Caregiving, Medicare & Planning Ahead: What Families Need to Know

Caregiving and planning for aging parents can feel overwhelming, especially when no one explains the process.

In the first episode of For Mature Audiences Only, senior resource specialists Mary Shapiro and Shannon Johnson from Archer Law Office introduce the podcast and break down what families really need to know when navigating caregiving, healthcare decisions, Medicare misconceptions, and planning ahead.

Drawing from decades of experience in hospice, home care, senior living, and elder law support, Mary and Shannon explain why families often feel lost, what Medicare does and doesn’t cover, why planning documents like powers of attorney matter, and how advocacy can make a real difference during a medical or caregiving crisis.

This episode is for:

• Adult children caring for aging parents
• Families navigating Medicare and long-term care decisions
• Caregivers experiencing burnout or overwhelm
• Anyone who wants to plan ahead before a crisis happens

For Mature Audiences Only is here to provide real conversations, real resources, and guidance that actually makes sense — so families don’t have to navigate aging and caregiving alone.

For Mature Audiences Only is a podcast dedicated to real conversations, honest stories, and practical guidance for families navigating caregiving, aging, and senior living.

If this episode resonated with you, follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who may need support.

Presented by Archer Law Office https://archerelderlaw.com

Music provided by MIBE https://mibemusic.com/

Transcript

Welcome And Purpose

Shannon 0:01

If you've ever woken up one day and thought, wait, when did I become the responsible one? You're definitely in the right place.

Mary 0:08

Because every day we meet smart, capable people who suddenly find themselves navigating hospitals, care decisions, and paperwork that should honestly come with instructions.

Shannon 0:18

I'm Shannon Johnson.

Mary 0:19

And I'm Mary Shapiro. We're senior resource specialists with Archer Law Office.

Shannon 0:24

And this podcast is here to take the overwhelmed out of aging, caregiving, and planning with real conversations, real resources, and guidance that actually makes sense.

Mary 0:34

Welcome to For Mature Audiences Only, presented by Archer Law Office. Let's get started.

Shannon 0:41

We are very, very excited to be here today as this is our first episode of our new installment of our new podcast.

Mary 0:49

Yeah.

Shannon 0:50

We are so excited to be here. Very excited to bring a lot of things over, you know, the episodes that we've put together here for our audience and our listeners, for our caregivers, for our families. A lot of information, a lot of good things are going to be coming from this podcast. So before we get started here, I kind of want to take a step back really quickly and talk about kind of how we got here. This used to be something else that you and one of our former colleagues started, Marissa. Could you talk about that?

From Straight Talk To Podcast

Mary 1:16

Absolutely. Yep. So Randy Goldberg and I, back during just after COVID started, what was called Straight Talk, which was if listeners are familiar with it, we announced it via Facebook. We had a live Zoom twice a month, and we invited professionals from the healthcare community and other professionals that dealt with seniors just to share resources, share information, and really try and get needed information out there in that platform.

Shannon 1:50

Absolutely. So now, you know, we've kind of revamped that. Yes. Changed the name. We turn this into a podcast where we're kind of be we're going to be doing essentially the same thing. We're going to be bringing on guests in industry to really help bring insight for our families, for our caregivers, and for our colleagues that also work in the field too, that need to continuously educate themselves. Exactly and being and know about what's going on in the industry.

What Archer Law Office Provides

Mary 2:14

And I love that we'll have an opportunity to reach a bigger audience and just not the people who showed up on the Zoom.

Shannon 2:20

Absolutely. So, Archer Law Office, I love your pitch about the services that we provide, Mary. So if you could please explain what it is that we do.

Mary 2:30

Sure. For those who aren't familiar with Archer Law Office, we provide elder law and estate planning. So we can do everything from helping you with your will, power of attorney, health care proxy documents to planning for a five-year plan with a trust. If you need to move towards Medicaid application to help pay for care, if you need help navigating health care, which is what we're going to talk about today. If you're a veteran and need to access veterans benefits, if you we do some litigation if there's appropriate, but those are all the things that we provide at Archer Law Office. And part of our role, Shannon and I, as senior resource specialists, is helping our clients navigate their health care journey, whatever that may look like for them.

