COURIER Healthy Living 2016

Boldly going for gold/PAGE 4

Claremont High School senior Spencer LaMott took up judo after being bullied in school. He recently received his black belt.

HealthyAnd what’s new for

the savvy senior

2016

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Life, love and law/PAGE 8

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Pushing the limit /PAGE 10

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Claremont COURIER/Healthy Living 2016 3

Useful, money-saving technology for caregivers /14

Teen judo champ tightens belt, prepares for college/4

An unlikely hero: attorney takes cases with a heart /8

Claremont native learns life really is a marathon/10

by Sarah Torribio

by Mick Rhodes

by Matthew Bramlett

by Pamela Bergman-Swartz

HealthyAnd what’s new for

the savvy senior

2016

LIVINGLIVING


Teen judo champ tightens belt, prepares for college On March 19, Claremont High

School senior Spencer LaMottwas promoted to first-degree

black belt by his senseis at Goltz Judo.He has nine more black belts to go, butthe teen is well on his way to becoming ajudo master.

The belt switch-up, from brown to black, is just oneof many achievements Spencer, 18, has garnered inhis sport of choice.

He’s comported himself well in competition, takingfourth place in his division in the 2015 Summer Na-tionals in Indiana last July. And earlier this year, hewas accepted to San Jose State University.

There he will participate in the college’s judo club,which is among the most prestigious in the country.His peers will be the crème de la crème of aspiringjudo champions, providing the perfect training groundfor a young man with his eyes on Olympic gold.

Spencer is determined to compete with the US

COURIER photo/Steven FelschundneffSpencer LaMott and his friend Alejandro Perez prac-tice throw downs during judo class in Claremont.


team in the 2020 Olympics in Toyo. It’sa high aim, but one he’s willing to workfor.

He wasn’t always this driven. Spencer felt adrift when, at age 14,

he moved with his family from Mon-tana to Claremont. His outsider statusmade him an easy target.

“He was being taunted at school by acouple of bullies,” his dad Paul LaMottrecalled. “They were relentless, and theschool was not mitigating the prob-lem.”

The two youngest LaMott kids, now10 and 11, were taking judo classes atthe Alexander Hughes CommunityCenter, which has served as GoltzJudo’s dojo for the last 25 years. Mr.LaMott decided it was time for Spencerand his twin sister Mackenzi to givejudo a try.

At first Spencer’s parents had toforce him to go to class, but withinthree months his attitude changed. “Ireally picked it up. I wanted to do it forthe rest of my life,” he said.

The about-face was due to the quickprogress Spencer—who had previouslyexcelled at baseball, soccer, basketballand track—made in the discipline.

“He’s a natural,” Goltz Judo founderGary Goltz said.

As Spencer gained confidence in hisjudo skills, the bullies backed off. Hedidn’t have to fight them. “They foundout I did judo,” he said simply.

The whole LaMott family has bene-fited from its association with GoltzJudo. Mr. LaMott appreciates the famil-ial atmosphere, as well as the life les-sons senseis like Mr. Goltz and OJSoler have imparted to his kids.

“Respect for yourself and respect forothers—these are things taught throughthe sport,” Mr. LaMott said.

COURIER photo/Steven FelschundneffSpencer LaMott grapples with Alejandro Perez during a judo class last Wednesday at the Hughes Community Center. Spencerrecently earned his black belt in the discipline, which he started just four years ago.

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JUDO/continues on the next page


Mackenzi, now a greenbelt, also came to lovejudo. While she

doesn’t plan to pursue the martialart with the same zeal as hertwin, she considers it a fun wayto stay in shape.

“You get to work out while learning self-defense. Now, when I’m walking down thestreet, I’m sizing people up. I was on thewrestling team. I’m kind of a big deal,” shelaughed.

All joking aside, Mackenzi has spent herteen years knee-deep in extracurricular in-volvements. She hopes to one day pursue acareer in law enforcement. So doesSpencer—that’s one thing the very differ-ent siblings have in common. As prepara-tion, she’s served as an Explorer with theClaremont police. She also enjoys singingand is currently on CHS’ all-girls choir.

Spencer is a different story. He is smartand did well on his ACT, but isn’t a partic-ularly inspired student. For him, life verynearly begins and ends on the judo mat. He

JUDO/continued from previous page

COURIER photo/Steven FelschundneffJUDO/continues on the next page

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will only spend more time there once he’s at SanJose State.

