About the Show:

"We are all one life-changing event away from having to navigate or make decisions in a landscape we never thought we would find ourselves in."

– Cherie Clark

In this heartfelt episode of I Am Northwest Arkansas®, host Randy Wilburn sits down with Cherie Clark, Director of External Relations at Purview Life NWA, for a deeply personal conversation about aging life care management and what it really means to support families through some of life's most challenging seasons.

Cherie's path to this work didn't start in a boardroom — it started at a bedside. Her own experience as a family caregiver led her to Purview Life, a company she describes as a "general contractor for health care." They organize resources, connect families with the right support, and when necessary, step in as medical POA or guardian. It's hands-on, heart-forward work — and her passion for it comes through in every story she tells.

From practical advice on vetting care providers and understanding costs to real-life success stories and guidance for families planning ahead, this episode delivers something rare: genuine hope alongside actionable insight. Whether you're a local caregiver in Northwest Arkansas, supporting aging parents from across the country, or simply starting to ask "What's next" — Cherie's message is clear: you don't have to figure this out alone.

Key Takeaways:

1. Aging Life Care Management: Purview Life serves as a life-centric, holistic care manager for seniors and adults with special needs, supporting individuals and their families through every stage.
2. Support for Caregivers: Whether you’re a spouse, child, or neighbor, Purview Life offers help to prevent caregiver burnout, mediate tough decisions, and provide crisis relief.
3. Local Expertise, National Network: Purview Life’s care managers are deeply knowledgeable about Northwest Arkansas resources and are connected nationwide through the Aging Life Care Association (ALCA).
4. Flexible and Transparent: Services range from one-time consultations to ongoing support, and billing is clear (in six-minute increments, with detailed invoices).
5. Planning Brings Peace: Even tough conversations about aging and care make things smoother later—proactive education and planning help avoid crisis-driven decisions.
6. How to Vet Providers: Look for credentials, connections to organizations like ALCA, and a focus on client needs, not kickbacks. Always ask questions and make sure your chosen provider gives you options.
7. Help Wherever You Are: Purview Life can support families locally or connect you to qualified care managers anywhere in the U.S.

All this and more on this episode of the I Am Northwest Arkansas® podcast.

Important Links and Mentions on the Show*

1. Website: Purview Life NWA
2. Phone: 479-579-8723 (call or text to connect with Cherie Clark and her team)
3. Cherie Clark on LinkedIn
4. Aging Life Care Association (ALCA): aginglifecare.org
5. Purview Life Testimonial Videos: Available on their website

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*Note: some of the resources mentioned may be affiliate links. This means we get paid a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.

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It's time for another episode of I Am Northwest

Arkansas, the podcast covering the intersection of

business, culture, entrepreneurship, and life in

general here in the Ozarks. Whether you are considering a

move to this area or trying to learn more about the place you call

home, or we've got something special for you. Here's

our host, Randy Wilbur. Hey,

folks. And welcome back to another episode of I Am Northwest Arkansas.

Today I'm joined by Cherie Clark From PureView

Life NWA, an aging life care

practice that acts like a general contractor for health care,

coordinating assessments, resources, and even stepping in as

a medical POA or guardian when families need it

most. If you're navigating care for an aging parent or

an adult with special needs, especially from a distance,

this episode is for you. And, you know, I'm so glad

that Sheri reached out to me and her team and

wanted to kind of tell their story because none of us are getting

any younger, and I think it's always good to know what resources are

actually available. So I'm so glad that she agreed to come on the

podcast and kind of share her story with us and tell

us all about Purview and the amazing work that they're doing

both here and elsewhere throughout the country. So,

Sherry Clark, good afternoon. How are you doing today? I'm

great. Thanks so much for having me on. Appreciate it. Good, good, good, good, good.

So listen, in a nutshell, can you just tell us about

Purview Life and what you guys actually do?

