Ep # 159-Guidance Through Dementia And Senior Care

A sudden diagnosis can turn a normal week into a crisis. We sit down with care manager Anette Lipman of Lipman Cares to unpack a practical, humane way to navigate aging, dementia, and long-term care without losing your balance—or your budget. From the first signs that living at home is no longer safe to the moment you compare assisted living and memory care, Anette shows how a structured assessment turns fear into a plan.

We explore the building blocks of effective care: clear evaluations of ADLs and IADLs, medication management, home safety, and caregiver capacity. Annette explains how to match needs with options—enhanced support at home, independent living with services, assisted living, or dedicated memory care—and when to bring in specialists. Her curated network includes elder law attorneys, geriatricians, neurologists, social workers, and move managers, making it easier to manage costs, avoid rushed decisions, and protect dignity. She also shares why ER advocacy is essential for people with dementia, and how a trained professional can de-escalate chaos while securing the right care.

We talk openly about cost, planning, and trust—how to time legal documents, what families misunderstand about long-term care, and why it’s never too late to plan with an expert. Annette outlines her model: an upfront assessment and care plan followed by hourly support tailored to each family—anything from companionship and care team check-ins to full placement guidance and ongoing coordination. With roots in assisted living leadership and advanced dementia training, she brings both empathy and execution to complex situations across North Jersey and Rockland.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by a parent’s changing needs, this conversation offers a steady hand and a clear map. Listen, share it with a sibling or spouse, and subscribe for more local stories and expert guidance that turn hard choices into confident steps forward.

Lipman Care Management and Consulting
Anette Lipman
Hackensack, NJ
(201) 515-2500
Anette@lipmancares.com

Transcript

New Year Kickoff And Guest Intro

Speaker 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Drohan.

Anette’s Path Into Senior Care

Doug Drohan 0:11

Hey everyone, happy new year 2026. It's uh Tuesday, January 6th. And today I'm I'm thrilled to be uh inviting and welcoming our first podcast guest of the new year. It's Ainette Lipman of Lipman Cares. Uh it's a care management and consulting firm. Uh Anette, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. I'm glad to be number one for 2026. Yeah, there you go. So you and I met years ago, probably like eight years ago, when you were working uh at the Jewish Home Family and Assistant Living in Rivervale and Rockley. Um and we've run across each other over the years, and and I was thrilled to see you uh start your own company, Lipman Care Management and Consulting. So why don't you take us through kind of the journey of how you got to you know to where you are now?

Speaker 2 1:03

Uh sure, thank you. So, yes, we met um when I was um director of sales at the assisted living in Rivervale. Um, and since that time I spent about six years there. Um, from there moved to another um assisted living in Franklin Lakes, um, was there for about three and a half years, and then my my final stop before this one was um as administrator at Harmony Village at Carewan Valley, um, which is um uh specifically an assisted living specifically designed for those with uh dementia and Alzheimer's and kind of related related diseases. Um and so over these lots and lots of years, um, very often and every day, um, I met with families who were struggling. You know, what do I do? Um, you know, they learned of a diagnosis, and it's kind of like now what? Um, and so I was always finding myself helping them to navigate uh healthcare, life care, um, in general. Um, and I felt that now was a good time to kind of move out on my own and uh kind of ditch the operations and do what I love most, which is helping families kind of navigate health care.

What Care Management Really Covers

Doug Drohan 2:29

So it was just navigating health care, or do you also help with like finding the right um maybe assistant living or memory care communities?

Speaker 2 2:37

Yes. So really, whatever a family member, every every family and every person is different. Um, there are solo agers who are uh living at home alone, who might not have family close by or maybe never had any children. So they may need help, you know, finding a way to get food into the house, helping to do banking, um, escorting to a doctor's appointment. Um, then there are other families that might be spouses of people who are recently diagnosed with health care, with um Alzheimer's or dementia. Um can they stay at home or do they need to find an assisted living community where they can, you know, kind of thrive? Um, and and and typically for both, you know, if if it's a spouse. Um and then there are also families who um, you know, many people are being diagnosed with with Alzheimer's and other kinds of brain diseases who are very young and as a result have young children with their own young children, and so um help them to find um kind of a a way to to navigate their their care.