Mackenzi will likely be attending college outof state. She’s waiting to hear back from her twopreferred colleges, University of Hawaii and theUniversity of Arizona. It will, she admits, bestrange to live apart from Spencer.

“He’s my twin brother. We’ve been joined atthe hip since we were born,” she said.

Mackenzi says it’s been cool to see Spencertransformed by his passion for judo.

“It’s kind of made him moreconfident and not as lazy. Hegets respect—people look

up to him as a role model,” she said. “Ihave no doubt I will be traveling toTokyo in 2020 to see him compete inthe Olympics.”

Spencer, in turn, has high praise for his sister.“She’s always been there for me. She’s alwayshelped me and done judo with me,” he said.

Mr. LaMott said that though there is some sib-ling rivalry, the twins are closer than they’d everadmit. Still, he feels they are ready for some ex-periences of their own. “It’s just kind of a trip towatch them grow up and be ready for that nextstep,” he said.

Goltz student Inez Torres, 18, is another ofSpencer’s partners in crime.

“We’re acrobat buddies. We keep each otherhigh,” she quipped, referring to the fact that theyoften throw one another while sparring.

Inez, who also received a first-degree blackbelt on March 18, got involved in judo when she

was 12. She started taking classes at Goltz Judoher sophomore year in high school. Now a busi-ness and finance major at Citrus College, shecalls the Hughes Center her second home. She’snot aiming for the Olympics, but she feels shestruck gold when she happened upon judo.

“I love the philosophy. You never want to seesomeone fall and not get back up,” she said.“And for females, judo is really empowering. Itshows women can go much further than ex-pected.”

Having gone much further than he expected,Spencer has been getting in some extra practicewith his judo partner Arthur, a 20-year-old from anearby dojo who also plans to compete in theTokyo Olympics.

He has no illusions about the fact that he’s on achallenging path. In fact, he had to have surgeryon his shoulder in October. “Injuries will happenin judo,” he said, matter-of-factly.

Considering the high level of competition thatawaits Spencer as he moves onto the next level,he’s often asked what he feels he needs to workon most.

Judo, however, is not just a sport, but a way oflife. As judo founder Kano Jigoro declared, “It isnot important to be better than someone else, butto be better than yesterday.”

Accordingly, Spencer’s answer is as holistic asthe philosophy of judo itself. ‘I want to improveas a person in general,” he said. —Sarah Torribio

[email protected]

Claremont COURIER/Healthy Living 2016 7JUDO/continued from previous page

COURIER photo/Steven FelschundneffSpencer gets a leg up from his friend AlejandroPerez as he unhooks the protective mats used forpracticing throw-downs during judo practice.

As Bruce Springsteen wrote in hissong “Human Touch,” “You can’tshut off the risk and pain...with-

out losin’ the love that remains.” Clare-mont’s Scott Glovsky quoted this coupletwhen asked what it was like to open him-self up, both in his work and his life.

“You know, when you see inside someone’s heart,you can’t not love them,” Mr. Glovsky explained.“But we spend our lives trying to hide our hearts.”

This sentiment might not be remarkable comingfrom a self-help guru, but Mr. Glovsky makes his liv-ing in a decidedly non-touchy-feely vocation. He is alawyer. Although he is a member of the CaliforniaBar Association, he defies stereotypes.

“Basically, I was working to defend insurance com-panies that had screwed people,” Mr. Glovsky said,when asked about his early career. “I was just defend-ing their bad behavior. And that didn’t sit right withme in any way. It wasn’t emotionally fulfilling. I did-n’t like what I was doing. So once I paid off somedebt, I took a chance and went off to do what I had al-ways wanted to do: help people.”

Mr. Glovsky—who lives in the Village with hiswife Mariana and their two sons, Xabi, 9, andMatthew, 8—opened his own firm in 1999. The goal,he said, was to defend the powerless.

And business was good. But as his practice andreputation grew steadily, he began to feel as if he hadfallen short personally. He was productive, and by allaccounts successful, but the satisfaction was missing.He would find himself at the breakfast table with hisfamily, “But I wouldn’t really be there,” Mr. Glovskyexplained. Worries about the day to come, office con-cerns and other preoccupations kept him from beingin the moment.

