Debi Lynes:                   11:47                Okay.

Janet Porter:                 11:47                The legal field has legalized dying, which is then you really declaring where want your assets to go. People understanding where to where do your assets go through a will through other documents. But the other thing that’s happened is the medical establishment has medicalized dying has made it about what procedures you do or do not want. Do you want to feed into it? Do you want to be put on a ventilator. What do you want to do if you’re in a vegetative state. And while those things are important, and we’ll talk about the documents you need for both of those, that’s important. The truth of the matter is what we want when a loved one is dying is we want to honor their wishes. And that is, that does not just mean whether they want a feeding tube or where they want their, you know, precious, you know, figurines. But instead is knowing not what’s the matter with you grandma, but what matters to you.

Debi Lynes:                   12:42                Wow.

Janet Porter:                 12:42                And it’s about having that conversation about what matters to a 19 year old and 89 year old. That is really important because what we want to do is honor what matters and.

Debi Lynes:                   12:54                How do you even begin that conversation.

Janet Porter:                 12:55                Well actually there’s a great resource. It’s called the conversation project conversation project.org very easy to find.

Debi Lynes:                   13:05                Perfect.

Janet Porter:                 13:05                On the web. And Debi, they have toolkits that are little, little forms that you can go through where you reflect on the conversation you want to have with your spouse or your 19 year old son is not road riding around without a motorcycle helmet on.

Debi Lynes:                   13:20                Right exactly.

Janet Porter:                 13:20                Yeah and that document, that little toolkit kind of walks you through how to prepare for that conversation. When do you want to have it? Who do you want to be there? What questions do you wanna ask, etcetera. You know, the conversation project has done a lot of research on this and 92% of people say if they were seriously ill, they would want to have a conversation with their doctor about their wishes. 32% have chosen to do that. But more importantly, 80% of people say that if they were seriously ill, they would want their loved ones to know what their wishes were. 18% of people who’ve seriously ill have done that. I mean the statistics are overwhelming. The 21% of people say they’d like to talk to a loved one about what they want, whether they’re healthy or what, and yet they haven’t done it.

Debi Lynes:                   14:05                Is it fear, blame, shame, embarrassment, fear?

Janet Porter:                 14:08                You know what you remember Dr. Ruth?

Debi Lynes:                   14:11                Okay, Oh my goodness.

Janet Porter:                 14:12                Yeah, yeah.

Debi Lynes:                   14:14                I like her.

Janet Porter:                 14:14                Yes exactly. So you know, we couldn’t say the word orgasm on television until.

Debi Lynes:                   14:18                Exactly.

Janet Porter:                 14:18                Dr. Ruth came along.

Debi Lynes:                   14:19                I still remember that.

Janet Porter:                 14:22                Little German woman saying that she, you know, talking about words that we’d never used before on television. Well, I kinda think we need a Dr. Ruth of death. You know, because talking about sex was a taboo subject.

Debi Lynes:                   14:36                Correct.

Janet Porter:                 14:36                It’s much less taboo now because of her and others. And death is a taboo subject. It’s not something people feel comfortable talking about.

Debi Lynes:                   14:45                Which is ironic that you say that because I’ve got nine grandchildren. I was 10 and my little five and six year. When they’re in the back seat, they’re always talking, what does heaven look like?

Janet Porter:                 14:55                Are they?

Debi Lynes:                   14:55                What is it they feel like, well they lost a dog. What does that feel like? And it’s really interesting to listen to them be so open to the circle of life kind of.

Janet Porter:                 15:06                Yes.

Debi Lynes:                   15:06                Where we as adults are like, Oh my gosh, we’re trying to protect you. We don’t want to talk about things that aren’t wonderful and you know, rainbows and butterflies.

Janet Porter:                 15:14                Exactly, exactly. When I do, when I do presentations on this, I say to sometimes to college audiences, I’ll say, I’m going to talk to you about my sex life, and they all like sit up and feel uncomfortable and have butterflies in their stomach. I said, okay, I’m not really going to talk to about my sex life, but I’m going to talk about personal financial planning. And they’re like, they’re like, what? I said, you know what? You would feel equally uncomfortable if I talked about sex.

Debi Lynes:                   15:37                That’s right.

Janet Porter:                 15:38                If I talked about dying or if I talked about personal finance, how much I was net worth because we have these cultural taboos against topics that it’s okay, I don’t know about you but I don’t have any idea what my best friend makes or what.

Debi Lynes:                   15:50                I don’t neither.

Janet Porter:                 15:50                Not. A, we don’t talk about it and we don’t talk about death. We don’t talk about end of life and what’s important to us. And, and you know, what’s important to people in terms of their wishes is things like I want to reconcile with my brother. I want to know what’s gonna happen to my cats, who’s going to take care of my garden. I mean knowing those things about what’s really what matters to people and what would give them solace if they could resolve before the end of life is really important gift. We want to give those we love.

Debi Lynes:                   16:21                And it is a gift. When my mom died last August, we found in one of her calendars from 2004 every year she had written, we had no idea she had written, if she died, you know what she wanted. And to your point, not her assets, but what song she wanted played. She did not want a picture in her just over and every year she’d cross it out and change it or adapt it and then initial it.

Janet Porter:                 16:53                Yeah, Yeah, you don’t want my mom, my mom’s was what the color of the tablecloths were going to be.

Debi Lynes:                   16:59                Love her. I like that, I get that. And the colors change year to year, but at least we knew it. End of life, which color she wanted. So we’re talking about a taboo subject. Do you and I right now with humor.

Janet Porter:                 17:13                Okay.

Debi Lynes:                   17:13                With serious subject. But there’s a lot of beauty to it.

Janet Porter:                 17:18                There is, you know the, the thing I read a recent, [inaudible] article written by BJ Miller, who’s a national expert tie to palliative care doctors, a national expert in essence, the interviewer asked him, you know, what the experience was like at end of life. And he talked about how many people that he’d gone through the death process with who were really relieved and felt solace that issues had been resolved, that were, that were bothersome to them. So, it’s really an important thing for us to make sure that people live fully the end of life and then die at peace. And I would think of it.

Debi Lynes:                   17:52                And what does that mean? I hear that a lot die. The quality of life and death with dignity. I hear that from hospice a lot. What does that look like? Is it just encompassing everything that we’re talking about? And then what?