Doug Drohan 3:50

Yeah. So how did you uh like get into the like senior care business, I guess, because you know, your first like you know, the job that we spoke about was working in sales for the Jewish home family. So how did you go from being a high school student and you know if you went to college to like getting into this career path?

Speaker 2 4:11

I did. So actually, my first career was in early childhood education. Um I was an early childhood director. I worked at um the YJCC and uh which is no longer open, um, and kind of navigated my way through um through my career there, um, ultimately leaving as an associate executive director. But there, when there was also a senior department, um, we had um uh you know lunch and activities for those with seniors. Um so I was always involved really in in caring for families, anyway I could, any way I could do that. Um I when I started at the Jewish home, I immediately got my um assisted living administrators uh certificate because I really wanted to understand the ins and outs of assisted living. So I could, you know, I could guide people with some expertise with expertise. Um and that's really how I how I landed with seniors.

Costs, Trust, And Legal Planning

Doug Drohan 5:15

Yeah. So, you know, a lot of people that I've spoken to in in your uh industry, they were kind of driven by a personal experience, whether it was their parent had dementia or Alzheimer's or you know, had senior care issues. A lot of the things that, you know, I I feel like I go to a lot of senior care networking events, and they kind of scare me because you hear the stories of, first of all, the cost of going into, you know, long-term care um in Bergen County. It's not cheap. Um, so there's all the elder law issues that none of us know about, and you don't really think about it until you have to deal with it. And then you're kind of under the gun. Oh my God, just found out, you know, my father can't live in his own anymore. And we think he has dementia. What do we do? How do we pay for this? How do we, you know, we don't know what his will looks like. He doesn't have long-term care insurance. How are we going to pay for the, you know, does he have a trust? He never had, you know, so all these things are just so immediate to and families, and you know, a lot of times there's multiple kids, so who's taking charge? Um, you know, do they even want to leave the home? Like what? So it's such a daunting, I think, life experience that um, you know, I could see where somebody like you really steps in because you need guidance. And a lot of it is who do you trust?

Speaker 2 6:45

Yes. Um, that's exactly where I come in. Because over the years I've developed, I would say, a book of um experts who I have always leaned on to, which are could be um uh elder law attorneys, geriatricians, neurologists, um even uh even social workers, moving planning and and coordinators, just a little bit of everybody. Um and and the the real crux is to finding the right resources um without spending all your dollars, and then making sure you have planning and planning in place. And it's really never too late to plan. You can be, you know, obviously the best is when you're young, but none of us think that we're going to be needing that when we're uh 80 years old. Um, but even if you're in your 40s and 50s and 60s, um, that's a good time to start uh to plan with an elder law attorney because they are experts um in in that um field.

Doug Drohan 7:52

Right. So you you can refer people to elder law attorneys, state attorneys. Yes.

Speaker 2 7:58

I mean I have I have knowledge, but I would not I would not consider myself an expert. And um and and my my job as as care manager is really to make the connections between all the experts um out there in the most costly um cost effective way.

How Referrals Happen And First Steps

Doug Drohan 8:20

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and that's important because I think you know what I'm what I'm understanding is that you know, there's different things in in um, you know, people that have managers, like if you're an athlete or an artist or whatever, you have a manager who handles a lot of your day-to-day business things, paying the bills, or you know, I need to find a therapist for my kid, or I need a physical therapist, or whatever. And because you have such a busy life, you know, people like this have a need, right? Um and you know, you're stepping in, and usually it's it's multiple people you have to deal with, I guess. Um and it's it's uh like I said, it's a very uh daunting period of like what do we do? And um so can you give me an example of like, you know, without naming names, but of a of a case, like what from beginning to end, like how, because I want to get an idea of how it works. Like, so somebody says one day, okay, uh I or my spouse or my parent looks like they either, you know, have dementia or they need memory care uh support, or they just need to be consider a senior living uh assisted living community. Like, well, how does the process work from beginning to like how do they find you? First of all, like how would I would I Google like I I wouldn't know to Google care management and consult, like correct? Like, how would I find you to begin with and then how does the process work?