Shannon 3:25

Carl really put our role in place, you know, as senior resource specialists to really be able to help our families navigate wherever they are in their caregiving, senior living journey. Because, you know, we have the knowledge and the expertise of the field to be able to help the families that kind of don't know anything about what they're really getting themselves into. Right. To be able to help them, you know, be able to go on tours with them, be able to um ask the questions they may not think of. Exactly. Ask the right questions. I always say ask the right questions so that they're not getting taken advantage of in any of these communities, and also help them advocate for their loved ones. Um our role is it's a lot of fun, it's a lot of stress, it's a lot that goes into the role, but the number one thing is resources and education. Absolutely. That's what we provide for our clients, and you know, we're so thankful to Carl that he he, Tom Callahan, and Lisa kind of put this role in place a couple years back with the firm. And um, you know, it's it's been absolutely it's a unique model.

The Senior Resource Specialist Role

Mary 4:25

Absolutely. It really is, because you don't just have an attorney that's advocating for you, you have senior specialists who are there walking the walk with you, advocating for your loved one, you know, helping educate families on how to advocate for themselves for their loved one. So it's a very unique thing.

Shannon 4:47

Lots of travel. So our la our office covers our attorneys, I should say, are certified elder law attorneys, all of them. We're licensed in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. So Mary and I, you know, we kind of split our territories in half. We divide and conquer. We have outfits from Floor Park up in Morris County all the way down to Burlington County and South Jersey. So we have a big reach. You and I divide and conquer and kind of, you know, are constantly providing education across all the different counties that we service and helping out our communities and being that resource for them kind of wherever they need for their clients, also.

Mary 5:22

Aaron Ross Powell And staying on top of what's changing in our industry as we know, you know, buildings change, ownership changes, just really trying to stay on top of New Jersey.

Shannon 5:35

Absolutely. Like you said, things are always changing. So it's important for us to kind of know what's new and what's happening out there and also know what services, all the different disciplines, whether it be home care, hospice, palliative care, wound care, skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living.

Mary 5:54

Visiting physicians.

Shannon 5:55

Exactly, knowing what all those services can provide so that we can, you know, best help our clients, you know, find the right discipline for them necessarily.

Mary 6:05

Absolutely, because even if we think we know something, things change, Medicare changes, Medicaid changes. Absolutely. So I'm excited for some of the guests that we're gonna have on.

Shannon 6:16

Me too, me too. Um, we're coming in hot with our guests. We're gonna have all on as our first as our first person. Exactly. So we're very excited to bring content for you guys throughout the year and new guests, keep it interesting, keep it light, keep it fun, and let's have a good time talking about um you know advocacy and caregiving and such. So, Mary, so let's again let's dive into kind of our role and kind of what we do here to kind of just lay it out for everybody. So, how would you describe what would you say is a kind of the starting point for families with the firm?

Staying Current Across New Jersey

Mary 6:49

When I first meet with families that we're gonna start working with, I explain that this role is designed to help them walk the walk with them, help them navigate, provide them with resources. Oftentimes, like we've said, families get handed a sheet in a hospital, right? Someone has to discharge to go to short-term rehab, or someone needs to bring services into their home, and they're handed a list from uh hospital or wherever, and a lot of folks don't know what to do with that. Right. So we kind of provide the feed on the street, we do the legwork for them and just present them with information of what we find through Medicare.gov, through our experience in the fields, through what other clients have experienced with different assisted livings, nursing homes, home care, hospice providers, just who we've worked with that have worked well for our clients. So we do the legwork for them. That's what I like to explain to them.

Shannon 7:53

Exactly. And I also spend it sometimes like, you know, I'm here to really kind of take the stress off of you. Yep. Like you said, be the boots on the ground person so that when it comes time to making a decision, you're already armed with everything that you need and you can just make that decision and sort of kind of, you know, get somewhat some aspect of your own life back. What we always see is, you know, the adult children are the ones that are coming in and taking care of their parents, which can be complicated with, you know, work and your own children and raising your own family. So, you know, sometimes we have to play therapists for our family members, and sometimes we have to just, you know, I don't want to say talk them off the ledge, but kind of reel them back in a little bit and help them realize that, you know.