Janet Porter:                 18:04                I would say the number one thing is it looks like a lot of listening. It looks like really listening to the patient and the family in terms of what matters to them and honoring that. And hospices across the country are expert at that. They’re expert at really going in and helping not just the patient, but the patient and family deal with this major life transition. You know, Debi, that we’re all gonna face. And what I say to people is giving the gift of the conversation to people is a wonderful thing. When my mother passed away, she had had a serious stroke and I had three sisters and she was in the hospital and my mother had been very clear about what her wishes were and we got on the phone one day, they were doing all this stuff in the hospital and I knew she was really in bad shape and we got up one phone call on the with a palliative care physician and in an hour the palliative care physician said to us, are you clear about what your mom wants? We said, absolutely. And they said, then you need to honor her wishes, whatever. That if we took her off all medication, we took her out of the hospital, we put in our hospice care. She ended up living in other full year, which was big surprising to us.

Debi Lynes:                   19:16                But alongside of that and kind of the underlying CMI here is four girls, right?

Janet Porter:                 19:23                Three girls,

Debi Lynes:                   19:24                Three girls. There were three girls and it was less about individual points of view about how to manage your mother. But the doctor basically said, you will take you and put you here. This is about your mom’s wishes.

Janet Porter:                 19:37                Yes.

Debi Lynes:                   19:37                So in some ways that helped avoid a lot of potential because we all, we all see through our own lens and have ideas of the way things should be for the people we love.

Janet Porter:                 19:49                You can’t ask anyone, what do you want an end of life and have the person to answer. I want my children to be fighting over what should be done.

Debi Lynes:                   19:57                Right.

Janet Porter:                 19:57                No one wants that. Right? And so how can your children do what you want if you don’t tell them and tell them together. Not just Susie, the oldest daughter, right. And leaving the boys out of the conversation, which happens, but in fact being clear about it both verbally with them and in writing so that they can then have unanimity about what’s the best thing for mom.

Debi Lynes:                   20:21                It’s so funny. Bernay Brown who is a psychologist and she’s really an inspiration. I was like clear is kind and I.

Janet Porter:                 20:29                Exactly.

Debi Lynes:                   20:29                Say, yeah, and this is the perfect place to do that. I know we’re going to take a quick break. We’ve got a couple of things to come back and talk about. We’re going to talk about some of the tools within those toolkits, paperwork, documents, things like that that will be helpful and I also would love to have you share an anecdote about your favorite book. I’ve been looking forward to this and I thought it would be a great way to exit the interview.

Janet Porter:                 20:50                Okay yes.

Debi Lynes:                   20:50                So stay with this will be right back here on aging in place.

Henrik de Gyor:             20:55                For more podcast episodes, links, information and media inquiries, please visit our website at aginginplacepodcast.com as we transition through life with the comfort and ease you deserve. Discover how you can create a home that will adapt to you as you journey through life and the changes it will bring. Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as our host Debi Lynes and her expert guests discuss relevant topics to creating a home for all decades in life. Don’t miss our weekly episodes of Aging in Place Podcast for every stage in life.

Debi Lynes:                   21:32                We are back here on aging in place. Again, we’re here with Janet Porter and we are talking about aging in place. We are talking about palliative care. We are talking about having an end of life discussion. And what resonated with me was what I think you probably see all the time. You’ve got the emotional one, you’ve got the stoic matter of fact buttoned up. Here’s my list, here’s what you want to do. And everyone is so different. How do you guide someone through this process?

Janet Porter:                 22:01                Well, that’s one of the reasons that hospice care and palliative care physicians are so important because it’s all about listening, but it’s about helping those disparate opinions come together and reach consensus and it’s very tough. And you know, it’s emotional for people. Some people are more pragmatic and thinkers. Some people are in denial. What’s sad is the number of people who report that they brought it up a couple of times with their children or their spouse. This is what, I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about it. Oh my goodness. There’s nothing worse you can do when somebody is ready to talk about what they want an end of life than to shut them down. It’s been, they’ve probably thought about it a lot before they’ve come to you. Right? And so being open, emotionally open to recognizing and you might not be the first time and then you’ll go back and think about it. But when a loved one is ready to have the conversation, the gift you could give them is to be there and really listen with an open heart. Some of the data is that 53% of people say they would be incredibly relieved to be able to have the conversation but have been blocked from doing so. 95% of people at end of life say they’re willing to have the conversation that maybe somebody else has to bring it up. So you know, if mom or dad doesn’t bring it up and you think it’s time, you need to figure out a way to bring it up. And that’s why the conversation project again, conversation project.org is such a great tool. They have tools, they have tool kits for dealing with people with dementia. Because imagine how complicated it is when you, not only a degree, but you really can’t. It’s too late to have the conversation with mom. I mean imagine how tough that is.

Debi Lynes:                   23:39                Yeah, I never thought about that.

Janet Porter:                 23:41                Oh yeah, they have a car, they have a tool kit for dealing with children, walking children through about what they want and, and they have one for adults so they have different toolkits based on the situation.

Debi Lynes:                   23:51                If you could just give us an overview of documents or people that you would like to see involved in the team. Okay. As we have a chronic illness that we need to manage or where at the end of life is there a team you would put together?

Janet Porter:                 24:07                Well let’s, let’s say, let me ask you answer the question about documents cause you mentioned documents. There’s another resource I’d like the audience to have. It’s called a Five Wishes, five wishes.org. And it walks you through the five wishes as to what my mom and dad or brother or sister or anybody would want. and prepares you for that conversation. And it’s a document that’s legally accepted as a will in for something like 42 States. So five wishes. It’s downloadable right from the internet. It’s not complicated and expensive and so people say, well, what prohibits them as, they don’t want to go to a lawyer and spend $500 or a thousand.

Debi Lynes:                   24:45                Right.

Janet Porter:                 24:46                It’s right there available on the web for you to clarify your wit, your medical wishes, your legal wishes and other wishes that you would have an end of life.

Debi Lynes:                   24:54                Oh, that’s huge. Five Wishes. I think we’re all going to be on that immediately. What stage? Let’s, let’s go back to the, the palliative piece for chronic illness. Okay. Is that really more about how to keep a person safe and healthy at home with symptom management and what does that look like?

Janet Porter:                 25:13                Mmm. Yes. I would say that’s a good description. It’s about helping them to manage their symptoms so that they can live life as fully as possible. Because after all, what we want people is to live fully until they die. And we have incredible stories of people who in their last year of life or six months of life have done incredible things. I think I’ve mentioned to you that my favorite book is this book Driving Miss Norma.

Debi Lynes:                   25:38                This is what I’m dying to hear.

Janet Porter:                 25:40                And I give it to everybody. I should’ve brought it today. I gave it to you that right.