Assessments, ADLs, And Care Options

Speaker 2 9:52

Yeah. So um, well, to start, referrals come from every place. So uh family members, speaking to people like you, um attorneys. I recently got a call from uh an elder law attorney who's working with a client who needed some help in navigating um their care because uh they were working on their care plan and whether it was made sense to stay at home. Typically, people have you know one or two power of attorneys, sometimes they're family members that agree with everything, sometimes there are they are um you know a landlord and um a distant cousin who might live in California, and how are they managing somebody's care um from that from that point of view? Um most recently I received um uh a referral from my aunt who um has you know very close friends who found themselves um in a situation where you know one has been diagnosed with with something. Um the spouse, you know, they're both in their late 80s, living at home and a great life, and all of a sudden, you know, there's a situation where they're not sure if they can stay home. Of course, that was always the first choice. Um nobody ever really wants to leave their homes. Um and so meet with the family member, kind of do an assessment of the situation, gather all the medical um questions that we need to get answered. Um, you know, where are they getting their medications from? Who's providing the medications? Who's who's caring for their ADLs? ADLs are activities of daily living, showering, dressing, meal preparation, um, you know, who's cleaning the house? I mean, there's you know, everything that that goes on with with your uh daily life. And then um, you know, if there's other family members who are involved, including family members kind of in the discussion, um, and from them coming up with a list of questions of things that we think that they need. Um, in this particular case, we um we talked about either staying home or moving, and now we're looking at several um independent and assisted living options that may work for for the family. Um and kind of then fast forward the next steps is you know, how do you get a realtor? How do you get a mover? How do you, you know, what's the best way to kind of relieve the most stress? And I um and that person who will take that on.

Services, Pricing, And Ongoing Support

Doug Drohan 12:41

So how does somebody hire you? Like they're paying you by the hour, or is it where um I'll offer you these this suite of services? And or do they get to say, okay, I only need help with um finding memory care, um, either a professional to come to our home or a memory care community. I'll take care of the elder law attorney, I'll take care of moving, I'll take care of packing. I don't need you for any of that. Like, is there like how does it work with if somebody hires you?

Speaker 2 13:14

There's an initial um fee for the assessment and care plan. Um, and then after that, it's an hourly rate. And and yes, we could talk about, you know, what it whether you need it all-encompassing or you need here and there. Um, you know, I have another client who um is at an assisted living who I'm visiting um, you know, on a weekly basis, um, both as a companion, um also to follow up with the nursing team and uh you know, the caregiving team to make sure she's getting what she needs. Um, because sometimes a family member can't be that person or doesn't have the time because they have life. They've they've they have a made life. So it's everything from companionship to kind of major um coordination of of health care.

Doug Drohan 14:12

Now I've you know I've spoken to people in in this industry again, and there's a guy that just does companionship. Right. And there's somebody who's got a business where they're concierge service, where they'll take you to your doctor, they'll walk your dog, they'll go shopping for you. There's somebody else, like it's very cottage industries. There's there's businesses that assist the living locators, right? They'll take you to Jewish Home Family, Sunrise, Allegro, whatever, and take you around. Um, but what you're saying is you could be all of those things.

ER Advocacy And Coordinating Specialists

Speaker 2 14:46

I can be all of those things and really the connector, because sometimes um I might not be the right person to take somebody from place to place. If that's all they want and they don't want any kind of additional guidance, then I I might refer out to a colleague um who is an expert in that field. Um I can um be the person that if somebody, if they have a family member or a power attorney who's far away and they have to go to the hospital, go to the emergency room and be the advocate at in at the hospital in the emergency room. Um can be the person to kind of be there for a few hours until a family member can can arrive there because um you know sending a person with Alzheimer's and dementia to an ER on their own is frightening.

Doug Drohan 15:36

Yeah, yeah, it's frightening.

Speaker 2 15:38

Because not everybody there has the expertise to deal with a person like that, yeah.

Doug Drohan 15:45

And also not every person uh has a family member to to come along with them, right?

Speaker 2 15:51

So that's right, that's right.

Doug Drohan 15:53

Yeah. So um I want to get into the business side of things. So you decided to, you know, after working for some pretty big organizations to go off on your own.