“I wasn’t there for my kids when I needed to bethere,” he said.

He soon realized he was just not a “super happy”person. “I was so traumatized from childhood that Ialways thought the world was going to cave in. And Ilet my fears play a far too prominent role in my life.”

Fortuitously, it was around this time Mr. Glovskylearned about the practice of psychodrama, a thera-peutic process created by Romanian-born psychiatristDr. Jacob Levy Moreno and further developed in col-laboration with his wife, Zerka Moreno. Psychodramais an offshoot of psychotherapy, in which roles are re-versed. People tell their stories and participants gaintrue understanding and perspective of people throughtheir experiences. The technique was folded into thelegal realm in the 1970s, and was given an evenhigher profile in 1994 when legendary lawyer GerrySpence created the Trial Lawyer’s College.

According to its mission statement, at the TrialLawyer’s College lawyers “are trained to helpachieve justice for individuals fighting corporate orgovernment oppression, particularly those individualswho could be described as the poor, the injured, theforgotten, the voiceless, the defenseless and thedamned.”

Mr. Glovsky was one of those early converts, firstattending Mr. Spence’s classes in 2006. The experi-ence left him a changed man, and a changed attorney.Through this new prism, his life began to change.

“It has helped me be present,” Mr. Glovsky related.“And I’m happier, and a better husband, and a betterdad and a better lawyer.”

Some of his first experiences utilizing this newtechnique involved children with autism who had

An unlikely hero:

COURIER photo/Steven FelschundneffClaremont attorney Scott Glovsky experienced a career transformation, going from being the person whodefends insurance companies to the one who helps people with their denial of coverage claims.

HAVING A HEART/next page

Claremont attorney takes cases with a heart


been denied treatment by health insurers. He recalled the story of a client whose two-year-

old child was continually spinning in small circlesand then bashing his head into the wall of his family’ssmall apartment.

“To walk in there and see the utter chaos was dev-astating,” Mr. Glovsky said. “The child couldn’t sleepfor more than an hour or two at a time. The familywas just treading water trying to get through the nextfew hours.”

Mr. Glovsky turned to his new training, spendingcountless hours gaining the family’s trust and learningtheir story.

The child was denied treatment by Kaiser for ap-plied behavioral analysis, which, according to thefamily, would give their son the best chance for a“normal life.”

“It’s an early intervention for kids to minimize theirsymptoms of autism. It’s indisputably the best treat-ment there is for kids with autism. And Kaiser had de-nied it to this young boy.” Mr. Glovsky said. “I try tofeel the feelings of what it would be like to not beable to communicate, not to be able to express yourdesires and your thoughts, and to live in your ownworld and not be able to communicate.”

For Mr. Glovsky, the goal was “to understand thefeelings, so that we could help tell the story.”

Mr. Glovsky’s work paid off, with his client receiv-

ing a settlement insuring the youngster would receivecomprehensive, quality treatment for his disability.

“He improved dramatically, and ultimately enrolledin a mainstream school,” he said.

The child is now 11 years old and is by all accountsdoing well.

“He’s able to talk and study and learn. If you methim today, you would not even be able to tell any-thing was wrong,” Mr. Glovsky said.

After this case, word soon spread of Mr. Glovsky’sacumen in fighting insurance company claim denials.He took on other cases and won.

“I am most proud, by far, of the autism work I did,”Mr. Glovsky said. “Ultimately, we got Kaiser andBlue Cross to stop the practice of systemically deny-ing applied behavioral analysis to kids with autism.”

Asked if it involved Kaiser’s begrudging compli-ance, or was perhaps a case of a health insurancecompany having a heart, he was quick to respond.

“No. There’s no such thing as an insurance com-pany having a heart,” Mr. Glovsky said. “That was asix-year battle. Insurance companies only respondwhen you have a vise around their neck.”

His discovery that a large health insurer operated inthis manner was no surprise.

“They are in the business of making money, andthere’s nothing wrong with making money,” Mr.Glovsky said. “That’s fine. They need to make moneyin the short term. Their executives need to makemoney, otherwise they get fired. They need to in-

crease the stock value. So they’re always developingsystems that ultimately end up creating barriers topeople getting care. And it outrages me.”

When asked if this intense immersion in his clients’often harrowing cases can sometimes take a toll onhis own health, Mr. Glovsky said yes.