Debi Lynes:                   25:46                I loved it. I read it.

Janet Porter:                 25:47                So Driving Ms Norma is a memoir and it’s by Tim and Ramy who are a couple who went to Michigan one year. They were living in the Airstream trailer kind of nomads and they go to Michigan and Tim’s father dies and mom is diagnosed right away with cancer. Mom is 90 years old and they say, mom, you can can’t stay in the house by yourself. We can put you in skilled nursing here, here in Pennsylvania with, or you could hit the road with us. And the next day when they go to the doctor, that doctor outlines the whole treatment plan for cancers, all these drugs and radiation and Miss Norma, what do you want? She said, hell, I’m 90 years old. I’m hitting in the road. And she wanted to go see Mount Rushmore and she wanted to go to New Mexico. They took her all over the United States. She had all kinds of adventures. I recently, I’ve done a lot of speaking on this and I had a physician that group, right. Not everybody’s going to have a big adventure at end of life. And I thought the messages in the book, I’m not about.

Debi Lynes:                   26:45                What are the themes?

Janet Porter:                 26:46                Well, the first theme I think is too is that people have a lot of life in them at every age and, and that you should honor their people’s wishes in terms of what they want. And she wanted to hit the road. So they had supported her hitting the road. There’s a lot of messages in there about how kind and open Americans were as they traveled around the country in terms of, because of the social media buzz she got, they opened their hearts. We’re here in Hilton Head and you know, when she, they ended up coming here, they ended up making her and putting her in the parade. She was in a car on the parade.

Debi Lynes:                   27:19                Oh, I love it.

Janet Porter:                 27:21                So, so that’s one of the major themes. And the major theme is about having the conversation with people about what you want. Major theme about hospice care. So the book is really a powerful testimony, I think. And I think also sparks the conversation. So if you want to have a conversation with somebody about end of life, give them the book, let them read it. It’s only a couple hundred pages. It’s a great story. And you can say, and what would be important to you, let’s say it’s your best friend who you’re worried about. What would be important to you and what can I do to help make that possible? There’s a, another book called being mortal, highly recommend.

Debi Lynes:                   27:56                I read that about three or four years ago and I thought that was one of the most powerful books and I was resistant to it. And even being a psychologist, I don’t know why, I just didn’t really want, I don’t know. It was one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Janet Porter:                 28:09                Yes.

Debi Lynes:                   28:09                And how would you describe the theme of that?

Janet Porter:                 28:12                Well, a tool. Gawande is a Harvard physician.

Debi Lynes:                   28:14                Right.

Janet Porter:                 28:14                I know him. He practiced at the hospital where I worked really good. He’s a thyroid cancer surgeon and he basically tells the book through this, through the story of his father who was a physician in Athens, Ohio and he comes home and realizes that his father really has terminal medical conditions and he then goes on to describe in the book what that was like for him personally and also shares a lot of story of his own patients. The PBS special about that, which I thought was terrific, an hour long special. What I thought was tragic and that at one point they had a woman who they were having the conversation with her about that this was the ad and she was sitting up in bed and she said, doc, all I want before I die is to take my children to Disneyland. And she died five days later. You know, and you think about if they had had that conversation with her about six months earlier, maybe she’d been able to do that. And think about what lasting memories that would have given to those grandchildren of their grandmother.

Debi Lynes:                   29:12                Who typically in today’s culture and society brings up the, the death or dying, end of life conversation based on your experience?

Janet Porter:                 29:23                Well, surprisingly it’s oftentimes not the patient, you know, patients, I worked at a cancer hospital for years and the vast majority of patients listen to what the doctor recommends and don’t really ask and what will be the quality of my life, what the, what’s my prognosis? And oftentimes take patients on a cancer journey a long time because the doctors very much want to keep them alive and are very hopeful about the treatments and you don’t want to take away people’s hope. And so people are often reluctant, both patients and family members are reluctant to say, tell me really what the prognosis is.

Debi Lynes:                   29:56                And that’s not saying you have three months to live. That’s just simply being realistic.

Janet Porter:                 30:01                Right, right.

Debi Lynes:                   30:01                When you talk about a prognosis.

Janet Porter:                 30:04                Right, right. I had a friend who came to Dana Farber cancer Institute and they’d been told, they’d been told at another cancer center that they couldn’t do anything else and they wouldn’t give them any prognosis. And he said, I want you to know I have grandchildren.

Debi Lynes:                   30:18                That’s right.

Janet Porter:                 30:18                I want you to know. And they said, if you stop all treatment, you’ll live six months. If you stay on standard chemo and we think you’ll live a year, but we’ve got a clinical trial for you that we think will extend your life beyond that. And when I went to dinner with them, they were so relieved and they had decided to do the clinical trial. He lived two and a half years and what he wanted was his grandchildren to remember him and he was so pleased with, by the time someone says, I want to know my prognosis he wants to know.

Debi Lynes:                   30:48                What exactly. That’s not the first thing you ask when you’re diagnosed. That’s when you’ve run through a lot of the treatment options.

Janet Porter:                 30:53                That’s right.

Debi Lynes:                   30:54                I think it’s absolutely fascinating. You don’t realize how interesting the hell in the whole conversation is. And I think bringing it up, demystifying it, and having an open dialogue like this. Oh, I’d like to invite everyone who’s listening to, talk to one of your loved ones. I think it’s a pretty powerful discussion.

Janet Porter:                 31:12                Unfortunately, we sort of have a myth that we think doctors are really good at this and doctors are taught to save your life. And so the training that doctors get to really have these tough conversations is modest at best. And it’s not something they’re human beings.

Debi Lynes:                   31:31                Sure.

Janet Porter:                 31:31                People feel confident, uncomfortable talking about it. Doctors are human beings. They feel uncomfortable too. That’s why you need to ask the right questions for your loved ones and B, get potentially access to these resources and really think about what you can do to honor your loved one’s wishes at end of life. I also want to tell you that my mother was in hospice care and her mother-in-law had died on Christmas day when my dad was 16. And my mother felt really passionate about the fact that you should not die on Christmas day. So we had a minister who was coming to sing with her cams Oh irregularly. And he came to see her on December 22nd and said, Myrna, what do you want to sing? And for the first time ever she said, I want to sing. I’ll be home for Christmas. And they sang the last song they sang together was I’ll be home for Christmas. And she went into a comment and she died on Christmas Eve. And what I said to people is my mother was very religious and so she wanted to sing. I’ll be home for Christmas. And she was and hospice care and Joe rock, the pastor who was caring for him gave her that final moment. And I’m so grateful.

