Reliable Companies & Websites

Are you looking for a dementia expert who can guide you through every step in the journey? Pam Ostrowski, founder of Alzheimer's Family Consulting, is a gift to families dealing with Alzheimer's or dementia. She’s been in your shoes. Through her dementia guidebook and personal coaching, Pam will help relieve the frustration, guilt, and decision-fatigue that can be part of the dementia caregiving journey.  Pam is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)®, Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP®), and Certified in Dementia Care® (CDC®) 

This website explains caregiver fatigue, offers free resources, caregiver quizzes & tips plus much more!  

Caring Bridge allows you to share health updates with family and friends and coordinate their help. People wanting to support you and the patient is wonderful, but it can also be overwhelming, Caring Bridge will allow you to set up a personal webpage for the patient and request/accept offers of help.

Want peace of mind when making medical decisions for your person living with dementia? ER Physician Dr. Brittany Lamb is your resource! Her passion is helping people understand that advance directives are not enough. Through her course for caregivers, "Make Your Plan with Dr. Lamb" her clients are guided through a process to create a plan for their person's medical decisions now and into the future.

Looking for resources for Caregivers?  This is the place!  NAC's mission is to be an "objective national resource on family caregiving with the goal of improving the quality of life for families of choice and families of kin."  This website is full of helpful resources.

Peter Rosenberger has over 30 years of experience caring for his wife, Gracie.  He has books, a podcast, a radio show, and more. 

Looking for some personalized support?  Nicole Dauz may be your answer! Being a mother of two children with special needs, Nicole knows a lot about the stresses of caring for another.  She offers "one-on-one self-care coaching for caregivers who want to regain control in their lives." Check her site out to see if it's a good fit!

Theresa Wilbanks offers personal caregiver support. She is a Certified Caregiving Consultant whose vision is to "make every caregiving journey less stressful and more meaningful".  She currently is caring for her 99-year-old father and has 25 years of formal work experience so she can empathize with where you are today. Theresa will work with you one-on-one to strategize and develop solutions to support your caregiving needs.  

Are you looking for easier, safer ways to care for your loved one at home? Christina & Cindy at Adaptive Equipment Corner are welcoming, knowledgeable, and relatable!  These ladies and their team provide education and resources to enhance safety, comfort, and peace of mind for seniors, family caregivers, and professional caregivers.  Visit AECorner.com to subscribe to their Video Resource Library, watch adaptive equipment demonstration videos, or schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation to discuss your specific needs. 

American Music Therapy Association's website will educate you on the benefits of music therapy and how to access quality music therapy.  I love the idea of music therapy. I mean I know music can definitely affect my mood.  Also, on their site, they talk about the clinical and evidence-based use of music therapy.  Check it out - music therapy may help your sick loved one!

The Hip Senior is a digital magazine, directory and podcast specifically geared towards seniors. The owner, Marianne, focuses on connecting seniors to businesses that have the heart and the soul to serve them. 

Ways 2 Wellness is a custom publishing company on a mission to support seniors and dementia caregivers. Each publication contains custom-created, stimulating puzzles, games, and art projects for your seniors. Fun topics every month keep the mind engaged while stimulating the brain. 

American Cancer Society dedicated to helping persons who face cancer through research, patient services, early detection, treatment and education. Look here for Caregiver Training Videos, Financial Assistance, and a 24/7 Nurse Call Center. 

Cancer and Careers is dedicated to empowering and educating people with cancer to thrive in their workplace by providing expert advice, interactive tools and educational events. 

Cancer Care is a national nonprofit organization that provides free, professional support services for anyone affected by cancer. 

Cancer Support Community is a national organization with centers around the country and into Canada and provides cancer patients and their loved ones with support, education, navigation and hope – free of charge. Look for the helpline as well as the map to find an in-person location near you. 

Cancercare.com is the brainchild of Scott Hamilton, the Olympic gold medalist figure skater. During his cancer journey, he discovered that it was difficult to find a reliable online resource where information about chemotherapy was presented in a clear, easy to understand and easy to locate format.  Chemocare.com is a comprehensive resource for cancer patients and their caregivers that provides chemotherapy drug and side effect information, cancer wellness information, and links to additional reliable resources and organizations. 

F*ck Cancer takes an aggressive approach to the fight against cancer which I love! Their focus is two-fold. One goal is to educate people about early cancer detection and prevention. The second goal is to "create life-changing experiences for cancer fighters." How awesome is that?!

GRYT Health is a company founded by cancer survivors with a sharp focus on advocating for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. Here the patients and caregivers they work with ALWAYS come first! One area of expertise they have is connecting cancer patients with research opportunities. See how GRYT can support the cancer patient in your life. 

National Cancer Institute is an accurate, up-to-date, comprehensive cancer information from the US government’s principal agency for cancer research. 

There are two things I like about The Free Medical Dictionary. One, when you type into the search bar a list of options populates. This is so helpful when you are typing in the name of a medication or disease that you aren't 100% sure how to spell. Second, when searching for a term, a list of relevant periodicals and articles will populate which can aid in your research.  

Searching for the best doctor for your loved one? Health Grades will allow you to search for the kind of doctor your loved one needs in their area. They also include which is such a great way to assess if they are a good fit. 

The Medicine Net provides a lot of great information. This site includes a medical dictionary, information on medications/ supplements, and an entire section on diseases and conditions.  Happy digging!

Similar to Medicine Net, on WebMD, you can search for information on medications & supplements as well as conditions & diseases (including those specific to children). You also can search for podcasts, read message boards, find a doctor, and much more!

You may remember Webster's Dictionary from when you were in school ~ here is an online version of their medical dictionary.  I like this site because you can easily search for medical terms and abbreviations. Most of all, I love their motto "Become an informed health-care consumer!"