Sure, yeah. You covered a lot of the

basics, which I appreciate. But to get into a little bit

more detail, we are overall care management

for individuals, which also coincides with

support services for family caregivers,

spouses, you know, even neighbors and church friends that

are like, I really care about this person. We're friends, we're

connected, and I help and I assist the most I can,

but I can't do everything. And families find themselves in that

position a lot. So there's plenty of

statistics out there about family caregivers

and caregiver burnout. And the fact that we

can be so individual with a person, whatever

season they may be in is a great support to family

caregivers. Or we could be the sole support system

for an individual. If you're talking about an older

adult, they may have outlived their spouse, they may

have never had children, they may have family, but they're

out of state. And so when we talk about care management,

we coin it aging life care management for a reason. It's

life centric. It's Holistic. It's not only navigating

through the healthcare system but or serving in those legal roles

like a legal guardian or a medical poa. But it's those support

services as well of what happens when severe weather,

you know, comes through our area and we've got a tree down in the

backyard, you know, how do we maintain the space that we're in, how do we

get to appointments, you know, how do we supply

transportation and a support system to someone? So it's very

life centric and it's a great resource that's very

broad in concept and I'm sure we'll talk about that more. But

it's something really exciting that we feel really blessed that we've been able

to bring it here specifically to northwest Arkansas. Yeah, no,

I think that's great. What specifically for you? Because I always like to,

you know, let our listeners know that there is a human being

behind that microphone that they're listening to. But tell me what drew

you to caregiving 14 years ago and what keeps you in it today?

Sure, yeah. I was a family caregiver. I was part of

our, the support system for my grandmother years

ago. And then at the same time that we were

navigating through the last couple of years of her life,

my aunt at the age of 50 came down with a

cancer diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma. So then

we found ourselves navigating through someone more

middle aged in the hospice process and treatments

and resources into the home while dealing with my

grandmother who was mid-80s in age with a

dementia diagnosis and everything from trying to let her live

independently to then assisted to facility care, also

hospice care on and off, you know, and I really feel like we were

all. Me especially was put into that role to

learn the landscape and get a personal experience of what

that season and what that journey looks like. Little did

I know that it would throw me into doing this

professionally. And now for the last 14 years,

with more ongoing training and lots of experience

and lots of still learning from every client

that I've ever served or ever helped in our community,

here we are with Purview Life. So I found myself

in 2021, finally getting back into the

healthcare scene after the pandemic and still feeling

I was working in non medical home care at the time and still felt like

I was helping people, but I couldn't do everything. I still was

running into dead ends of you don't have someone to make your medical

decisions, you know, you don't have someone again overseeing

the big picture. We're bringing in companion care to help

you bathe and cook meals and maybe get to appointments.

But there was still a stop point to those services.

And so once I learned about Purview life, I thought,

oh my gosh, this is the big picture concept. Like, I

can't figure out one thing that they can't do, oversee,

problem solve or anything like that. So I first thought, man,

I have found a great resource. And then when I looked into my own

heart and my own professional journey, I thought, oh, I've been put in

this position for a reason and I'm ready to climb back up to the

mountaintops and shout this out to our community. I'm a

northwest Arkansas native. I was born in the Springdale Hospital,

grew up in Bentonville. My whole life. This community

is so much a part of me. And to be able to bring this all

encompassed resource right here to the four seven, nine, I

mean, that was a blessing by itself, much less the many,

many client stories. I could tell you just in the last three and a half

years that we've been able to bring this to the community. Yeah,

no, I mean, I, I can hear your passion and your voice and I'm sure

our listeners will, will hear that as well. And I love how you reflect the

479. And I'm going to come back to you specifically

to ask about your view of northwest Arkansas because I,

I know, I remember when I first started this podcast six years ago. You

know, one of the things that I learned about northwest Arkansas was that this was

a destination for retirees. So you actually have a lot of

people relocating here in their older

stages of life that say, oh, I just, I love the,

the change of seasons. The weather is a little bit milder and

it's just a great place to be. And so you have a lot of different

people that are moving to northwest Arkansas for a variety of reasons. Of

course we know about the younger people that are coming for work and all of

that. But then again, there is a whole different generation of

folks that are, that are finding their way to northwest Arkansas. And honestly,

some of those people are people that would be individuals that you could

potentially eventually serve down the road as well. So I just think

it's a perfect storm of opportunities for Purview

and, and for the work that you're doing. So for our audience, why don't

you just maybe walk us through? Because I know that on your website

it says that, you know, Purview looks at themselves as a general

contractor for health care. So can you walk us through maybe a

Typical case from intake to what we might

call stability or getting an individual to a place

where everything's kind of flowing smoothly and there's not the

chaos that sometimes exists when dealing with health care

initiatives for an individual. Yeah, you've hit the nail

on the head for most of our cases. Of course, every phone

call is an individual person and it's a individual

situation and it's an individual season that they're going through.

But you covered it pretty perfectly. Of a lot of times

we may get folks in crisis mode, we may get folks.

I took a referral just this week of a husband that

has been the primary caregiver and overseeing everything for

his wife for the last two or three years.

