Walks with Mom

Brittany Singleton on Redefining Senior Care and Aging Gracefully

• Kimberly • Season 3 • Episode 2

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Today's Guests:
Brittany Singleton, Living Gracefully
Hosts: Kimberly Akers & Karren (Mom)

In this episode of Walks with Mom, Kimberly Akers and Karren sit down with Brittany Singleton, owner of Living Gracefully and host of Mastering Aging Gracefully podcast, for a powerful and eye-opening conversation about modern senior care and what families truly need to know.

Together, they explore how aging is as much a mindset as it is a medical journey, and why so many families are navigating decisions without enough information, time, or support.

Drawing on decades of experience in physical therapy, hospice, and assisted living, Brittany explains why aging is not simply a medical journey. Mindset, movement, independence, family support, and access to quality care can all influence how people experience the later chapters of life.

The conversation examines the difference between rushed home health care and longer, more intentional treatment. Brittany also explains direct-access physical therapy in Arizona and why giving licensed professionals more time with each person can lead to more individualized and effective care.
Kim, Karren, and Brittany also explore assisted living, residential care homes, functional fitness, and the questions families should ask before selecting senior care services.

Whether you are a caregiver, an adult child helping aging parents, or someone planning for your own future, this episode offers practical insight into navigating senior living, physical therapy, caregiving, and long-term care with greater confidence.
Quality senior care should do more than manage immediate needs. It should protect dignity, encourage independence, support movement, and help people continue living meaningful lives.
Watch the complete conversation and share it with someone making care decisions for an aging loved one.

Connect With Brittany Singleton
Learn more about Brittany Singleton, Living Gracefully, and the Mastering Aging Gracefully podcast.
www.living-grace.com
480-740-8122

Subscribe to Walks with Mom for more real conversations about aging, caregiving, and family connection. Share this episode with someone who may be making care decisions for a loved one.

Come with us as we explore what it means to navigate these years with our aging loved ones.

So grab a cup of coffee—or maybe a glass of wine—subscribe, invite your friends or family, and join us for Walks with Mom.

Special thanks to our Sponsor Amada Senior Care Mesa serving families and seniors in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa, and the surrounding East Valley area. Accredited VA Provider (NPI # 1558048199) and Trusted resource for Long-Term Care Insurance Claims

Compassionate, personalized in-home senior care starts here – contact Amada Senior Care Phoenix today by phone at (480) 418-5422 or visit us online to get started and give your loved one the support, dignity, and independence they deserve.
www.amadaseniorcare.com/mesa-senior-care

SPEAKER_02

Aging is not for the faint of heart. I'm Kim, a proud generation Xer, and I'm here with my baby boomer mom Karen. Together, we'll tackle the tough but necessary conversations, share the hilarious and sometimes embarrassing moments, and open up about the stories that truly touch the heart. Come with us as we explore what it means to navigate these years with our aging loved ones. So grab a cup of coffee or maybe a glass of wine, invite your friends and family, and join us for Walks with Mom. Well, welcome back, welcome back to Walks with Mom, in which two generations have tough but necessary conversations centered around aging. I am Kim, one of your co-hosts, and I am a proud Generation Xer, and I am joined with my mom, who is our my co-host.

SPEAKER_01

And I'm Karen, and I'm an even prouder baby boomer. Baby boomers in the house.

SPEAKER_02

Well, we are so excited for our conversation today. We are joined by our guest, Brittany Singleton of Living Gracefully. Yeah, so excited to be here. Thanks for having me. Oh, we are so excited to have you. Um, like most things that I do with my mom, I don't include her on what we're doing in our podcast. That's okay. It's a surprise. I just say, Mom, uh, show up at this time. This is what we're doing. You have a lot of faith in me, don't you? I do, but I also think that it is wonderful for our listeners because you're learning for the first time, which a lot of our listeners are in your age group and also learning for the first time. So you're learning together. Okay. All right. I hope I asked the right questions. Well, I think no right or wrong. I think she's doing the right job away, yes. I know. Even so, this has nothing to do with one of the questions, because I'm just gonna jump right in. But you before the podcast said, you don't even look 80.

SPEAKER_00

No, she doesn't look 80. But it's we we also we had a full podcast before the podcast. We were talking about how aging is kind of a mindset, right? So yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So let's go back. So, what is living gracefully? You are the owner of Living Gracefully, and so tell us what it is and what you do.