“But it’s a tremendous gift to me,” he added.“We’ve all had our traumas. I’m a product of a verybitter divorce. I spent a lot of my childhood lonelyand depressed, feeling isolated and alone. And thatwill just always be part of who I am. But through psy-chodrama and dealing with these issues, it’s helpedme understand them more, and become at peace withthem more.”

Mr. Glovsky recalled painful early childhood mem-ories: “I was that kid hiding under the bed with mysister when my dad would come to the door to takeus. He and my mom were there screaming at eachother.”

Through reenacting these painful events, he beganto see things from both parents’ perspectives.

“And I’ve come to be at peace with that and haverealized that my dad, he didn’t really have a father, sohe just didn’t have the tools,” Mr. Glovsky said. “Itwasn’t that he meant to create anything bad; he justdidn’t know any better. And my mom was pretty im-mature. She was growing up at the time and waslonely and afraid, so they were just being the bestpeople that they knew how to be.”

As he has come to grips with and learned from hisown past, Mr. Glovsky’s present has also been trans-formed.

“One thing I believe is that aspeople, our happinesscomes from our relation-

ships with other people. The more we areconnected to other people, the happier wewill be,” he said. “I want to be 100 per-cent me and 100 percent real and in themoment no matter what—with my clients,with my family, with my friends, in thecourtroom.

“I think we all share the same emotions. We all feellonely. We’ve all had rejection, and we all feel thatwe’re not good enough,” he added. “We all have thesame hopes and dreams for health for our familiesand our kids. We want love and comfort and compan-ionship. Part of my job is to really care about the peo-ple that I represent and to connect with them andlearn their stories, so that I can share their stories. If Ican share their true stories with the jury or the judge,they’re going to love my clients the same way that Ilove them.”

Mr. Glovsky’s work with the Trial Lawyer’s Col-lege and lessons learned through his own journeywith psychodrama have left him in an enviable spot: aman with an interconnected life—family, professionaland social—and a healthy perspective on what’s trulyimportant.

“I’m tremendously lucky to have a job where I getto meet people and help them. I have a lot of blessingsin my life,” he said. “You have to care about yourclients. There’s no faking it. Caring is contagious.”

Mr. Glovsky has received numerous awards, in-cluding California Lawyer Magazine’s “CaliforniaLawyer Attorney of the Year” and the Consumer At-torneys of California’s “Street Fighter of the Year”Award. Mr. Glovsky’s podcast, “Trial Lawyer Talk,”is available for free download on iTunes. His re-cently published book, Fighting Health InsuranceDenials: A Primer for Lawyers, is available onAmazon.

—Mick [email protected]

Claremont COURIER/Healthy Living 2016 9HAVING A HEART/from previous page

Taryn Spates hasmarathon running downto a science. It makes

sense, given she’s run 41 ofthem so far and shows no signsof stopping.

The Claremont native’s love for thegrueling glory of marathon running in-spired her to write a book, 35 by 35: ARunner’s Quest, which details herjourney to complete 35 marathons bythe time she turned 35.

“I was 32 at the time and I thought,what can I do?” Ms. Spates, 36, said. “Iwas like, I want to do 35 marathons bythe time I turn 35. And I want to write abook about it, because I’ve always beena writer and I love to write. So that re-ally gave me this amazing quest.”

Ms. Spates, who works in film pro-duction in Los Angeles, naturally gravi-tated toward running, growing up in afamily of track athletes.

“My brothers ran and did cross-coun-try,” Ms. Spates said. “But I neverthought I’d do anything longer thanthat.”

It wasn’t until she went to college inColorado that she caught the marathonbug while watching a friend run theDenver Marathon. She signed up forone herself, and the experience changedher forever.

“When I was done I was like, I amsuperhuman,” Ms. Spates said. “Whaton earth can’t I do now? Are you kid-

ding me? I’m still alive. This is amaz-ing. I’m going to keep doing this.”

She participated in marathons nearlyevery year, which continued after shemoved back to southern California andfound work. She met and eventuallymarried her husband, Marion, andbegan taking care of her stepdaughterHannah. Both have been incrediblysupportive of her love of running.

Ms. Spates’ regimen in preparing for

a marathon may seem arduous to the av-erage Joe. She begins 12 weeks in ad-vance, and runs between 14 and 18miles once a week to get her body inshape. In the week before the marathon,she cuts it down to an 8-mile tempo run.