You know, he, he literally said on the phone to me when we

talked earlier this week, this is not a surprise. This has

been long time coming. And for him particularly, he was finally

reaching out for help because he's like, this is now above and beyond

what I can do. And then there's the human compassion part

of it as well. Of again, it is so easy to

slip from child or spouse or again

neighbor, church, friend, whatever role you serve with someone,

to slip out of that into full time caregiver and full

time care manager. Again, you're managing things that's going on in their

day to day life or at least overseeing it on top of

hospitalizations, then transfer to rehab

facilities or when is it time for facility care and we can no longer be

in the home anymore. And you know, again, with adults with

special needs, I hear the parents say all the time, no one's

going to care for my child with special needs as good as I

can. I'm like, okay, you know, that's understandable and

probably an absolute true fact, but what's your

backup plan? You know, I have to live forever is what

they say, you know, and I'm thinking that's an admirable

goal. Okay, but it's not a realistic goal, you know, so

where is the backup plan, you know, and where's the support and the

assistance to make sure you don't find yourself overwhelmed

or you keep pushing through that role when you finally come to a point where

you're overwhelmed. And so that is what I love about our services.

They are very flexible. There may be a lot of work on the front

end once we get that phone call. We have to assess the situation.

We have to assess where everyone who's involved and

where they're at. Almost like making a master to do

list at the very beginning. Maybe a care plan Maybe a

cognitive assessment, maybe a home safety assessment,

maybe a high level consultation where we just again come in and get that

huge overview, that snapshot of what's happening right now.

And there may be work on the front end and then things can be

maintained after that. Again, you have to think about like

a construction project. You know, you want to build a home, you want to

build a structure, you've found your plot of land, you've

picked out your plans, you know what you want to accomplish. And now

it's time to retain that general contractor that's going to

oversee the entire project. He's not going to call

the roofers in when the dirt work is still being done, you know,

and you don't then have to manage all of those moving parts

either. He's going to know what resource to execute, when

to make sure the project goes smoothly and from start to finish,

even though, you know, things are going to come up in the project

itself along the way as well. And so we bring a lot of

expertise, objectivity to the table when we work with

folks, mediate, you know, family relations

and decisions. One thing that my care managers are

excellent at is managing emotions and expectations.

We understand that even though we have that general contractor

analogy, this isn't just a building project. This just

isn't a product that we're trying to place in someone's life to

make things easier for them. These are hard conversations to

have, whether you're talking to an individual 18 years

and up or you're talking to a senior, you know, that

may be looking more at end of life care. It's a

very sensitive thing what we do and we walk into

sensitive situations. And so sometimes it is even

just a benefit to have that care manager in the wings or

part of the support system because there's a lot of emotions and

expectations, a lot of hard conversations to have,

a lot of hard decisions to make. This is a really important

role to even just step in, you know, whether we're the sole

provider or we're trying to support the family, caregivers and the

individual. Yeah, well, I would imagine that I'm sure people

come to you and feel like, oh, these guys have a magic wand and they

can just fix everything overnight. But the reality, it sounds

like just with your case managers and everybody else, that it takes

a lot. And I love, I love the analogy that you use of a general

contractor. Right. Because people wonder why some building projects

work phenomenally well and why some don't. And typically

the ones that work phenomenally well are with the GCs or general contractors

that have really solid relationships with the subcontractors

that have the ability to communicate effectively. So when you take

that whole dynamic and you shift it over into the healthcare space

where, you know, there are so many moving parts, there's so many people to contact

and sometimes for people, it can be overwhelming. Just like what you said

about that older gentleman. It can be overwhelming or it can be

overwhelming for a parent that's getting older but has

a special needs adult child and, and they want to make sure that

they're well taken care of. And it's like, well, who do I call? There's no

like one number in the phone book that I can just ring up and it

will, my problems will instantly be solved. You are correct. And

so I love what you said at the beginning of that. We are all

aging, you know, we, and we're all

one life changing event away from having to

navigate or make decisions in a landscape that we never thought we would

find ourselves in. So we could spend a lot of time, you know, talking about

all the scenarios and the what ifs, but when it comes to

aging or we're one accident away from our life

changing or we just know down the road we're not always

going to be young and mobile or, or have our

cognitive levels at their peak. It's almost like a

dripping faucet in the background. You know, we know we need to

prepare for these things. We, we need to know that you have to think about

the what ifs and then when those things happen. Now you're

standing in front of a fire hydrant trying to take a sip of water

and it is overwhelming. And purview

life or even a care manager in general

is like the fire department showing up with that big crazy

wrench, you know, and slowing the flow of that fire

hydrant going, okay, no, I promise you we

can manage through this. And they bring a lot of

compassion, a lot of objectivity and a lot of

expertise to the table to where now we can

organize what's most important to least important. Let's

just organize everything. And we start with one thing at a time.