Pink Fund provides 3-6 months of non-medical financial aid for patients in active treatment for breast cancer. Payments are made directly to their creditors for housing, transportation, utilities, and insurance. Their financial bridge program improves treatment adherence and survivorship outcomes.

GoodTrust empowers you to easily protect your physical and digital assets, provide instructions on how you want to be cared for, and name guardians for your children and pets. Our all-in-one Smart Estate Planning service includes Will- and Trust-based plans for the entire family, with unlimited updates, and across all 50 states for one affordable price. 

The National Center for Biotechnology Information is one doctors and pharmacists use to access biomedical and genomic information and you can use it too! The resources on their site seem endless.

PubMed® is part of the National Center for Biotechnology Information site and comprises more than 35 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. This is great place to dive into your badass research. 

Medline Plus® shares information on health topics, medications, and supplements.  They also have a section on medical tests and have a medical dictionary. 

Bio-Med Central offers access to high-quality peer-reviewed journals. Another great resource when doing your badass research.

Use this link to save & print the AVPU scale for your reference. 

This site explains how the NEWS Values work and offers several free downloads.  I recommend clicking on the link titled "NEWS2 Chart 1 The News scoring system" to download the NEWS Values chart. 

What I love about Care Calendar is that not only can you easily create a calendar to organize meals and visitors, but they will also send actual printed cards for you!  How cool is this? They will handwrite the message, address and stamp it and then send it. Talk about service. You can find the cards under Gift Shop.

Lotsa Helping Hands will help you coordinate meals, coordinate rides to appointments, and set up care with family and friends. Also, if interested, you can act as a volunteer for someone in your neighborhood who needs help.  This site will for sure support you in your Badass Advocate journey! 

Meal Train is another great site to help you manage meals.  Not only does Meal Train allow you to create an online meal calendar but it also allows you to include a list of dietary needs, set up a donation fund, send invitations & email reminders, and more. 

Sign Up Genius is a site you can use to organize a group.  Whether it is meals or visitors, sign up genius allows you to create a signup, invite others, and send out reminders. 

Take Them A Meal not only organizes meals, but they also send prepared meals. Click on the tab "Send Them A Meal" and choose from a variety of meal choices. The good news is they also cater to different diets (Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, etc.) and they offer gift cards. 

Baked by Melissa makes sweet bite-size cupcakes everyone will love! They also offer gluten-free and vegan options for those with dietary restrictions.  Baked by Melissa ships anywhere in the US. 

With Edible Arrangements, you can send your loved one healthy edible "flower" arrangements made of fresh fruit. Edible arrangements may be pricey, but when you receive one you understand why.  They also make chocolate covered fruit trays. 

I don't always love gift baskets because the options are always limited. That's why I am recommending GiftTree. They offer a variety of gift baskets, flowers, and plants. They also order same-day shipping if you order before 2 pm PST - perfect for when you need a gift to get somewhere fast!

Harry and David are known for their delicious pears, but they offer a variety of elegant and high-quality food-related gifts. 

Hospital Delivery Gifts offers a way to get your hospitalized loved one a gift (e.g. gift baskets, flowers, balloons, etc.). They offer same-day delivery and have access to over 8000 hospitals in both the US and Canada.

Shari's Berries makes some yummy chocolate-covered strawberries. They offer white, milk, and dark chocolate coverings as well as different toppings.  They also ship nationwide.  

What is more comforting when you are sick than soup? Spoonful of Comfort will ship your loved one ready-to-eat soup, Bacci rolls, and cookies.  Plus, you can always add some extras like tea, honey, candles, etc. 

Sweet Street offers numerous options when it comes to desserts.  They have almost any kind of dessert you can think of from cakes to cookies to pies.  Sweet tooth heaven. 

What is better than a warm cookie?  Tiff's Treats delivers freshly baked cookies so when they deliver them they are still warm. What???

Wicked Good Cupcakes is a family-owned business that makes and delivers cupcakes in a jar! They are rich but delicious - that is if you like rich, yummy cupcakes. Duh!

This link will take you to a page explaining how to set up a personal fundraiser through Facebook. 

Fundly will guide you on how to set up a donation website and customize it to fit your needs. They have no raise requirements or start-up fees. 

Go Fund Me's goal is to make setting up a fundraiser easy by following 3 simple steps. You will create a campaign with a fundraiser goal, share it with family and friends, and then manage the donations. 

MD Anderson Cancer Center offers support to children and teens dealing with a parent's cancer diagnosis. They answer questions and provide tools to help them cope. What a valuable service!

Stupid Cancer supports adolescents and young adults who have been diagnosed with cancer. They connect them with "age-appropriate resources and peers who get it."  Furthermore, their mission is to "empower adolescents and young adults affected by cancer by ending isolation and building community.

When someone close to you passes away, you join a club that you never wanted to join. The only positive thing about there being a club is that others can truly understand you. Camp Erin allows children and teens (ages 6-17) to bond with other children who have gone through something similar. Camp Erin is a weekend camp that includes both camp activities and grief support and - gets this - it is free of charge for all families. See if there is a Camp Erin near you.  

What an amazing organization! Experience Camps offer grieving children a free, one-week camp where they can connect with other children who are in the same position. 

Family Lives On supports grieving children. Their mission is to "support the lifelong emotional well-being of children whose mother or father has died." On their site, they also explain that their "program provides opportunities for intentional remembering, creating a safe haven for grief, communication, and celebration." I LOVE this!  

Aging with Dignity provides families with end-of-life documents and conversation guides for their aging or dying loved one. Five Wishes is a document that asks the patient 5 key questions to help them with end-of-life decisions.