On the Thursday before the event,Ms. Spates runs six miles. Two daysbefore the marathon, she takes it easy, atactic she learned from an old coach.By “taking it easy,” we mean doingother sporty activities other than run-ning.


Photo courtesy of Taryn SpatesRunning marathons is a consuming passion for Claremonter Taryn Spates.

Claremont native learns that life really is a marathon

MARATHON/next page

“I had a coach, a triathlon coach, a few years agowho always wanted to take two days before the racecompletely off,” she said. “If the race is on Sunday,Friday I’ll swim or do a bike ride or something. Butreally, no running.”

In what could be a surprise to some, Ms. Spateswolfs down a popular breakfast item that settles herstomach before running—pancakes.

“It’s good carbs and it’s nothing that detrimental tothe stomach because that’s really the game plan,” shesaid. “I try to have as easy of a morning as possibleand to feel as comfortable as possible.”

Then, it’s on to the 26.2 miles of euphoria. Listen-ing to her talk, one could easily notice the reverenceshe has for the race and the process that comes withit.

“Halfway into the race, you’re just like, ‘I can’t be-lieve it, here I am, it hurts and I still have a ways togo. But then you’re like, this is the icing on the cake,”Ms. Spates said. “It’s all the months of preparation,and the race is just a celebration more than anything.”

Ms. Spates says she got the idea of writing a bookwhile taking time off from work to take care of herstepdaughter. At that point, she had already run 21marathons, and decided on 35 to coincide with herlooming 35th birthday.

But the then 32-year-old had a lot of catching updo.

“I needed to crank out 14 [marathons] in two and ahalf years,” Ms. Spates said. “My average at that timewas about three to four per year, so I had to go fromthree to four to five to six.”

By the time she reached her coveted 35th race—the2014 San Francisco Marathon—she was spent.

“It really was pretty painful. It was one of myslowest races,” Ms. Spates said. “But it was wonder-ful because you know, that’s what marathons are.They hurt. And I had some great ones, but it’s like,they’re all tough. And any way you slice it—at mile23, it’s painful.”

Ms. Spates completed her 35th marathon just underthe radar, a couple months before her birthday. De-spite her achievement, she remains humble.

“It’s rough, but it’s okay. I love and respect this

race,” Ms. Spates said, “and just kept going and, luck-ily, I made it.”

The discipline she learned from running has alsohelped her in other facets of her life, from work tohome.

“I sort of see everything as a bit of athletics in asense, because film is all about endurance,” she said.“It’s long hours, it’s long everything—same thingabout running in marathons.”

And even though she reached her goal, she’s notresting on her laurels. She’s still hitting the pavement,having just completed the LA Marathon last month.Even after over 40 marathons, Ms. Spates still feelsshe has room for improvement.

Running has taken her all over the world—her fa-vorite marathon was in Dublin, Ireland in 2003—andshe hopes to broaden her scope by participating in theJerusalem Marathon in 2017. The race is part of whatshe says is her goal of spreading an encouraging mes-sage through the medium of marathon running.

“There’s so much distress and so much nuttiness,and I’d love to somehow just bring a different per-spective of positivity,” Ms. Spates said. “If I can in-corporate running and have it be my central theme,then that’s good.”

She also participated in her first ultra-marathon inMalibu in November—a 50k, which means over 31miles (“That was pretty fun,” she says). She also hasplans to film a documentary sometime in the future.

No matter how many marathons she conquers, Ms.Spates will always remain a student of the sport.

“We’re not all fast, by any means, but we’re madeto run,” she said. “And our bodies want to do that.Sometimes it feels great, sometimes it feels terrible,but it’s all part of it.”

You can buy 35 by 35: A Runner’s Quest onAmazon or read her blog at tarynspates.com.

—Matthew [email protected]


Photo courtesy of Taryn SpatesTaryn Spates attributes her good health to a vege-tarian diet and vigorous exercise.

MARATHON/from previous page

City offers free usedmotor oil recycling toClaremont residents

The city of Claremont sanitation de-partment provides a free curb-side usedmotor oil and filter collection program.Residents who change their vehicle oilat home can take advantage of this con-venient, appointment-based program toresponsibly dispose of used motor oil.