SPEAKER_00

I'm so excited to be here. It seems very surreal. Uh, we started the company three years ago. Um, it was my vision, my husband's vision. We ended up uh having a lot of friends who had mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles that needed care. Um You mean that generation X? That generation, yes, yes, yes, yes, Generation X. And then with the boomers, um, they needed the care. We would constantly get consulted because we're both a therapist, physical therapist. And so in the consultation, we would give our best advice. I had been in the industry from hospice to assisted living for 30-something years and home health, some some home health. Okay. And so I had been in it for so long and we would give our best advice, but we kept thinking, gosh, we could really help them more. Like in the stories, therapy was needed a lot. And we were like, well, we could help your mom, your dad, your uncle, your aunt with therapy services, but we didn't have a company to do that with, and we had our own jobs. Um, and so I ended my career uh in the corporate world and decided to start living gracefully. Wow. That was a big jump. It was a big jump. It was sort of one of those days I had had enough. Um, you know, the industry can be beautiful, but it can also be quite ugly. And uh it was one of those days I thought I can do it better, I can do it more compassionately, I can do it on a larger scope. And my heart is with the seniors. I gravitate to seniors. I always joke that if I were sitting at a bar and there was everybody in the world and one senior, I would hit that chair right next to the senior because the stories are amazing. They're so much more interesting. Um, and so when your heart's there, your passion's there, there's this is a dream come true. And so we've done it. I love it.

SPEAKER_02

So, what makes your approach at living gracefully so different in other therapies?

SPEAKER_00

Well, I can tell you one thing is that we don't do anything for less than an hour. I spent my career watching healthcare providers rush in, rush out, act like they could spend 30 minutes and get anything done. And so we are passionate about no less than an hour.

SPEAKER_02

Awesome. I'm gonna stop you on there and just make sure our audience knows. So, in in our industry, in the senior industry, and mom, you're familiar with this too, that many times, um, if there's been maybe a hospitalization or something, the doctor or the hospital will prescribe what's called home health. Yes. And home health is when therapy comes into the home. Um, it's usually a set amount of time. And when when Britney is describing, she's describing usually it's about 30 minutes. If they're lucky, if they're lucky for two to three times a week. Correct. And then not only two to three times a week, but that span or that what we call that episode. Episode, yeah. Right. Is about if we're lucky, four to six weeks.

SPEAKER_00

If you're lucky, if you're lucky, a robust plan of care.

SPEAKER_02

So I like that you are changing that whole approach and saying, nope, we're doing an hour because that is what is beneficial and will help you strengthen more quickly. Say that right?

SPEAKER_00

Correct.

SPEAKER_02

I don't know if that was great.

SPEAKER_00

And our treatment sessions, no, it's it's perfectly said. And our treatment sessions are anywhere from we like three days a week to five days a week. We see someone seven days a week. Wow. Um, yeah, that's a lot more than you normally would get. Absolutely. Because you think about a seven-day week and a seven-day window. Um, and I did just, you know, talk to another therapist who recommended three days of 30 minutes. And I'm like, in a seven-day window of 24 hours in that day, what is 30 minutes three times a week going to really provide?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, there's 168 hours in a week. Yes.

SPEAKER_00

I love that you know that off the top of your head.

SPEAKER_02

So it's like what? That's like 90 minutes out of 168 hours a week.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

And so what are you doing the rest of that time?

SPEAKER_00

The rest of that time. And if you don't have someone to carry through your exercises and different things. So we also do hybrid models. We have one gentleman that we're seeing three days a week for therapy, and two days a week, we bring a fitness specialist in just to go through his exercises. So he's getting the skilled therapy three days, and then he's getting someone to come in and do his fitness and his exercises we prescribe.

SPEAKER_02

Awesome. So I love that. So you're getting the therapist, which is skilled. They are trained. Like these are the best therapy, these are the best exercises for you. Yes. And then you have someone that's just kind of a motivator, a motivator and carries it out. Hey, let's, let's, uh, let's do what Britney suggested yesterday. Let's practice that. That's right.

SPEAKER_00

And it gives them a different, like, you know, we we also um, you know, have that model where we do fitness in these assisted living homes and we do the therapy. Our fitness is very physical therapy based. And so you have to, you do have to be careful. We talk a lot about state licensed individuals, which is our therapy foundation. That's what really sets us apart.

