Tag: caregiving

QUOTES

“I can’t use what you can’t do. What I can do is engage with you and see what you have. That’s where we can come into a relationship and work together.” (Teepa)

“When you’ve lost something, your brain doesn’t give up. Your brain picks something else to use.” (Teepa)

“Dementia robs us of our knowingness. It forces us back into paying attention and being observant because it’s always changing.” (Teepa)

“I need to tune in to the reality of who you are now, not just who you were and what you used to be capable of.” (Teepa)

“People think dementia is all about memory, but memory is this much. There’s all this other stuff going on.” (Teepa)

“The relationship is going to change dramatically. Living with brain change is hard whether you’re on the inside of it or the outside observing it.” (Teepa)

“My job is not to decide that someone is suffering. My job is to figure out how to support you through what you’re going through.” (Teepa)

“I believe there is no care about me without me. It’s their life and their care, and I have to figure out how to partner with them in it.” (Teepa)

“The reality is they’re not less, they’re different. Their brain works differently, but they’re still living life.” (Teepa)

“Eighty percent or more of this work is done by unpaid people like family and friends, and we don’t train them. We just drop them into it and they keep going until they drop.” (Teepa)

“We need at least three people, maybe five or more. We need to build community around this condition.” (Teepa)

NOTES

Teepa Snow is an occupational therapist, educator and one of the most recognized voices in dementia care. She is known for helping families, care partners and senior living professionals better understand brain change and build more meaningful connections with people living with dementia.

Snow is the founder of Positive Approach to Care, an organization focused on improving dementia care through training, education and practical support strategies. The organization works with families, senior living providers and healthcare professionals around the world to build skills and confidence in supporting people experiencing brain change.

Through Positive Approach to Care and the Snow Approach Foundation, Teepa and her team provide training programs, professional education and community-based demonstrations designed to improve dementia care practices. Her work emphasizes practical communication techniques, recognizing remaining abilities and building supportive communities around people living with dementia. Her programs now reach professionals and families across the United States, Canada and more than two dozen countries.

A positive approach to dementia care focuses on what abilities remain rather than what has been lost, meeting people where they are and building connection through observation, tone, body language and supportive communication.

Fear often dominates public perceptions of dementia because the condition disrupts routines and predictability, forcing family members and care partners to stay attentive and adapt constantly as abilities change.

Dementia is often misunderstood as primarily a memory problem affecting older adults, but brain change can involve many other cognitive functions and can also appear earlier in life depending on the type of dementia.

Communication challenges arise because people living with dementia may struggle to retain new information, making it important for care partners to simplify questions, provide visual cues and offer structured choices rather than open-ended requests.

Care partners often experience burnout because most dementia support is provided by unpaid family members who receive little training or preparation for the emotional and practical demands of caregiving.

Snow encourages replacing the term “caregiver” with “care partner,” emphasizing that the person living with dementia remains the central decision-maker in their own life and that support should be collaborative rather than controlling.

Effective dementia care requires broader community support systems, with multiple people sharing responsibility rather than placing the entire burden on a single family member.

Senior living organizations can improve dementia support by training staff to recognize individual histories, preferences and abilities, allowing residents to continue experiencing purpose, independence and meaningful engagement even as cognitive abilities change.

Season 1 of Roundtable Talk set out to challenge everything we think we know about aging and ended up reframing what’s possible across an entire lifetime.

Across more than 20 conversations, Varsity’s aging and longevity podcast brought together gerontologists, policymakers, innovators, artists, journalists, and senior living leaders who are reshaping how we live, work, and contribute as we age. From public health and technology to purpose, creativity, and community, each guest added a vital layer to a more hopeful, human-centered narrative of longevity.

The season opened with cultural icons and truth-tellers like Garrison Keillor and Mo Rocca, who reminded us that humor, curiosity, and engagement don’t fade with age—they sharpen. Terry Farrell brought a deeply personal perspective on reinvention and authenticity, while Diane Harris and Dr. Sara Zeff Geber tackled the realities of solo aging, financial longevity, and planning for independence without fear.