And that I've literally been on the phone with folks

or have met with them in person and they

literally take a sigh of relief. I hear them,

you know, just. And I'm like, okay. Because now, you know, you're not

alone. And not only are you not alone, but we

bring all of that expertise. My care managers are local right

here to northwest Arkansas. We know the area inside and

out. We know every facility we know what level of care they

provide. We have walked in there and smelled the place,

looked at the place, saw the residents there, know the

staff, connected with the staff. And that's same for clinics and

hospitals and home care and home health and everything

that again, you're like, okay, I'm trying to care for my family member. And

you go to Google or you go for a place for mom or

care.com or these big search engines that are going

to give you a ton of information and then you're bombarded by phone

calls and information and everybody's trying to get their kick back.

And now you're standing in front of the fire hydrant when really

just consulting with a care manager from the very beginning can

slow the flow, organize most important to least important,

work on one thing at a time, support why we go and bring

our expertise to the table of we don't need to call 10 different home

care companies. We can recommend two or three

that we know are specialized in your need or

educate families on the right resource or not. Especially when it

comes to, again, we're not licensed attorneys, we're

not Medicare insurance providers, we're not

financial advisors. But even in those areas as well, because it

all coincides. We know just enough to be dangerous.

And we're so well connected in the community that when those

conversations are needed legally, financially, insurance

wise, whatever, we can help folks even get connected to the

resources to get even more education and be even more

prepared as they navigate through whatever journey we happen to

find them in. So starting with your care manager is step number one.

And then we go from there. And I promise you, it is a much

smoother process than trying to stand straight in front of that fire

hydrant and hope to catch a little bit of water in your cup.

Yeah, yeah. Well, and as I think about that, and you talked about a

care manager, I mean, first of all, these people have to be excellent

listeners. They have to operate with empathy. And like

you said, they have to be skilled and connected with other people in the community

that serve the overarching needs that a potential client

would have. So you guys get a chance to coordinate across medical,

legal, home care resources to solve a lot of the

crisis that will potentially present themselves to a

family going through that, or dealing with an aging parent or dealing

with an adult child with special needs. And so I think it's important

to talk about, but what I'd love to know is I know you

guys are affiliated with the alca. Would you talk a little bit

about that? Because I think that ties into the North Star that

you follow from a professional standards practice with the

alca, which is the Aging Life Care association, and how that

helps guide a lot of what you guys do at Peer View.

It is. It is. It's a national association that oversees

other care management companies across the nation.

We all follow the same ethics. We all follow the

same continuing education. When you say, you know,

guiding Star, you couldn't, like, use a better example,

not only from what we do, you know, within our practice,

but being able to be connected to everyone else

in that association has been a huge benefit. And

it's been a huge benefit when we talk about northwest Arkansas

specifically. So one of my goals here

in northwest Arkansas is, is not only to continue to

grow Purview Life and have individuals in our community

use it as the resource that they need, but I could see

this being a huge asset for our

local fire and police departments when they get the same call

for the same individuals over and over again. I know Silent Springs

specifically has a service that comes and assists when

there's been a fall, you know, or the caregiver can't lift the person

up or transport them or whatnot. And then our

school systems, with all of our. Our teachers, we can't be having our

teachers, you know, get substitutes and have to run out to

their family members and. And they're, you know, step

into that caregiver role while they're trying to teach the large corporations

and all the vendors that we have in our community. This is not

only a great resource for them here in northwest Arkansas, but I mentioned this

to say, because we're part of that national

association, Aging Life Care association,

solo practitioners, and other other companies across the nation

just like us. With Purview Life. It does not matter if

you're here in northwest Arkansas or you're somewhere else in the. In the country.

We can connect you with an aging life care manager.

We can give you these resources wherever you are and

wherever your family is across the country. And

so I find it a huge benefit to be part of that national association,

especially since we're in this melting pot that northwest Arkansas is

because the parent may be living here and the child may be in another state

or vice versa, you know, and then it may even be the

conversation of, should I move my mom here? Okay, well, we can help with

that, too. And so we've gotten on planes and picked people up

and brought them back or something, saw them to their destination. So it's

multifaceted. And I feel like we have the

opportunity to expand Our services, even outside

of our immediate area because of that association.