SPEAKER_02

Because you are state licensed.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. And so that allows us to get professional liability insurance. It also allows for someone to know we've passed an exam, we've gone through eight years of school. We know the anatomy inside and out because seniors have the same anatomy that everyone else does. You can't just assume that you can get them up and walk. You have to know about spinal stenosis, you have to know about the contraindications to care. So we have that foundation. All our fitness classes are based in that foundation. So we're not just going and doing exercises that just for the sake of motion, even though that's great, but we're doing exercises that keep people functional.

SPEAKER_02

I think that's really an important thing, is that you're trained.

SPEAKER_00

Um, we're educated. And educated. A college degree. Yes.

SPEAKER_02

And then that professional liability.

SPEAKER_00

That's right.

SPEAKER_02

That is, I think that's really important, especially if I was dealing with, you know, somebody coming into my home and helping my mom. That's right. I would want to know that you are a certain caliber. That's correct. Um, and I'm thus not bringing somebody who thinks, like, oh, let's just exercise your mom.

SPEAKER_00

Right. And you'd be surprised. So in the assisted living communities or the resident, we focus and our niche is in the residential care homes. So there are homes that you or I would live in, but then license them to have seniors there at residential living. Mom's familiar, moms are familiar, familiar.

SPEAKER_02

So mom visits a lot of people from church that maybe are in assisted living or residential care homes.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and my husband, who's passed away, was in a residential care home.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. So we're very familiar. So go back.

SPEAKER_00

I'm sorry. Okay, no, I love that background. So five years ago, 10 for sure, it was a little bit of the wild, wild west. No real regulations. Oh my god. Really great intention people would open these homes, but there weren't like, you know, it was just like you open them, they had very few regulations. They're getting more and more regulated. But one of the reasons we started living gracefully was to give licensed, Arizona license, state licensed professionals into the homes, to these homes. Yes, because the big bricks and mortars, like the sunrises and the different assisted livings that are big, they have these resources. Right.

SPEAKER_02

They have the funds, the deep pockets available to help with the therapy that's right to pay for that.

SPEAKER_00

Where the residential care homes they were just honestly, people decided I can do sometimes, I can do fitness for seniors, and they would go in and do fitness for seniors.

SPEAKER_02

I've seen that. Like some of their caregivers are let's just turn on this um YouTube. Yep. And and then we'll have our our residents do that. Does that make sense, mom?

SPEAKER_01

So my question is then do you need a physician's referral or do you go in and make the assessment?

SPEAKER_00

So that's a wonderful question. Um, for therapy, uh, in the state of Arizona, private pay, physical therapists can differentially diagnose. So what that means is we don't need a doctor's order because we can go assess a patient and diagnose the problem and go ahead and treat. And that is because we're a direct access state. Okay. There's a lot of states in the United States that are direct access and allows us to do that. Got it. Now, for the fitness, we go into the homes and do a fitness class. Our fitness specialists all have college educations, and then they're trained by us in physical therapy principles. So, in that model, we don't know the diagnoses or the medical history of the residents. Um, and so our classes are just generally based in physical therapy principles and exercises that we know cannot hurt anyone. Right. Um, and so they come in and do the classes.

SPEAKER_02

I love that. Well, it's in a one-on-one. And so that fitness person has been trained by you guys as well, not only a college education, but if they're noticing somebody that's struggling, they always can connect with a therapist.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. That's the great continuum of care. And so that's why we started the company to be able to give really good, detailed state license services to these residential care homes. I love it.

SPEAKER_02

This message is brought to you by Amada Senior Care Phoenix in the East Valley. At Amada Senior Care, we help seniors live safely and comfortably at home. That's where life feels familiar. From a few hours of companionship to more involved personal care, our trained caregivers support aging adults and the families who love them. At Amada Caring is personal because we're often walking the road with our own parents. If you're walking alongside your mom or dad and wondering what support could look like, learn more at AmadaPhoenix.com. We're enriching lives one family at a time. But mom, that's a great question that you said, you know, do you need a doctor's note? I recently was working with um uh a family and uh their their loved one was being discharged from the hospital. And obviously, home health was, you know, prescribed three days a week, you know, 30 minutes each time. And they were like, no, no, we we want it seven days a week, so we're gonna do private pay therapy. And I think that's a great alternative than staying in a hospital or skilled nursing because right, because you're just laying in the bed most of the time. Right. So why not go home under, you know, you you have support from family, right? But then you bring in your own therapist to help continue to progress. That's right.