Debi Lynes:                   32:42                It has been an amazing conversation and we thank you all for participating with us in that Janet, especially you. Thank you all for joining us here on aging in place at any stage in life.

Debi Lynes:                   32:53                I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Tracy. Tracy is naturally curious and always creative. And when we were doing the Aging in Place Podcast, she said, there are so many quick tips that I can think of off-hand. My response? Who knew! She’s going to be with us every week, giving us a quick tip and a hint. That is a practical application.

Tracy Snelling:              33:23                Thanks, Debi. Surround yourself with needs and not one. Sometimes our areas can get a little messy and organization goes a long way. An organized space helps you move more freely. We tell our children to pick up their toys, but yet we keep a stack of magazines next to the couch. Play a game along with your kids. Have them walk around the house with you and let them tell you what you need to pick up or even better. Get rid of it. We get so comfortable with our things be nearby that we actually lose sight of them. I only need one pencil sitting on my desk so the other nine can go in a drawer. Who knew our children can be great organizers of our things.

Debi Lynes:                   34:08                Hi, I’m Dr. Debi Lynes and thank you for listening to aging in place for any stage in life. We would like to ask you all to give us a review. Of course, preferably five stars. Thank you again and we hope you enjoyed aging in place for any stage in life. Janet Porter, what an amazing interview and talk about takeaway that you actually can take away and use. First of all, the most important thing I think that Janet taught us today was open a dialogue and invite a conversation about aging in place, end of life. It may be difficult to open that conversation but it sounds to me like the rewards are exponential. Additionally, what I learned and I think many of you also learned is what palliative care and how death with dignity and having a quality of life is the most important thing. Thank you all for joining us here on aging in place for any stage in life.

Henrik de Gyor:             35:09                Aging in Place Podcast is hosted by Debi Lynes and produced by Henrik de Gyor. If you have any comments or questions, send an email to debi@aginginplacepodcast.com we would love to hear from you if you’re interested in advertising or sponsoring this podcast, email us at pr@aginginplacepodcast.com thank you for listening to aging in place podcast.

2. Sean Stewart

~ Henrik de Gyor ~ Leave a comment

Dr. Debi Lynes interviews Sean Stewart about technology in the home for any stage in life

(duration: 34 minutes 47 seconds)

Sean Stewart

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Amazon Echo Dot

Control4

Custom Audio Video

Dusk til dawn nightlights

Josh AI

Motion-activated nightlights

Takeaways

Don’t be intimidated by technology.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

The point of all of this technology is to make your life easier and simplify it, not to make it more difficult, so don’t hesitate to call when it comes to technology.

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Transcript

Debi Lynes:                   00:03                Hi and welcome to Aging in Place for every stage in life. What if you could visit or have a home that would accommodate anyone at any age, any physical ability, at any time? How cool would that be? That’s what we’re doing here at aging in place. Why me? Because I’m a doctor of psychology and I specialize in physical spaces and health and wellness. Also, I love designing with intent at any age. Why now? Because we, the baby boomers, want to age in place gracefully and we want our families around us as much as we can. Why you the audience? Because we want you to experience what it’s like to have a home that’s safe, aesthetically pleasing, and that you can live in at any age, with any ability, at any time. I’d like to introduce you now to Aging in Place Podcast for every stage in life.

Debi Lynes:                   01:05                Hi and welcome to the next episode of Aging in Place, the podcast. We’re very excited. My friend Sean Stewart is here from Custom Audio Video. I tell you what, I am more excited to talk to you. We have been trying to demystify, if you will, a little bit of aging in place. And a lot of people think of it is as you get older you want to stay in your home, but you and I have talked about this, Sean, many times. It’s really about being able to live in your home at any age, universally, and we can all function there. And I have to admit that talking about technology is a little intimidating to me. So I’m going to ask you before we even get started to talk a little bit, Sean, about what you do and about Custom Audio Video.

Sean Stewart:               01:53                Yeah. So Custom Audio Video is here in Bluffton [South Carolina] and we cover all kinds of things technology-wise in the home. Now some things may fit more in place with what we’re trying to talk to about today, but overall we do, you know, home theaters, audio systems, stereo systems, networking, and internet throughout your home. We’ll talk more probably about automation and a lot of the smart home stuff that we do. We do lighting control. We do shade control. We can do furniture even. When it comes down to good living room furniture that fits with that home theater feel. So we do all kinds of stuff.

Debi Lynes:                   02:32                And what is your role specifically? Because you have an interesting job there.

Sean Stewart:               02:35                Yeah. My role is kind of multifaceted in a lot of ways. I oversee the showroom so if anybody wants to come through during the week and just want to see what we have, I’ll probably be the one there waiting for them. I also do a lot of this kind of stuff, being the face and the voice of the company, talking a lot about what we do, and working with architects, builders, clients, and designers trying to get the idea out there. A lot of what we do isn’t necessarily common knowledge, but it’s stuff a lot of people want to learn about what we can do, they want it. It really cool stuff.

Debi Lynes:                   03:00                Exactly. And like I said, the psychology of technology in the home can be a little intimidating. And I think that if we can just bust a little stigma and demystify this, we will be good to go for a lot of people. Let’s talk a little bit, if we can, about what an automated home looks like throughout the ages.

Sean Stewart:               03:28                Yeah. So first I want to distinguish that there’s a big difference between a smart home and home automation. I’ll explain why. Smart home: the way to think of it more is a lot of different kind of subsystems. You can have smart lighting in your home. You can have multi-room audio. You can have shades that go up and down. You can have front door locks. You can have thermostat control, for instance. So these are all kinds of individual subsystems, almost individual silos, if you will. Home automation is bringing them all together into one system. So instead of having to go on your phone or your iPad and go, I want to turn on my lights. I want to change the thermostat. I need to unlock the front door.

Sean Stewart:               04:12                With home automation, when I come home with one command, whether it’s just knowing that I’m home or a button that I hit, I am going to open the shade, turn the lights, change the thermostat, and unlock the door. Do all those things. So that home automation is taking the smart home and making it even easier and more convenient.

Debi Lynes:                   04:30                Okay. So let’s start at the very beginning. I am a potential client and again, I’ve got grandchildren and I’ve got aging adults in my home. How do we even begin? Where do I start? So I come to you and say, Sean, help. Here’s what I’ve got. Here are my needs. Here is my home. What helps you? What do you need?