Mary 8:33

They're in a stressful situation. So it's helpful to have someone else there that is removed, they can just present information and really, like you said, take the stress off of I have to call all these places now and who am I going to call? And we kind of filter what the family is looking for for their loved one, and then help present them with hopeful options that meet their criteria without them having to do all the legwork.

Shannon 9:03

Absolutely. And a lot of our families come to us in that crisis mode, usually after a traumatic event happens or a life-changing event happens. So there's a lot of emotions and feelings and you know, who's gonna do what and you know, delegating of tasks. So to be able to come in with the family that's experiencing, you know, what's gonna be now their new normal, yeah, and being able to get them to a place where they're now calm, as calm as can be, all things considered.

Mary 9:31

Calmer than they were. Right, in a better place.

Shannon 9:33

In a better place is the most important part. And again, what we do is just very fulfilling to help these families kind of get you know a big aspect of their lives back.

How We Start With Families

Mary 9:44

I think people should know too that we are operating from a place of experience. So I know both of us have worked in the healthcare industry, all the different aspects of it. So you want to talk a little bit about your journey before you came to Archer?

Shannon 10:01

Absolutely. So my journey in healthcare started back in I want to say 2016 or so. I used to work for a company that sold um medical devices. Um, so catheters, pacemakers, stints, anything you can imagine that goes into your body for a surgery we sold during COVID, that all changed. Yeah, nobody was having surgeries anymore. Everybody was buying ventilators. Yeah. So then at that point, I made a career change. Um, I started working for a home care company. I quickly found out and working for the home care company kind of where I saw myself fitting into this space. And it's doing exactly what we're doing now. Being someone that could go in with the families and help them figure out what they don't know. Um I get such a satisfaction again about helping someone when I could see someone take a deep breath and kind of woo-saw and get back to their lives. So, you know, I've worked in, you know, all the different disciplines. So I've done home care, I've done senior living, I'm done, I'm sorry, assisted living sales, independent living sales, memory care sales. I was an admissions director at a rehab for a short time. So I'm pretty well-rounded in my knowledge of being able to understand kind of what families need and kind of what they're looking for, and being able to navigate it from there. Over the last five years, you know, I've grown a pretty strong network of people that I can trust. So that, you know, that's what's most important when you're giving any services for your clients. You want to give them someone that you can trust, someone you know that you can, you know, get on the phone if need be. So that's that's kind of how I got to where I am at Wood Archer for the last year now. Yes, and it's been great. It's been absolutely fantastic. How about yourself?

Mary 11:36

Before my journey to the firm, I I'm a little more senior than you. So I've been in healthcare over 25 years, the predominant bulk of it being in skilled home care and hospice. I also did work in senior living as well and assisted living and partnered with transportation companies, worked with home care companies. So, like you said, and helping them in crisis, I think I always lean back on my hospice work because uh those families are definitely in crisis. And just helping them, like you said, they take the breath, they do the exhale, and someone is listening, someone is helping them during some of the most difficult times of their lives. Absolutely. I mean, you can't underestimate that impact for sure. It's very humbling.

Shannon 12:31

It is. I always think back to like my grandfather was in a skilled nursing facility back in like 2012, right before he passed. And I can remember when my mom was trying to get him on the right track, her trying to figure out Medicaid and her trying to figure out where he could be, trying to figure out a physician to come to the home for him, or a nurse, or whatever it needs be. And I always thought once I got into this role, if she had somebody like you or myself, right? It would have been so much easier for her and a lot less stressful on her to be able to kind of navigate all that because again, you know, you don't know what you don't know. And there is so much information. There's so much information that goes into this. And you want somebody to kind of steer you in the right direction, not just give you, like I said, a paper, call this company, call that company for X, Y, and Z.

Mary 13:18

And you want somebody who who I always say is uh is removed in the sense that there's no we're not invested in whatever building they go to or their what company they use. We're really just providing resources without worrying about quote getting anything back. There's I think sometimes families get worried or they're being told a certain thing because it follows a line of providers and they maybe don't realize there's choice and you can ask questions or have different providers for different resources.