SPEAKER_00

And we I just did an evaluation this morning that they have home health coming in, but we're just gonna work around home health, and that way they get their benefit paid from Medicare therapy, from Medicare two, three days a week. And then we go do the other days, and then they get this robust program. That makes a lot of sales. So you augment it's for a time. You augment it.

SPEAKER_02

You augment it.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

So I'm sure you've seen some success cases. Like, do you could I put you on the spot? Like, give us a success case scenario.

SPEAKER_00

Well, we have so many, but the biggest ones, I think, um, are the ones where the person was relatively independent, right? It's the generalized story of relatively independent and lost that through a tragic accident. The one that comes to mind, uh, we treat a pastor and he was diagnosed after a car accident with a broken lower extremity fracture. And he was in a boot, non-weight bearing, for something like 12 weeks. Oh my. They found out later there was never a fracture, and he was misdiagnosed. But at this point, 80-something years old, non-weight bearing, laid in the bed way too long. Oh no, and literally just lost whatever he did have. Yes, and he no longer can walk anymore. And the biggest, the coolest part about what I do is the initial evaluation where I can find out what they did. They've lost hope to some degree. So I look at my role that very first time I see them. My role is to give them back the hope so that they can feel like I can do this because they've lost every ounce of dignity and will to make it happen because the the mountain seems so so big. Right. How could they do that? How could they possibly get over it? And so my job is to surprise them and them surprise themselves with what they can do. So after an assessment, I can typically tell if we have the muscle strength to do something. And maybe it's just sit edge of bed. Maybe they haven't even sat at the edge of the bed. But the cool part about this story that I'm telling you with the pastor is he had lost hope. He had his wife had gone back home. She had been injured too, gone back home. The whole family was there. It was the daughter, the son, the wife. And I did the assessment and I thought, we can stand up. I know we can stand up. And he hadn't stood up in months. And we did a stand, and he was just giggling profusely. And he couldn't believe it. And then I think two or three times later, my husband went back in to treat him and he walked 25 feet. And oh my gracious, what my husband said the whole time he's yelling, woo! I did it! I'm doing it as he's walking. He's yelling it through the house and he's just beside himself. Oh, how neat. It's so cool. But that first time, you know, you give them the hope and the the it's this hill isn't too big to that I can do this, you know.

SPEAKER_02

Well, and that just becomes a snowball effect. Yes, right. It's like if there's this little gleam of hope, then it's like I can do it. And and that just grows.

SPEAKER_00

That's right. That's right. It's exciting, it's like the best part of my job. Sometimes I walk out going, how is this a job? It's really not a job. It's really what I'd be doing on any given day. And people ask me about retiring. I'm like, nope, this is what I'd be doing. So I guess I'm kind of retired.

SPEAKER_02

Well, you definitely are helping people live gracefully. Oh, I think that's exactly that's a great name for your company. So um, I was looking on your website and I noticed you have a couple of packages available. Yes. Could you just highlight maybe one or two packages for our listeners? Obviously, they can go to your website, which we'll share at the end here.

SPEAKER_00

Well, we definitely are very concierge. So if if you came to me for your mom, we would talk about your mom and talk about the things that she needs. We do everything from fitness and physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, all the way to companionship. So when you talk about some of these packages, we have put like sign kind of a menu of things on our website, but really it's totally customized. It's customized to what the person needs. And I will tell you, our companionship, that is one thing that I feel like is underutilized so many times. And I don't even think seniors know the signs and symptoms or isolation, what isolation looks like. That's a big issue. Big issue. And in COVID, I think it raised the issue. But I think that the companionship we do is just something that is absolutely you have to kind of see it in the works, but we do everything from baking with folks that have some dementia that couldn't maybe do it on their own, giving them just that little support. Um, we have husband and wives that are snowbirds. The last one we did that was so fun, he wanted to play golf and she really couldn't be left alone, a little bit of dementia. So we had a care a caregiver companion go in, not a caregiver, sorry, excuse me, but a companion go in. She they baked cookies, took her to her hair appointment, her nail appointment, played games, like read the paper, all of it. And it's just so special. And then she doesn't feel isolated, and her husband still gets to have his social his golf time. So yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01

Well, a lot of times, even if if the husband isn't gonna go play play golf, he doesn't know how to do those things you're talking about. That's right. How to engage the wife. That's right.

