Radio Host Takes Holistic Approach to Caregiving

Every Monday from 11am - noon, caregivers across the Tampa Bay area and beyond can tune in to what could be considered their lifeline.

Kim Linder, founder of Senior Holistic Living, reaches out to the growing demographic of caregivers with her radio show, The Caregiver Hour, on WHNZ, 1250 AM, in Tampa. She reaches thousands of caregivers all across the country through the show, available by radio, Web or mobile app.

Dedicated to providing information, support and resources to help caregivers find balance so they can continue to provide optimum care to their loved ones, Linder speaks from the heart. She has firsthand experience understanding the emotional and physical challenges caregivers face. She also interviews experts on topics relevant to caregivers and promotes awareness of resources available to caregivers.

Linder Experienced Caregivers' Challenges Firsthand

As a professional caregiver for 12 years, Linder worked with an assisted living facility as marketing director. She closely worked with families to determine whether the facility was the right option and fit for them. She became aware of the turmoil that personal caregivers were faced with when it came to making life-changing decisions on behalf of their loved ones.

Linder was also a very involved personal caregiver for more than two and a half years to her in-laws, and eventually moved them from New Jersey to Florida when they required more assisted care. It was a traumatic transition for them, as they realized they had to let go of some of their independence. 

“The transition of becoming a caregiver can be subtle, or it can be immediate. It changes everyone’s life involved, including the caregiver and those being cared for,” Linder said.

Ready to make a change, Linder knew that she wanted to continue working with seniors but with aholistic approach. The holistic, whole-person concept is about looking at the person receiving care and the caregiver as whole individuals, not just a medication schedule, doctor appointment or other menial task. The core is to identify and meet all of the caregiver’s needs: emotional, physical, medical and spiritual. 

Linder also created and published a magazine, Holistic Living, and began working with seniors and their families in a more intimate way.  She hosted events for professional and personal caregivers and consulted in a marketing role for numerous senior living facilities, helping them define their marketing strategies and implementation plans.

Along with another caregiver professional, Karen Karle-Truman, Linder set out on a five-day cruise with 45 caregivers, themed "The Wise Women with Spirit Cruise for Caregivers." Linder realized that the women needed time to take a hiatus from their caregiver roles and recharge. Many asked her questions seeking her professional advice, and it was then that she decided she wanted to work with caregivers specifically.

Prompted by her husband, who recognized that Linder was a voice for caregivers and could provide much needed support to them, The Caregiver Hour was born. Linder made the decision to align withClear Channel because the station hosts other holistic-related shows, and she felt her show would be a perfect complement to what the station was already doing.

Company Expands Services to Address Caregiver Needs

Linder’s company, Senior Holistic Living, has evolved in the past three years, expanding the services that it offers to personal and professional caregivers, as well as senior living facilities. Continuing to offer marketing expertise with short-term and long-term goals, the company also provides one-on-one coaching to caregivers addressing their personal needs. These one-hour coaching sessions are offered in person, over the phone, and via Skype or other means.

“Sometimes caregivers don’t feel comfortable talking about all their issues in a support groupsetting, so the one-on-one sessions are a way to really put the focus on them. We help them learn how to balance their caregiver responsibilities while also taking care of their own needs,” Linder explained.

The company also works directly with professional caregivers such as nurses, elder law attorneys,health practioners and more. Often professionals in this industry suffer from burnout. Linder said that professionals give so much to others that they often lose sight of themselves in the process. The company helps them find ways to create balance in their life and also offers them advice regarding families that they are helping.

Senior Holistic Living will soon offer services to outside companies that have caregivers as employees, working directly with their HR departments to help them keep engaged and productive employees by addressing their personal needs via a customized seminar series.  

Symposium Offers Resources, Respite for Caregivers

The Caregiver Hour is hosting The New Age of Caregiving Symposium on Sept. 23 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. Open to caregivers from across the Tampa Bay area and beyond, the symposium will draw from everything that Linder's radio show offers and take it live for caregivers to fully experience. Through interaction and rejuvenation, it will be an opportunity for caregivers to recharge their minds, bodies and souls. The focus will be on creating balance and well-being in the lives of caregivers.

The symposium will include a variety of presenters including keynote speaker Gail Sheehy, celebrity journalist and renowned author of Passages of Caregiving. The $45 registration cost includes breakfast, lunch, exciting breakout sessions and opportunities for interaction. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas Inc.  

Linder is passionate about bringing her knowledge and experience into the hearts and homes of other caregivers and their families, providing them with the awareness that they are not alone in their personal journey. An ear and a voice, Linder’s radio show and her company serve to enrich the lives of caregivers by providing them with tools, methods, resources and wisdom to help them become centered and balanced.      

Want to listen to The Caregiver Hour?

• On the radio: 11 a.m. to noon Mondays on WHNZ, 1250 AM, Clear Channel Impact Radio in Tampa
• On the Web: 11 a.m. to noon Mondays at www.whnz.com, or check out previous editions in the show archive
• On your iPhone, Blackberry or Droid: Download the app at 
  www.iheartradio.com

To inquire about the services offered at Senior Holistic Living, to become a sponsor of The Caregiver Hour or to inquire about being interviewed on her show, email Kim Linder at kim@thecaregiverhour.com or call her at 727-798-2663.

How do you stay balanced and prevent burnout while caring for others? What advice would you offer new caregivers?