Leading voices in aging science and public health—including Dr. Linda Fried, Dr. Louise Aronson, Dr. Kerry Burnight, and Dr. David Katz—challenged ageism head-on, reframed frailty and wellness, and made a compelling case for focusing on health span, not just life span. Their insights made it clear that aging well isn’t accidental—it’s systemic, behavioral, and deeply connected to how we design communities and care.

Innovation emerged as a recurring theme through conversations with Rick Robinson, Laurie Orlov, Dr. Tom Kamber, and Rob Liebreich, who explored how technology—from AI to digital literacy to cognitive health tools—can support independence, connection, and dignity when designed with older adults, not just for them.

The season also spotlighted bold models for aging with purpose and belonging. Andrew Carle and Lindsey Beagley explored university-based retirement communities and lifelong learning as antidotes to isolation. Barbara Sullivan highlighted the power of grassroots villages. Bridget Weston showed how older adults are fueling entrepreneurship through mentorship, while Brian Fried proved creativity and invention have no expiration date.

Rounding out the season, industry leaders like Larry Carlson, Scott Townsley, Marvell Adams Jr., Peter Murphy Lewis, and Dr. Robyn Stone confronted the hard truths facing senior living, caregiving, workforce sustainability, and inclusion, offering both critique and optimism for what comes next.

QUOTES

“Caregivers were fighting against a negative perception, a negative narrative, a negative reputation that started before COVID but was accentuated during COVID by bad media.” (Peter)

“These people that were great caregivers don’t get the recognition that they deserve.” (Peter)

“If you put the caregiver at the front, nobody’s going to criticize a caregiver.” (Peter)

“People think of CNAs as cleaning bathrooms and changing diapers. They don’t realize how beautiful it is in the relationship that you get to make.” (Peter)

“Stories are pretty much the only thing that can change our opinion in life. Documentaries do it better because they’re long enough to show the contradictions of humankind.” (Peter)

“They just have a mechanism where they can compartmentalize and feel fulfilled making other people feel great through their acts of service.” (Peter)

“What a badge of honor if the nursing home is so great that your resident brings in the caregivers, recruits their own family.” (Peter)

“I love being forced to learn something that corrects where I was wrong.” (Peter)

“Curiosity is not just part of my personality—it’s an attribute I should strive for and that humans should strive for.” (Peter)

“Almost everything has been because of tears. There were moments where we just held each other’s hands and sobbed for minutes while the cameras kept rolling.” (Peter)

NOTES

Peter Murphy Lewis is a documentary filmmaker, storyteller, and advocate who co-created People Worth Caring About, a podcast and video series spotlighting frontline caregivers in long-term care communities across the United States.

People Worth Caring About shares authentic, heartfelt stories of caregivers working in retirement and long-term care communities. Through podcasts and a multi-part documentary series, the project elevates unsung heroes, challenges stereotypes, and helps shift the public narrative around aging and caregiving.

Peter began his career in long-term care in 2020 and later became a CNA to better understand the field. Drawing from his background in South American television, he adapted his storytelling format to senior living, resulting in a growing series now available on smart TVs nationwide. The project has expanded beyond Nebraska to states like Ohio and New Mexico, with more seasons in the works.

Peter was motivated to create the series after seeing caregivers struggle with negative perceptions of long-term care.

His grandparents’ positive experiences in a nursing home inspired him to spotlight caregivers who rarely receive recognition.

By focusing on staff instead of owners or executives, the series avoids criticism and builds empathy through authentic caregiver stories.

Filming in hospice revealed the deep, life-affirming relationships between residents and young caregivers.

Stories like Kevin calling his nursing home “my home” challenged Peter’s own assumptions about language and dignity.

Intergenerational and family-based caregiving, from Subway recruits to residents’ grandchildren, shows the community power of senior living.

Peter believes documentaries shape narratives because they’re long enough to show the contradictions of human nature.

His hope is to continue expanding the series to more states, changing perceptions of caregiving while also inspiring young people to join the field.