Shannon 13:54

That's a great point that we can even expand on kind of with our role and kind of the reason that Carl put it in place. You know, we're not like your typical placement agencies that get a placement fee from the certain buildings. There's no referral fee or anything like that. We honestly, I don't want to say we don't care where our families go, but and I say that saying the decision is totally up to them. Right. We're not pushing them in either direction, looking to get some sort of financial gain from it. We truly work for the families. And when I have our colleagues that say, Well, what can we do for you guys to increase referrals? And all I can say is provide great care for them. Absolutely. You can repay our firm by taking care of our family because that's all we ask for. And at the same time, when we're the ones giving these recommendations, that's going to come back on us also to the family.

Mary 14:38

Absolutely. So that's another reputation.

Shannon 14:40

Exactly. So ethically, we're in the right place. You know, we do things a little bit differently here at our firm. You know, Carl really wants us to be out there building relationships with different facilities and communities so that when we do have clients that move into their facilities or communities, they're already familiar with kind of how we operate.

Mary 14:57

Exactly. There's no surprises.

Shannon 14:59

No surprises at all. So while we're talking about kind of Carl and our Elder Care firm, let's talk about some of the other things that we do. So we also have an entire Medicaid department that's dedicated to our Medicaid team.

Mary 15:12

I love that I can pick up a phone and call any of them. Absolutely. Any of the specialists when we're working with a client, and it's just makes it so easy that everybody's in-house.

Shannon 15:25

Right. And everything kind of goes hand in hand with each other. You know, we get our referrals from our attorneys who already have the client's base. Um, you know, they then assign us the task or the work and kind of give us a snapshot of what that person needs.

Mary 15:37

Yep.

Shannon 15:37

We work hand in hand with our Medicaid team who's more so up the tune on what the finances are so that we kind of know where we're at.

Mary 15:44

We can work together.

Shannon’s Career Path

Shannon 15:46

Exactly. We work literally hand in hand with them throughout the entire process, whether it be uh whether there be a placement into an assisted living facility or it'd be one into a skilled nursing facility where we're, you know, moving someone in that needs to eventually transition over to Medicaid. So we're constantly in communication with it. It's teamwork. It's teamwork. We're in communications with them. We're getting them in touch with the facilities. It's a it's one big operation, but it's a one-stop shop, the firm for kind of everything you need out of care. Like Mary said in the beginning, you come in and get your estate planning, you get your wills, you get your power of attorney, you get your healthcare proxies, you can do your trusts, whatever it is that you want to do, we're a one-stop shop for all those things.

Mary 16:24

And what I love is that you can come in and do one thing at one time, or you can come in and do multiple things. Absolutely. There's no requirement to have to bundle anything, which the POA will and healthcare proxy is one piece of it. But then you can add our services to add Medicaid planning, or you just get all those documents in place and then come back when a crisis happens.

Shannon 16:50

Right.

Mary 16:50

And then put our service and Medicaid in place.

Shannon 16:54

And there are also times when someone may not necessarily get you and I full throttle, but the attorney might call us and say, Hey, I have a client that needs some home care. Can you just give me some quick recommendations really quickly? Yeah. So it really kind of all depends on kind of where each person is, where they are along in their journey. And we kind of just meet them where they are and help them navigate wherever they are.

Mary 17:12

We are. I know I've had clients where they didn't start off with me right off the bat. They like you said, they work with the attorney. They were the plan was to stay in the current building that they were rehabbing in. And then I've been called if they're needed an advocate, and then someone else because the family wasn't getting responded to. And then that just leads a whole different journey. That's when the advocacy piece comes into play.

Shannon 17:40

Yeah, so that's what I let's touch on that next, the advocacy piece, which is one of my favorite parts about it. In my opinion, you know, the advocacy piece is going in there and making sure that our clients are being treated the way that they should be treated in these facilities and kind of making sure that things all the all the I's that and the T's are crossed, so to say. Um is there any is there anything that you would like to add on to that?

Mary’s Background And Hospice Lessons

Mary 18:01

I also love the fact that we help educate families on how to advocate for their loved ones. I don't think people realize that they can go in and if they're visiting on a weekend, you can ask for a manager on duty. Right. You can ask to speak to somebody. You don't have to wait till the next day or Monday. And just helping families realize that they can advocate for themselves and their loved one.