Sean Stewart:               04:48                Yeah, so from our standpoint, we’ve got some designers that are trained on all these systems to create a system and really figure out your needs, to help you understand what’s out there and kind of match what you want. The awesome thing about all this is that it’s very scalable. So if you want something very simple, or you want something that covers the home in a lot of different ways? It’s available.

Debi Lynes:                   05:14                So when cost is no object, you’ve got it, and when cost is an object, you’ve got that too. Can you create a master plan? And we can build on that too.

Sean Stewart:               05:22                You can. Now though, of course there are going to be some pieces that over time maybe change a little bit. There are going to be cornerstone pieces that you want to put into place and the little things you can add here or there as convenience or time…

Debi Lynes:                   05:37                You’re so good. Cornerstone piece. Let’s start at the very beginning. So I walk in and I want to create an automated home. I want Clementine, my one year old, and my dad to be able to function… Not equally, but you know what I’m saying. What would you recommend as a first step? It’s a blank slate for you. So we’re going to kind of do a wishlist or master plan, if you will. We’re building a home. We’ve got no walls or windows yet. Where do I want to start for universal design?

Sean Stewart:               05:58                Well, if you’re starting that early, we always recommend starting with a good pre-wire. Essentially, you are wiring the home for the future. You know, things used to be co-ax everywhere, but thankfully we’ve moved to ethernet cat[egory] five or cat[egory] six [cables]. That can do a lot of different things.

Debi Lynes:                   06:33                So what do I do? Do I sit down with my architect? My builder? You? Do we come as a team and decide what that’s going to look like for us?

Sean Stewart:               06:40                Yeah. So from our standpoint, we always say as early as we can get involved as possible, that’s the best. We have a lot of jobs that we start, and then there’s a big period where maybe we’re not doing work, but we’ve answered questions that don’t have to be redone when we get there. So we can sit down with the plans and say: Hey, this is where you want TVs. This is where you want shades. This is where you want lighting control. This is what we need to do to get all that done.

Debi Lynes:                   07:05                Do I have to have done research? Do I have to be an expert? Or am I really relying on you to help guide me as to what I need and can afford?

Sean Stewart:               07:13                No, you don’t have to do any research. Of course we welcome it if people are interested, but we also have customers that go, you know what, I don’t really want to worry about it. I’ve got my own thing. This is what you are for. I happily say that nobody on our team is a salesman.

Debi Lynes:                   07:29                That’s a really good thing.

Sean Stewart:               07:32                They’re there to figure out what you need, what you really want, and help get to that point.

Debi Lynes:                   07:37                So let’s talk about the different silos and the basic component pieces. What would you call a basic component piece for home automation?

Sean Stewart:               07:45                Lighting control for instance. You know, making it simple. We call it the critical path. Where are you going to go from the time you come home? For instance, whether you always come through the front door and you go to the living space or you come from your garage and you go to living space. What lights need to come on to make it very convenient for you to get in?

Debi Lynes:                   08:06                It’s really interesting that you say that, because we were talking on previous episodes about the entry of a house is probably one of the most important things you can do for universal design in aging in place. Making sure that you have safe access. And that’s really what you’re saying. So lighting would be the first… what did you call it? Critical path.

Sean Stewart:               08:26                Yeah, the critical path. Where are you going to walk pretty much very time you come in your home. Whether it’s coming in the garage and going to the kitchen and that’s kind of where the hub is. I know that’s how it pretty much works in my house. I come in, I go into the main living space.

Debi Lynes:                   08:38                So what do you have? Do you have something on your phone? Do you have a panel? What does all that look like?

Sean Stewart:               08:44                Yeah, so there’s a couple of different ways to do it. The most common way is using your phone and setting up what’s called a geo-fence. So essentially when your phone recognizes you’re within a certain area of your home, it’s going to activate a system that is going to trigger certain things. In this case, turning on maybe your porch light and your entryway light and your kitchen lights so that when you come home, maybe you’ve got some groceries. You don’t have to worry about finding the switch it’s already on for you.I

Debi Lynes:                   09:09                I mean, what a great age to live in. Okay, so that’s amazing. So now I’ve entered my home, my lights are on and is it going to go ahead and take me through the critical path all the way back to my bathroom, my bedroom?

Sean Stewart:               09:23                That really comes down to how in depth do you want to go. Can you control every single light system in your house? Absolutely. But not everyone wants to put that kind of cost into it. Right, because you really need to control your guest bedrooms?

Debi Lynes:                   09:40                Teenage bedrooms. That would be fun. Yeah, I see exactly what you’re saying. So what I hear you say is lighting the critical path is probably the first thing we want to look at, a silo that we really want to take into consideration. But, again, you can build as much or as little as you want to do. I absolutely love that. We’re taking a quick break. We’ve got about a minute to go. We’re going to come back cause I want to spend a little more time in this next segment talking about some of the other silos that we have for aging in place and technology. Again, we’re with Sean Stewart, Custom Audio Video, stay with us.

Debi Lynes:                   10:14                Hi, I’m Dr. Debi Lynes. Design elements are psychologically and physically supportive and conducive to health and wellness. To learn more about what Lynes on Design can do for you, for more information on certified aging in place and facilitative and supportive design, Look for us at lynesondesign.com. That’s L Y N E S on design dot com.

Debi Lynes:                   10:31                We are back here on the Aging in Place Podcast. We are here with Sean Stewart and we are learning about technology as it affects your home at any stage in life, at any age. And Sean is a wonderful source for us to be talking to. So thank you so much. Actually, during the break, it was kind of fun because we were talking about whether it’s an adolescent or a kid or someone who’s broken their leg or an aging parent, many times you’re at home alone. And, it’s interesting to me because I don’t think of cameras and looking in as something that you do or part of technology.

Sean Stewart:               11:20                Yeah. You know, there’s a lot of technology kind of evolved I think around this aging in place idea, but I think there’s also just a lot of other technology that we have, that can be re-purposed for what we’re trying to do. So for instance, you mentioned cameras, surveillance. Of course you can do surveillance outside the house. You can do looking at your driveway to make sure that motion’s coming in or out, or just making sure that there is no motion if you don’t want people around your house. But then for what we’re talking about today, there’s also the monitoring side of it.

Debi Lynes:                   11:55                So what does that even mean?

Sean Stewart:               11:57                One way to look at it would be, you know, we’re here on Hilton Head Island [South Carolina] right now. Let’s say this is where my mom is or my grandmother is, but I live in Atlanta [Georgia].