SPEAKER_00

Where she feels or he needs a rest. Purposeful. Yeah. Purposeful. And it's like having a friend. And I tell you, the companions we have go in. I mean, my husband's done companionship. It was with a lady that had completed her therapy. And when I say completed, we see people all the way until they pass away. We see people for years. This particular lady had just really declined to the point the physical activity was too much. So I asked the POA, I said, would you please just let us? She loves Jim. Would you please just let him go in like once a week and just see him? So she signed up for a companionship package. He would come in, she would pride herself, listen to this, this is so great, on having chocolates for him. He would go in and he would have the chocolates and eat with her, scratch her back. They'd watch their favorite shows. And it was, I mean, at the end, the POA was like, it was the highlight of our week.

SPEAKER_02

Is somebody coming in. Yeah. Just loving her. Loving on her. Loving on her, just treating her like a queen. Yes. Um, so last question before we wrap wrap up, but can you give me maybe some early signs that a family should start exploring exercise support or therapy support for a loved one? So let's just say there wasn't a crisis, because mom and I believe in planning and preparation that's right. Are much easier than crisis management. So absolutely before the crisis happens, what are some early signs?

SPEAKER_00

Well, I think the biggest one and the most obvious is loss of balance. You know, I think the seniors end up chalking that up to, oh, I was being silly or I shouldn't have been doing that. But any sort of loss of balance, a fall can reduce your quality of life like nothing else. Right. You're talking going from you, healthy, happy to bedridden and dependent on care. And the falls are a real deal. And I think I see more than anything, people putting off that care. They put it off because private pay therapy is expensive. It is. It's expensive, but there's no other place better place to put your money than yourself, especially when you're seeing the small balance changes. The other thing is walking and gate speed is linked to mortality.

SPEAKER_02

Wait, so wait, say that one more time. Yep. Walking and gate speed are linked to mortality.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Explain. So you the slower you walk and the less speed you have in walking means that your life expectancy goes down. I'm walking faster tomorrow. Speedwalk, speed walk. So we in therapy work on walking and efficiency of walking, but we also work on speed, which sounds counterintuitive, but you have to walk on that speed because we know the faster somebody walks. Now we're not talking speed walking. There's a certain measurement here. Right. But we want people to walk at a normalized gait, speed, and efficiency, because then we can lengthen their life and their quality of life. So I love it.

SPEAKER_01

I walk 21 feet a minute. Is that enough?

SPEAKER_02

21 feet a minute. I was like, what are you supposed to faster? When you mentioned the um cost of private um therapy, I just wanted to bring something home for our listeners. Is that it's going to cost financially? Are you going to use it? Are you going to wait till you're in a hospitalization? And now there's a cost. I know Medicare pays for that, but there's a cost, there's an emotional cost. There's a cost to your family, right? Coming to see you. There's a cost of my generation taking off of work. Like there's a cost somewhere. I think there's a cost of not fully improving either. Right. That you get stuck. Yes. If you go into the hospital, right? There's a there's there's costs everywhere. That's right. And and not always a financial cost. So I love how you said use it on yourself. And what is the value of your independence? Yes. That's a big one. That's what they have to decide. That's right. Is where is the value of my independence?

SPEAKER_00

That's right. That's very, very important. A lot of people have money because they didn't spend money, but now is the time to spend the money. Yeah. You know. Now's the time. So where can people find Living Gracefully? Well, we have a website, um, www.living-grace.com. You can also also call us 480-200-2351. And we have a podcast as well, which is Mastering Aging Gracefully. And it drops every Thursday. And so if anybody wants to um hear what we have to say, we're all about seniors and trying to get the best care to them. The best of the best will be on the podcast.

SPEAKER_02

Oh my, I love it. So if you've enjoyed today's podcast of talking about therapy for your aging loved one, how to keep them independent and living gracefully, please um share with a friend, a neighbor, maybe your aging loved one that you want to convince to have therapy. Hint hint, mom in the home. And so please share this and start having these conversations. These are tough but necessary conversations. And until then, we'll see you on the next walk.

SPEAKER_01

This is Karen, and I just wanted to say thank you for spending some time with us today. Please come back for more laughs, more connections, and more real life moments between these two generations. See you on the next walk.