Shannon 18:26

It's an interesting piece teaching, I don't want to say teaching, but showing the families that part of it because you know they're gonna be the ones that are gonna be going there and visiting their loved one every single day, not necessarily us. So they need to sort of learn how to ask the right questions. Sure. What to look out for, and also who to go to in these different facilities, whether it be an administrator or an executive director or a director of nursing or a charge nurse, whatever the case may be. Um, teaching them how to advocate for their loved one is a big part of what we do.

Mary 18:56

Absolutely. And I think to help also, we help manage their expectations. I think we both have seen families who expect things that are really not reasonable and not something that you're gonna see in any building or any community. So really not saying advocate for the building, but managing a client's expectations of this is the reality of what to expect in this journey you're on, as opposed to, you know, sometimes we've both seen it where they're just there's unrealistic expectations on both ends.

Shannon 19:31

Absolutely. Even like something like I think even something as simple as the older generation, their thoughts of what an assisted living facility is, yeah, isn't necessarily what it was back in, let's say, the 80s or the 70s or whatever things are totally different now.

Mary 19:46

Even post COVID things are different.

Shannon 19:48

Absolutely, absolutely. Um, you know, a lot of these communities are true communities that can provide care, and it's not just they used to call it the loony house or whatever or whatever you want to call it.

Mary 20:00

I've had so many families be so surprised on tours. Absolutely. And I love that because it's breaking down stereotypes of what people thought senior living was.

Shannon 20:10

Of course. You know, I've had it where the family has one idea of what a what a community is like. They walk into it and it's chandeliers and it's new brand new PVT flooring and it's a full apartment with all the amenities, and they're like, wow. You know, I really had no idea that it was like this. And now I could see my mom living in a place like this where she's surrounded by folks in her same situation. And, you know, we can come here and visit, and we can come in, they have a private dining room for us to have our own family parties, and there's a movie theater, and there's trips, and there's all these things. So again, a big part of it is that educational aspect of it really kind of breaking down to our families what they're getting themselves into.

Mary 20:47

Yes, absolutely.

Shannon 20:49

What are some common misconceptions you hear families talk about, Mayor?

Neutral Guidance Not Placement Fees

Mary 20:54

Ooh, that's a good one. Um, misconceptions about, I think what Medicare covers. I know we have guests that are gonna talk about that, but just you know, I think people I've heard it from my own family members, I've heard it from our clients. Like what's covered? Right. What, you know, are they entitled to? What care can be provided. I think the misconception is Medicare takes care of everything.

Shannon 21:22

Right, right. And we wish we really wish that was the case. We wish that it provided more for everybody, but that's not always, you know, the case. I think families are oftentimes shocked when they realize that they have to probably pay somewhere. Right. And you know, right that adds to the stress of navigating this whole thing. And you know, I I also think that that's always why, and you know, our attorneys will talk about this in their presentations when they give them in the communities why you should plan ahead. These are uncomfortable conversations that we all have to eventually have. I've had it with my parents, I'm sure you've had it with your parents. I've said it. Or maybe had it with your children. But Carl uses a line in all of his talks that I love, and he says, All the documents are in place to prevent unforeseen circumstances or to help with unforeseen circumstances. Meaning, mom has a stroke, goes into the hospital, somebody needs to be able to access her finance to be able to speak on her behalf. That's why a power of attorney and a will is important. And I also think that when you start talking about these things, people just get so scared, like, oh, like, you know, I'll I'll do it down the line.

Mary 22:29

Irish, if we talk about it, it's gonna happen.

Shannon 22:31

Right. Or it's like, oh, well, you know, I'll worry about that. You know, I don't need to do that right now. You know, we never think that's gonna be us until it's you. You know, I can speaking from experience, you kind of never know when things are gonna happen. So you really want to make sure that these things are kind of in place just to make sure to give your family peace of mind, is what I say.

Medicaid Team And One‑Stop Support

Mary 22:50

Absolutely. And I talk about my own misconception too, that before I started the firm, like we talked about, we both have extensive health care background. I was always used to the decision maker for the health care. So we were working with a client, a husband and wife, and they unfortunately the wife had experienced a medical emergency that was gonna force her to have care for the rest of her life. So the husband had to access. She had her own funds, she had her own and he couldn't. He because there was no power of attorney in place. So he had to go for guardianship. And I remember asking Randy at the time, what do you mean just because they're married? That doesn't count.