Sean Stewart:               12:07                I can’t always keep an eye on her and make sure that she’s fine, but I want to make sure that if something happens, I know at least as quick as possible. So with some programming, for instance, you can have a camera that looks over a common space in the home and it has a way to detect motion. If it doesn’t detect motion for a certain amount of time, you can set an alarm to alert me for instance, and go, you know what? I need to check on mom because there’s no motion. And that way it’s kind of, you know, you don’t have to worry about it because there’s something watching that’s taking care and you don’t have to have that constant worry. Do I need to check on her now? Do I need to check on her now? Because I mean, of course, you should call your mom anytime, but you don’t have to worry about it because that’s where technology comes in to help.

Debi Lynes:                   12:52                And all of this again can be tied in and pulled into our…

Sean Stewart:               12:57                Yeah, home automation.

Debi Lynes:                   12:59                I’m going to get this by the end of this. This is my project to be able to get the lingo right. All right, so we talked a little bit about, I love this, critical path lighting. Now we’re talking about surveillance. That’s another kind of cool word and cameras. Take me through some of the other things that come to mind for you.

Sean Stewart:               13:19                So, surveillance is an iffy word too, because a lot of people think of surveillance as like bad. Monitoring overall and camera monitoring is one way to do it as well. But there’s all kinds of sensors that you can put throughout your home that help keep you safe, keep your home safe.

Debi Lynes:                   13:37                What does that mean and what does that look like?

Sean Stewart:               13:39                Well, of course, you know, you’ve got smoke detectors. We’ve had smoke detectors for a long time. So there are ways to tie your smoke detectors or CO [carbon monoxide] detectors into your home automation.

Debi Lynes:                   13:54                You hesitated to see if I could fill that in that home automation piece. Smoke detectors and CO [carbon monoxide] detectors I didn’t even think about as part of what you would do. Wow.

Sean Stewart:               14:04                I mean there’s, there’s that. So think about this. For instance, something happens. Fire happens. It sets off the alarm, you can detect it, but then also you can have programming set to where maybe whenever it’s going off, you start flashing your outdoor lights. One, that can help emergency personnel find your home easier. Those few seconds can be the difference between a really bad day and an absolutely awful day. But then it can also, if you’ve got these locks on your door can unlock your door to make it easier for them to get into the home. So, you know, there’s the technology overall. I think a lot of people sometimes can think of it as a scary thing, but it 100% is intended to make our lives better and easier. Now, we can have some issues. Maybe our personal contact gets limited because of technology, but overall life’s definitely better and it’s easier in a lot of ways because of all the different things we can put in our homes to improve our homes.

Debi Lynes:                   15:01                Is there a learning curve to technology or are you finding that things are becoming more streamlined and overall not so intimidating to manage?

Sean Stewart:               15:14                There’s definitely some sort of learning curve, but it’s easier and easier. And that’s where that home automation system comes in a control system because what it does is take that learning curve that may be four or five different apps and brings it into one and you really only have to worry about one.

Debi Lynes:                   15:34                So what does that look like? What is it? Is it an iPad? Is it a phone? Is it a panel on my wall. What am I looking at? What am I seeing?

Sean Stewart:               15:44                All of the above. Honestly. So for instance, one of the ones that we use most often is Control4. So Control4 is the company. It’s a control system. Now it can be very, very simple and control my TV and my Blu-ray player and that’s all I want it to control.

Sean Stewart:               16:01                Or I can start throwing things in like lighting, shades, security, all these different things. You can access it from an app on your phone. You can access it from an iPad. They have specified wall panels that make it very simple. So we always recommend, for instance, if you’re doing a Control4 system, have one or two wall panels in the home. They’re never going to move. They don’t do anything other than the Control4 system. So nobody’s going to take the iPad and hide it somewhere. It will be very easy to get to. It’s right there with all the buttons. Very simple to find, very easy to customize and make it… I mean, it’s really what we’re talking about. Taking all of this technology and making it accessible and custom for whoever needs it.

Debi Lynes:                   16:46                Talk to me about unlocking and locking doors. I didn’t realize that that was even an option either.

Sean Stewart:               16:50                Yeah. So there’s a lot of options for door locks.

Debi Lynes:                   16:55                Because I think that as we get older, again, I’m talking about young kids or aging adults, I would think that locking a door or unlocking it would be something that would be easy to forget.

Sean Stewart:               17:06                Yeah, one of these things with control systems, they take security very seriously, so it’s a whole lot easier to lock the door than it is to unlock the door. And that’s what we really want. Right. If anything, I want my door to be accidentally locked rather than left open all night. So you can have a program, for instance, that our guys can help with that when it’s time to go to bed, you can… we haven’t been talked about voice assistants. You can use your voice or you can hit a button on the iPad and lights go off or dim to a certain way. So it’s not completely dark. Your shades are closed, the AC changes and your doors all lock.

Debi Lynes:                   17:44                I think Sean’s just trying to see if we’re all paying attention. I want to, because you just said, Oh wait, we haven’t even talked about voice assistants. So what are ways to actually, what’s the right word.. activate the system? You said voice system. Because what I’m thinking of is my dad, it would be so much easier for him to be able to voice activate than to probably maneuver on an iPad.

Sean Stewart:               18:10                We see it left and right nowadays, you know where we’re heading into the holiday season now and we’re going to see even more of it. Google Assistant and Alexa. So those are two big ones we use. And we also have another one called Josh AI that we partner with as a voice assistant, a home automation, a voice automation.

Debi Lynes:                   18:30                How does that work?

Sean Stewart:               18:30                It’s pretty complicated in some ways, but it’s very simple in other ways.

Debi Lynes:                   18:35                Like a “Hey Google” kind of thing.

Sean Stewart:               18:36                Yeah, I mean that’s with everything we’re talking about, it’s as simple or as a complex, I don’t want to say complex as much as comprehensive maybe as you want it to be. Some people want that voice assistant to do nothing other than play music when I want my music played; or you can control your lights, control your shades, and control your TV with your voice.

Debi Lynes:                   19:00                Let’s talk about shades for a minute because I know that when I think of window coverings and window treatments, I think of them as kind of multifaceted. Number one they can insulate, they can keep out sun, they can keep cool in and warm out. So that’s a really important thing. Number two, they’re oftentimes very cumbersome and they’re very hard for young people or older people to navigate and negotiate. So I never really thought of them in the same sentence as home automation.

Sean Stewart:               19:28                Yeah. I mean definitely. One you mentioned, your window treatments, and what that brings to your home and the value of your home. But then not having to worry about whether you want some more light in here. You want to shade up?