Speaker 2 16:02

Yes.

Doug Drohan 16:03

What spurred that on? And and I know it's early days, but what has it been like and what have you learned? And could you give any advice to somebody thinking about, you know, 2026 is the year I go off on my own? Yeah.

Going Solo: Building A Purposeful Practice

Speaker 2 16:14

Well, you know what, for me, um, I had been thinking about it for a long time. And um as I called other aging life care managers who I've also known, actually met back way back at that when I was at the Jewish home and and really kind of kept in touch with people. Um, which, you know, a lot of this industry is really relationships and you have to trust people um because you're trusting people are trusting you with their life, really. Um when I reached out and said, I'm thinking about doing this, I got you know many, many, many rounds of applause and encouragement. Um, and so I thought, you know, this is this is a a good move for me. Um and uh, you know, while I love assisted living and I love the the idea of it, um, I think for me it was just a just a good time to jump out.

Doug Drohan 17:14

So I, you know, all right, I'm gonna do it. And then, you know, as Mike Tyson said, everybody has a plan until you get punched in the mouth.

Speaker 2 17:21

Yeah.

Doug Drohan 17:22

Um so you you want to go off, you want to do it. I love the idea of being my own boss. I love the idea of having the autonomy to do what I think is right for my client. But now you've got to go out there and earn it, right? You got to find the clients, you got to pay the bills, you have a growth strategy, you know. Um, so what has that been like so far?

Speaker 2 17:42

Um, actually, I have to say, very, very positive.

Doug Drohan 17:46

Okay.

Training, Networks, And Community Support

Speaker 2 17:46

Um, you know, I think over the many years that I've been in this industry, I've developed some really good relationships. And so little by little I'm gaining um getting referrals. Um, I you know, I I immediately got my certified defensive care practitioner certificate so that I can really, um, when I'm in a home or in a community and working with somebody with dementia and Alzheimer's, I felt for myself I needed that extra education. Yeah. Um, and um, you know, just like everything, as as people are reaching out to me for support and for um for advice, I'm also reaching out to my colleagues for support and advice. Um and I have to say that that's one thing about the senior care industry is that um everyone is supportive. You find really no one who is not willing to help, which is amazing.

How To Reach Annette And Service Area

Doug Drohan 18:45

Yeah, I I see that a lot. And I think um some mistakes at other other lines of work that people do when they go off on their own is they don't seek help, you know, have a mentor, have a business coach, but just seek help from other people because I think there is a community of entrepreneurs that whether you're in advertising and publishing or you're in senior care or you're uh opening up a yoga studio, um, I think there's a kind of a brotherhood of people that you know respect what you're doing and are willing to give advice. So well, Annette, this was great. Uh I want to make sure people know how to reach you, how to contact you. So if they're if they get a hold of this uh podcast um, you know, and they you know they're at a moment where they need help, how how do they reach you?

Speaker 2 19:32

So they can call me at uh 201-515-2500. I do have a website um which is www.lippman L I P M A N C A R E S dot com, Lipmancares.com. There, there's a a place where you can fill out um a form and it would come to me or send me an email. Um, at annette at litmancares.com. Um, and uh you can find me. I'm on Facebook, I'm on LinkedIn, so um a little bit of every place.

Doug Drohan 20:10

Right. And one question, do you territorially uh do you focus mainly in Bergen County, northern Bergen County, Bergen, Rockland? Is there an area that you kind of focus on?

Speaker 2 20:21

Right, right now I would say North Jersey and Rockland because I can drive an hour um um, you know, pretty much anywhere where I from where I am um in Bergen. Yeah, until I develop kind of a you know, my my own kind of place. But for right for right now, I'm I'm kind of going everywhere.

Doug Drohan 20:43

Right. Okay, excellent. Well, this was great. Anette, thank you very much for being our first guest of 2026. And um, you and I will be right back. I'm just gonna have Chuck close us out and uh uh I'll talk to you in the other side. Thank you.

Show Closing And Listener CTA

Speaker 2 20:57

Thank you so much.

Speaker 20:59

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbergen.com. That's gnpbergen.com or call two oh one two nine eight eight three two five.