Shannon 23:40

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Same for me also. What do you mean? Just because you know you're someone's spouse that they didn't access it. Yeah, absolutely.

Mary 23:46

You mean, you know, my husband can access my bank account? Because, you know, we're a blended family. Anybody sees my socials, they know that Cliff and I are blended. And so he has accounts and I have accounts, and I was like, Oh, we better address this.

Shannon 24:02

Right, absolutely. And it's and it's not just for elder law. Elders, I should all I should say, you know, my wife and I are in our early 30s.

Mary 24:12

Yeah.

Shannon 24:13

Two weeks after our daughter was born, we came in, there are documents. We think they're that important. Just because you just never know. You never want to use them.

Mary 24:20

Absolutely.

Shannon 24:21

But you want to have things in place in the event that God forbid something happens to either of you guys, because if not, your family's gonna be scrambling trying to figure things out on top of you having dealing with a crisis. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. So I always say, you know, take the time and take the investment into yourselves. When you call our firm and set up in a consult, you'll be meeting with an attorney, not a social worker, case manager. You you meet with an attorney, so you get to sit down with the person that knows the law, the person that's going to be coordinating all of your stuff. You get to ask that attorney your questions, and he's gonna help trying to paint a picture for you kind of what he really what he thinks you need based off of what you told him. Right. And then you can make a decision based off of that. And I would say nine times out of ten, you come in for one thing, you end realize you end up needing a bunch more.

Mary 25:10

Sure.

Shannon 25:11

So I always try and push everyone, not just our seniors, but people around my age too, to especially the ones with children. You know, go out there and get your documents done and and really give your family that peace of mind also.

Mary 25:22

Absolutely, absolutely.

Shannon 25:25

Because I I think what we can see again is you just touched on the consequences of waiting too long.

Mary 25:30

It was eye-opening. Yeah. Like I said, been in healthcare for a long time, have dealt with all different kinds of healthcare proxies with regards to having paperwork signed or making healthcare decisions, but to be able to access a bank account or move money to be able to pay for care. Right. That is something that I had no idea that was a separate document to a degree. And that just because you're married doesn't mean it's automatic.

Advocacy Skills For Families

Shannon 26:02

Absolutely. New Jersey is one of those funky states around the country where things are kind of again, you don't know what you don't know. Yeah you know, so I definitely we always suggest for everyone to kind of seek counsel and seek your resources that you have available to you, whether it be your office on aging or whatever the case may be in your local county, go out there and do your own due diligence so that when it comes time to this, you're kind of already prepared to kind of already know what you're getting yourself into. Agreed. So we're very excited to have this kind of going on in the podcast. Absolutely. So our podcast really is for those seniors that are planning ahead. Um, it's for those adult children that are navigating those care decisions, caregivers that are feeling overwhelmed. Something that we haven't really touched on yet, but that's another big part of it, and kind of why folks come to us needing that exercise of hands to kind of help them figure it out because caregiver burnout is a real thing.

Mary 26:54

Oh, it's a good idea.

Shannon 26:54

For caregivers for people that work in the industry, it's a it's definitely a a real thing. So that's who this podcast is for. Um, we want to keep it light, keep it fun.

Mary 27:04

Yes, but give information and resources, like you said, and just I hope someone comes away from each episode with one nugget that they can take and hopefully make whatever their decision or journey is a little easier.

Shannon 27:20

Because as we as we're going to start bringing our guests on here, you and I have also learned a lot from the guests that we have uh interviewed so far. Um, you know, we you guys can expect to hear from case managers, from social workers, from nursing home administrators, assisted living executive directors, home care companies, long-term care companies, um hospice companies. Hospice companies. We're going to really, really try and include the entire array of everything that goes into the industry. Visiting physicians, we were just talking about.

Mary 27:51

Um senior real estate specialists.

Shannon 27:53

Exactly. All those different disciplines that really, really kind of just provide education and resource for everyone so that if you ever have a situation where you need one of those things, if you heard us, you might know who exactly you can go to, who to call, or we're already kind of pointing you in the right direction on what you need.