Debi Lynes:                   19:41                Exactly. Or I’m facing West and it’s five o’clock in the afternoon. Whoa!

Sean Stewart:               19:45                Absolutely. Yeah. You can control that a lots of different ways. Or to take it out of your worry you can automate it. You can program it to a solar clock that as we’re starting to head towards sunset start lowering the shade incrementally so that it’s blocking the sun from coming in and not looking out at the bright sun.

Debi Lynes:                   20:05                Wait. You can set it to a solar clock? So what does that mean?

Sean Stewart:               20:09                So let’s say, you know, you’re looking over the [lowcountry] marsh and the sunsets, you know, at this time of year [around winter soulstice], it’s terrible. It’s about 5:30 pm. Well, the sun is going to start beaming in that window about three o’clock. So about two hours before sunset you can start with programming to lower of the shade in increments, however you want it so that it blocks the sun. So you can keep that view without having to worry about the increased heating costs or the sun just beaming in and kind of making everything uncomfortable.

Debi Lynes:                   20:38                Or the glare on my TV, just saying. Because again, trying to tie all of this stuff together, it’s amazing how when you’re talking about it, Sean, I’m getting an overall visual of how the pieces play together, where I thought it would be really, tough to understand.

Sean Stewart:               20:59                Yeah, I mean that’s my ultimate goal is to try to make this as easy as possible. That’s what our designers are there for, is to figure out all these different pieces that you want to put together in your puzzle and then make that puzzle super easy.

Debi Lynes:                   21:11                What’s the super, we’ve only got 30 seconds or about 30 seconds in this segment, so I have to ask… The super coolest, newest sort of, Whoa, thing. I wish I had a good one.

Sean Stewart:               21:23                Can I think about it for a little bit?

Debi Lynes:                   21:27                We’ll have to think about that one for a few minutes. Well, let me go onto another question and we’ll come back to that super coolest grooviest thing ever. I want to talk when we come back about watches because that was kind of an interesting thing. I also want to talk about, sound systems. We haven’t talked about surround sound. We haven’t talked about it from a design point of view. I don’t want to trip over a speaker. All of those things. I think again, the more we talk, the more questions I have. So stay with us. We’ll all be back here on Aging in Place.

Henrik de Gyor:             22:04                Hi, I’m Henrik, the producer of Aging in Place Podcast. If you’d like more information and transcripts of this podcast, visit AginginPlacepodcast.com and now back to Debi Lynes with the next segment of Aging in Place Podcast. For every stage in life.

Debi Lynes:                  22:23                We are talking to Sean Stewart from Custom Audio Video. We’re talking about technology and home automation and demystifying it and learning a lot about it. And again, it’s a great topic because the more you know, the more you realize, you don’t know and the more there is to know. One of the things I [am] really, really, really curious about is you checked your watch. I’d like to know about some of the ancillary pieces that sort of tie in to home automation. You found a great Forbes article on technology and aging and I find a lot of what that’s going to be interesting too.

Sean Stewart:               22:58                There’s so much with technology and we’ve talked a lot about kind of the protective side of things. How do I make sure that my house is secure? How do I make sure that I’m not tripping over things because the lights are off? How do I monitor where my mom is to make sure she’s fine if I’m out of town, but there’s also just using technology to increase the interactivity, the engagement and enjoyability of life.

Debi Lynes:                   23:22                Which makes a lot of sense because I know as we get older there’s a lot of isolation and I see it even with my dad, he spent a lot more time on the television or listening to music as a way to stay socially connected. What about that? I know there were new TVs. I mean, you’re fantastic TVs that look like you’re right where you are. So talk to us a little bit about those.

Sean Stewart:               23:46                Yeah. Well, one of the great things I think in today’s world with technology is video conferencing, right? Whether it’s FaceTiming or Google Duo or, I mean, even Control4 that we talked about has an intercom ability to go from a wall panel in your home to an iPhone somewhere. Yeah. So it’s, there’s tons of options to interact with people.

Debi Lynes:                   24:08                So, let’s take that from an isolation or socialization point of view. I can have grandchildren in California and I can have a grandparent here and that is a great way to not be isolated. Absolutely. That makes so much sense to me.

Sean Stewart:               24:22                Yeah. So there’s all kinds of ways that you can, you can talk to each other, you can see each other. I was talking to somebody the other day whose grandkids just moved a couple of States away. And the thing that they hate the most was they seem to age so much faster when you don’t see them every day. You know?

Debi Lynes:                   24:39                It makes a lot of sense.

Sean Stewart:               24:40                When you can video with them, it kind of takes that away and then it brings that grandparent – grandchild relationship to a new level.

Debi Lynes:                   24:48                Well let’s talk about really important things cause I know all the guys who are listening are like, “yeah, yeah, yeah, this is great. But could you tell me about TVs and what’s hip and cool and some audio surround systems and what about music?” We got to talk about that.

Sean Stewart:               25:00                Yeah, I mean that’s, that’s right in our wheelhouse of what we do with Customer Audio Video. I mean at Audio Video, we love great TVs, we love great sound systems. And I think you probably talked to one of your other guests about creating spaces in your home that are enjoyable to be in. And that’s what we do as well. We want to create great experiences with your spaces.

Debi Lynes:                   25:19                So what does that look like? What would that feel like? How do I even begin to put that together from a design point of view?

Sean Stewart:               25:26                Yeah, so there’s all kinds of ways to do that and it really like, I don’t want to keep repeating myself on it, but this, it really depends on how much… what kind of scope do you want to go with?

Debi Lynes:                   25:36                Exactly. Well, let’s do this. The cost is no object. Let’s have a wishlist.

Sean Stewart:               25:40                Well, I mean my cost is no object, dedicated theater room somewhere in the house. So you know, great big projector with a great screen. Incredible sound system.

Debi Lynes:                   25:51                Well, let me say this and you and I have talked about this before with sound. I found that the older that I get and I have hearing aids, the older I get, the more sound is really important to my quality of life. And actually when we’ve talked before, that’s a huge thing with people now. The sound systems being able to have that kind of quality. And you said the sound capabilities are…wow!

Sean Stewart:               26:14                Yeah. We get a lot of people who go, “you know, don’t worry too much about sound. My hearing’s going out anyways” and I get the logic behind it, but it’s actually the opposite. When your ears start getting a little iffy, better sound helps because better sound…. I was like to say if you take kind of the spectrum of what a speaker can do and if the sound waves that can hit or this versus this small versus large, a bigger, a bigger range.

Debi Lynes:                   26:43                It’s a podcast that we have to say small versus large.