Used oil cans contain such contami-nants as lead, magnesium, copper, zinc,chromium, arsenic, chlorides, cadmiumand chlorinated compounds. Oil poureddown drains or onto the ground canwork its way into our ground and sur-face waters and cause serious pollution.

One gallon of used oil can foul a mil-lion gallons of drinking water.

To participate in this free and easyprogram, contact the Community Serv-ices Department at (909) 399-5431 torequest supplies and coordinate a curb-side pickup.

Wild West dinner anddance at the Joslyn

The Claremont Senior Program is of-fering a fun-filled evening completewith dinner, dancing and entertainment.

The event is sponsored by Inter ValleyHealth Plan.

The dance will be held from 5 to 7p.m. on Wednesday, April 13 at theJoslyn Center. Tickets are $5 and mustbe purchased in advance.

Register online at www.claremon-trec.com or call the Joslyn Center at(909) 399-5488 for more information.

Locals Mingle & Munchat Garner House

What are your interests? Traveling,gardening, dining, outdoor activities,just to name just a few?

Claremonters are invited to meetpeople who share the same interests onFriday, April 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the

Garner House, 840 N. Indian HillBlvd., Claremont.

The Mingle & Munch events areheld monthly and are open to those 50years old and up. The cost is $10 perperson. To RSVP, call (909) 399-5488.

Get social, get walkingAll levels of walkers are welcome to

join in the fun and explore Claremonton foot. Claremont walking groupsmeet on Tuesdays at 8 a.m. at the cor-ner of Bonita and Yale Avenues to ex-plore Village neighborhoods and theColleges. A second group meets onThursdays at 8 a.m.at the ThompsonCreek Trail parking lot at 2471 N. In-dian Hill Blvd.


OUR TOWN


There are five questions you shouldask your doctor before getting amammogram:

1. What is my risk for breast cancer? 2. Do I havedense breasts? If so, what does that mean for me? 3.What is 3D mammography and why is it better than 2Dmammography? 4. Is there any discomfort from themammogram that I should be aware of? 5. How much ra-diation will I be exposed to during my mammogram?

A recent recommendation by the US Preventive Serv-ices Task Force, which challenges the value of mammo-grams for women in their 40s, has garnered a lot ofattention. The task force emphasizes that routine screen-ing before age 50 increases the risk of a false positive re-sult, which could lead to unnecessary and often costlyprocedures and treatment.

However, in fall 2015, the American Cancer Society(ACS) revised its recommendations to state that womenaged 45 to 54 who are at average risk should undergoyearly mammograms, and that women age 55 and oldershould undergo mammograms every two years. TheACS says women 40 to 44 should have the option to startannual mammograms if they choose to do so.

No wonder women are confused. Delaying routinescreening mammograms until age 50 potentially putswomen at risk for late-stage detection of breast cancerthat would otherwise be discovered early with annualmammograms beginning at age 40.

Mammography is still the only proven means for de-tecting breast cancer early, when it’s most treatable.Mammography technology has improved vastly in re-cent years. In fact, several studies have shown that thelatest advancement, digital breast tomosynthesis (3D

mammography), improves cancer detection rate by 40percent or more, and decreases recall rates by 30 percentor more compared with conventional mammography.

While many breast care centers only offer 3D mam-mography to women with dense breast tissue, PomonaValley Hospital Medical Center is the only breast centerin the region to offer digital 3D mammography to all pa-tients who visit the Pomona, Chino Hills and Claremontlocations. The hospital has also invested in a new tech-nology that decreases the amount of radiation during a3D mammogram.

PVHMC recommends starting annual screeningmammograms beginning at age 40. However, each pa-tient is different and, ultimately, the decision on when tobegin screening mammograms is between the individualpatient and her doctor. To schedule a 3D mammographyappointment, call PVHMC at (909) 469-9395.

Clearing up confusion about when to begin screening mammogramsby Paul Reisch, MD


Between my husband and I, we haveeight grandchildren ranging in agesfrom four months to 14 years old.

From the moment they were born, it seemsthey all had a natural instinct to swipe theirpudgy little fingers across an iPad, iPod oriPhone device.

All our grandchildren own an iPad, iPhone or iPod.These devices have become the new source of entertain-ment for children and, in some cases, the virtual babysit-ter. One of the benefits of using these devices is the abil-ity of FaceTime.