Mary 28:08

Exactly. And then we're gonna post a lot of these resources on all our socials as well. So people can go to their websites, go to our website, jerseyelderlaw.com, and see a lot of these resources that we're gonna be working with.

Resetting Expectations And Myths

Shannon 28:24

Absolutely. Um, all honesty, all real world, real experiences, what we're really, really trying to capture here so that we can just uh educate the masses on kind of everything senior living so that you're not again too overwhelmed uh when the time comes for it.

Mary 28:38

And you can have access to information when you're not in crisis. That way, when a crisis does happen, you can have somewhere to turn.

Shannon 28:46

Absolutely. Before we get out of here, um what we what we tried to do with all of our guests as we're thinking about kind of what questions to ask is our why, and why we're kind of in this crazy industry that we're in trying to figure all these things out for our clients. So, Mary, could you go ahead and tell us your why?

Mary 29:03

I knew you're gonna have me talk first. No. So, like I said, I'm a little more seasoned than you are, so my why started back. I was ironically enough, just out of college looking for a job, but I'd always attempt at a rehab hospital. And I worked in all different aspects, and it was really fascinating to me. And I graduated and started working under the business development director and helping the residents, helping provide information and education way back when for in you know, newsletter format. It was just something that it felt like a calling. And the work my when I transitioned to hospice and was there for over 10 years, it really was a privilege to be invited into people's lives at that time. And that experience has helped me help many of my own family members and friends who have reached out for help with, you know, navigating their journey of whatever is going on with their family member. So my why was I didn't want to, I wanted a career that meant something. And I wasn't marketing, you know, potato chips and shampoo. It was actually people and service and helping to make their lives better.

Shannon 30:35

Absolutely.

Mary 30:35

So that's my why.

What Medicare Really Covers

Shannon 30:37

Absolutely. For me, it's it's it's very similar. It's it's truly feel like I'm I'm making a difference in somebody's lives and making a difference. When I came into the industry, I was 25 years old. I was still growing up. I was such a baby. Not growing up, but you know, I was I was at that point in life where I was having to determine where I wanted to see my life going. And I knew that I wanted to help people in some way. And it's it's crazy how things kind of work out that I kind of just fell into this industry and kind of have been able to quickly realize, oh, that's what I want to do. I want to be able to help people that I feel like needed to help when my family was going through their crisis movement. Right. So now to be here and able to actually truly do that now. I can go home every night and put my head on my on my pillow and say, you know, I did the best that I could for that family, and that family is now in a better place. So it's really about giving back to the people that really need our help. Our seniors are an extremely vulnerable population.

Mary 31:34

Absolutely.

Shannon 31:35

And there's so many things now here in 2026 that, you know, they need to be up to date on. You know, and they just might not have the whether it be the capacity or it might not have a smartphone or whatever it may be to kind of keep up in the now. That's where I can come in and kind of help them realize kind of where they are. And the whole firm shares that same mentality. Right. It's all about helping out our clients and doing what's best for them. And that's who we work for and that's who we service. So from top to bottom, from Carl down to you and myself, that's kind of what we're all about, and that's why we do what we do. It's it's not easy work, but it's fulfilling work for sure.

Mary 32:12

Absolutely. Everybody is part of the mission.

Shannon 32:14

Absolutely. Absolutely. One mission, one goal, and that's just to help our clients wherever they are.

Mary 32:21

Love it. I'm very excited about that.

Shannon 32:24

Me too. Very, very excited. We've been talking about this for some time now. Yeah. So to see it actually kind of come to fruition is very, very also exciting as we start this new year off. You know, good vibes, good energy. We're just looking forward to what the future has to hold. You could find us on Instagram, you could find us on Facebook, you could find us on LinkedIn, and wherever you'd like to listen to your podcast, we will definitely be there. And we look forward to bringing you guys good content all 2026. If you found this episode helpful, please be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone that could benefit.

Mary 32:56

Just remember you don't have to navigate aging or caregiving alone.

Shannon 33:00

If today's conversation raised questions about elder law, long-term care, or planning ahead, visit jerseyelderlaw.com or call 609-842-9200 to find resources and support.

Mary 33:13

This is for mature audiences only, presented by Archer Law Office. Until next time, keep pushing forward and keep the conversation going.