Sean Stewart:               26:47                So a larger range that is, that the speaker can do, the more difference you can hear in sounds. So you’re watching TV. I think a lot of people have to deal with this. You’re watching TV and there’s a lot of stuff going on and somebody talking, I can’t hear what they’re saying. A lot of that is because all those sounds are coming from one speaker that has a small range. So it’s very hard to differentiate where maybe a good surround sound system is going to take some of those background noises of the cars going by and separate them in other speakers. And then the vocals are going to be dedicated to that center channel with a better quality. That’s going to let you differentiate a lot.

Debi Lynes:                   27:26                So let me ask you a question about just soundproofing a room. Are there ways to do that? If I already had the room intact and I’m going to try to… I’ve got the room, I’m just going to I guess renovate it. What do I do about sound? How do I deal with making the sound… Making the room a better place to absorb sound.

Sean Stewart:               27:48                Yeah. So soundproofing is pretty difficult. So you want to start soundproofing as early as possible in the build process because a real soundproof room is going to essentially be disconnected from all the other systems in your home. But once you start realizing that, okay, well how do I sound easier, right? How do I not bother my neighbors? That kind of thing. And there’s a lot of ways to improve the acoustics of a room.

Debi Lynes:                   28:17                That’s what I’m trying to ask.

Sean Stewart:               28:18                We’ve talked a lot in the past about essentially removing the room from the equation. Right? And, and if you’ve got a room that’s drywall or it’s wood paneling or it’s designed for it, it’s got, you know, good acoustic walls, you want to still remove it from the equation when it comes to what kind of sound quality am I getting? And there’s ways to do that. There’s a technology in receivers for instance, that can our guys can run some tests in the room and it essentially detects the room and it removes it from the equation. It’s a little more complicated with that. A lot of computer programming and algorithms.

Debi Lynes:                   28:58                I’m just mesmerized sitting here listening to it. Are there things like canvases can artwork absorb silence? Are there other ways that we can absorb sounds that are a little more just natural?

Sean Stewart:               29:11                Absolutely. We have some pieces on the wall, for instance that look like a great picture. In fact, they are pictures that somebody on our team took when they were on vacation and you can get them printed on this sound absorbing material. So it looks like nothing more than just a beautiful picture on the wall, but it really improves the quality of the room because if you get a room that’s full of drywall, hardwood floors, you know a lot of reflective surfaces sounds going to bounce everywhere, which is not great for the best sound systems. So it absorbs the sound, stops it from going everywhere and really improves the sound quality.

Debi Lynes:                   29:45                One of the things that we’ve talked about in in some of the podcasts and on one episode specifically is the out of doors and how important it can be to health and wellness to be part of nature. Can we take the same technology outdoors now for outdoor living?

Sean Stewart:               30:03                Absolutely.

Debi Lynes:                   30:04                So what does that look like?

Sean Stewart:               30:06                All kinds of ways. Yeah. The most common ones that we see around here are sound systems outside, right? I’ve got a nice space outside. Looking in the Marsh. I’ve got a beautiful wooded backyard and I want to kind of enjoy nature but also love music. I love that ability. Lots of different options for sound systems that you can put out there draped on wall speakers or in ceiling speakers or even some speakers that you put throughout your landscaping that hide. I mean, if you look around it’d be really hard to find them. We like to call it the Disneyland effect, right? When you walk around Disney World, you’re like, I hear music, but I have no idea where it’s coming from.

Debi Lynes:                   30:43                Well, and I, and I’ll tell you, I really appreciate you coming today, Sean. I’ve learned a lot. I think our goal today was sort of an overarching broad spectrum taste of what technology can do for the aging in place home. And what we’d love to do is have you back and sort of get into some of these silos. I love your word, get a little more specific.

Sean Stewart:               31:06                Do you have any more questions? We always say, you know, call, click or come in our showrooms here in Bluffton, South Carolina in Sheridan park. We’re always welcoming people to come in and see and experience what we’ve got. You can check us out customaudiovideo.com or if you could give us a call at 843-815-5130.

Debi Lynes:                   31:26                So thank you so much for joining us here on the Aging in Place Podcast. Thank you all for joining us. Also stay tuned for the next episode.

Erin Lentz:            31:33                For podcasts, links, information and media inquiries. Please visit our website at aginginplacepodcast.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as our host Debbie Lynes and her expert guests discuss relevant topics for creating a home for all decades in life. Don’t miss our weekly podcast on aging in place for every stage in life. Transition through life where you are with the comfort and ease you deserve. Discover how you can start creating a home that will adapt to you as you journey through life and the changes it will bring.

Debi Lynes:                   32:07                I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Tracy. Tracy is naturally curious and always creative and when we were doing the Aging in Place Podcast, she said there are so many quick tips that I can think of offhand. My response, “who knew”. She’s going to be with us every week, giving us a quick tip and to hint that is a practical application.

Tracy Snelling:              32:35                Thanks Debbie. Light it up like a Vegas strip stub, bruised knees, countertop, hit to the hip. I’ll usually happen in the night. You know those water pills are keeping the blood pressure down or the little one needs that last sip of water all seem to happen after 8:00 PM or when the sun goes down for safety nightlights are a must. There are ones that are motion-activated, ones that simply come on when it’s dark and some that just stay on 24 hours a day. Whichever ones you choose, you will be glad you did. Light your path. Buy four or five or more. Walk the direction you need to take installing them and every outlet, if it will prevent you from a fall or even an ouchie, even your little ones may just get that last drink by himself if he wasn’t afraid of the dark, so light it up like Vegas. Your toes will thank you and that’s your “who knew”.

Debi Lynes:                   33:28                Sean Stewart, you’re a wonderful guest and I tell you what, I learned so much about custom audio, video and all the opportunities that are available. As always, it’s fun to have our takeaway. What did we learn from this segment? I can be very clear. Here’s what we learned: Don’t be intimidated by technology. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. What we learned today is the point of all of this technology is to make your life easier and simplify it, not to make it more difficult, so don’t hesitate to call when it comes to technology. Thank you all for joining us here on Aging in Place Podcast. Have a wonderful week.

Henrik de Gyor:             34:17                Aging in Place Podcast is hosted by Debi Lynes, marketing by Erin Lentz and produced by Henrik de Gyor. If you have any comments or questions, send an email to debi@aginginplacepodcast.com. We would love to hear from you. If you’re interested in advertising or sponsoring this podcast, email us at PR@aginginplacepodcast.com. Thank you for listening to Aging in Place Podcast.

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