When you call someone using the FaceTime app, youare able to see each other on the screens of your phones.

I recently FaceTimed my grandsons for the first time andit was so wonderful to see their faces while I talked withthem. It made us feel much more connected, almost as ifI was visiting them in person.

I wish I had the capability to FaceTime my dad whileproviding long-distance caregiving to him. If I wanted tovisit him, I had to purchase an airplane ticket, pay for arental car, food, time away from work and my family. Whilevisiting my dad back then, I didn’t have access to Wi-Fiunless I traveled to a local Starbucks. I didn’t have Skype,FaceTime or any fancy app on my phone to manage hisprescriptions or to locate caregiving resources. There weremany times I felt overwhelmed and isolated. Actually, itfelt like I was on another planet.

When I think of how much technology has changed overthe last 15 years, I wonder about all the ways today’s tech-

nology could have helped alleviate my stress and the over-whelming costs associated with caregiving. According tothe National Alliance on Caregiving and AARP statistics,there are currently 43.5 million Americans providing un-paid caregiving to a loved one or aging parent. Technol-ogy today may improve how you spend time caregivingfor a loved one or aging parent.

FaceTime: FaceTime requires that both you and yourloved one have access to an iPhone, iPod or iPad. Face-Time is an app already installed on these devices. If yourloved one isn’t capable of using these devices, arrange fora neighbor, friend, church member, senior volunteer or oth-er family member to be there to accept a FaceTime call.Schedule a weekly call or, if necessary, a particular timeevery day to check in. Just seeing your loved one face-to-face can bring comfort and the potential saving of yourtime and thousands of dollars in travel to visit in person.

Skype: This requires that both parties have access to acomputer. You can sign up for a free account at skype.com.If you don’t have an iPhone or iPad, this is a great wayof keeping in touch on a daily or weekly basis. You canget a really good sense if something is wrong by seeingthe person live on the computer screen. My dad was fa-mous for telling me, “I’m fine, I’m fine,” but when I couldhear how weak his voice was on the phone, or see him inperson, I could tell something was wrong. My dad was nev-er a complainer, so seeing him or listening to his voice wasan indicator to me there was something going on medically.Skype is also good if you are conducting interviews forlong distance caregivers or service providers.

Phone apps: Did you know there are apps on your mo-bile device that can help manage your loved one’s med-ications and vitals? You can also share information aboutmoods and send notes to family members, your caregiv-ing team and doctors. If you are providing care coordinationfor a loved one, take some time to check out your app storeon your mobile phone device. Go to the App Store and typein the word, “caregiver.” I was surprised at how a simpleapp can help you organize information all in one place.

GoToMeeting.com: My financial advisor is located inOrange County and due to distance and travel time, wehave been conducting our quarterly financial meetings viaGo To Meeting. During our meetings, via our computerscreens, I can see him and he can see me, as well as anyfinancial illustrations of my portfolio. Go To Meeting wouldhave been very helpful while I was overseeing my dad’sfinances and scheduling online meetings with his finan-cial advisor. This also applies to meetings with doctors orsocial workers.

Nanny cams: You may have heard about the NannyCams to monitor in-home daycare providers for children.The same applies for hiring in-home providers to care foryour aging parent. Many companies that install securitycameras can connect to your mobile device so you canmonitor your loved one while you are at work or caregivingfrom another state. There are companies that provide in-home sensors to monitor the temperature in the kitchenin the event a pot is left on the stove too long that couldpossibly lead to a fire. There are also sensors that can de-tect if your loved one is spending too much time in onearea of the house, which could indicate a fall or that theyare having a mobility issue.

Personal emergency response systems: If you have anaging parent who is prone to falls or needs medication re-minders, I highly recommend a personal emergency re-sponse system. My dad had a Life Alert wrist band thathe would wear, which was connected through his telephoneline. There were a couple of times he had fallen in the yard.When he pressed the button on his wrist band, it autodi-aled the monitoring company and they would contact lo-cal emergency services and a family member to ensure hereceived immediate medical care. There is a set-up fee anda monthly monitoring fee for this service.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to theadvancement of technology in personal health and/or re-sources. Please email me at [email protected] call me on my cell at (909) 636-2744 with questions.

Technology for caregivers by Pamela Bergman-Swartz, transition living consultant/real estate professional

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COURIER Healthy Living 2016