And I've been able to attend their national conference that they do

once a year. We always have, you know, continuing

education and zoom calls with other providers across the country.

And so it's just one zip code search away from

being able to tap in to a much larger resource

that does these same services, follows the same ethics,

the same continuing education, and continuing to again,

be that big picture of a resource for folks

no matter what situation or season they find themselves in.

Yeah, I mean, everything that you just said makes a lot of sense. And

I'm actually, I want to piggyback on what you mentioned as you talked about

northwest Arkansas and some of the things that you're seeing here.

What unique patterns do you see in nwa? Like example,

adult children living out of state. How do you bridge that gap

locally for people here? Specifically in northwest

Arkansas? Sure, yeah. I mean, you're even speaking to a referral

that we just took this week, you know, thanks to a local

organization here in northwest Arkansas that connected to

the neighbor of the lady we need to help. But the lady

we need to help has three daughters and two live in Illinois and

one lives in Arizona. And so we already know

no matter what's going on with mom, and we are dealing with a hospitalization

and a discharge to a rehab facility and then the whole conversation

on is it safe for her to return to the home or not, we're

suffering with a limited mobility, Were wondering if there's

some legitimate cognitive issues. You know, they're trying to

sort all of this, especially the daughter that I spoke to

specifically who's in Arizona. She is two time zones away.

She woke up at 6:30 in the morning to call me at 8:30 in

the morning my time and have this conversation and lay

out everything that they're trying to navigate with their mom. And

so we talked a lot of things about retaining our services

so we can be focused on mom since we're here locally and

keeping them, you know, thank goodness to technology

nowadays. Phone, text, zoom, calls, whatever, they can

still be connected without physically being here. But then we also talked

about legal guardianships and what that would look like even

if they held that role and were the agent to the guardian since we're

here locally or if we need to hold that guardianship

so they can step back more into the role of daughter as opposed

to legal guardian or caregiver or decision maker.

And so it's kind of a beautiful service that really, depending

on the situation and the needs, where there's a will. There's a way

we can make it work. It doesn't matter if you're across the country

or if you're just across town. We work plenty of

referrals. Again, the husband that I mentioned that's

trying to care for his wife, they're all right here in northwest

Arkansas, but he's a local business owner. He has a very well

known restaurant in downtown Springdale that keeps him

busy 10, 12, 15 hours a day, you

know, and he cannot close his establishment to continue to

go and physically show up for his wife. He can't put all

of that on his staff. You know, depending on what his day to day looks

like, he absolutely needs a secondhand man. He

needs that support that we would step in just like he would and

we'll coordinate and make sure that we're all on the same page for decisions

and, and whatever we need ongoing. But it doesn't matter if they're. They're

right here across town or if they're right here across. Or they're right across the

country. You know, that's those support services and that

navigation and that boots on the ground. It's right here

with Purview Life. Yeah, you know, I mean, you, you're really

kind of laying it out and I appreciate the examples that you're sharing.

You know, whether it would be this gentleman that you just started working with or

just somebody, a listener that's listening to this, that's thinking, man, how do

I find somebody or vet a provider? Right.

What would you say to them in terms of how do they make sure that

people aren't promising them the moon and then delivering them something that's

just a lot less? Because I could see how that would be. Right, because

everybody, you know, when you think of like elder care specifically, but

just health, any type of healthcare proxy care in

general, people think dollar signs start popping up right away and

it's like, oh man, there's a lot of tremendous opportunity here to make money.

And I do want to ask you about your business model in a minute, but

I specifically want to ask about how should someone vet a

provider so that they know that they're getting someone

that's solid and it's going to really look after their best interest. You

already talked about a acla, which

having that type of connection, alca, which having that type

of connection means that these organizations follow a

standard. But I would just be curious from your perspective with your time

involved in this industry, what would you say to somebody if they asked

you, how should I vet Somebody to make sure they're going to provide

the services that I need. Sure, yeah, great question.

I love that because again, I'm going to go back to that general

contractor analogy. You know, you are welcome to Google

and make phone calls and interview and find those resources

yourself or you can call an expert

who's well versed in the industry. We know the good companies,

we know the bad companies, we know the ones that are kind of mediocre. We

know the ones that fit your needs specifically. We're always going to bring

options to the table. We're going to bring up objectivity. We are not

in partnership with anyone specifically when it comes to any kind of

resource in northwest Arkansas. We do not get kickbacks. We're not

in partnership with anyone specifically. We are

literally coming to the table focused on our client and

the support system that may be in place that we're supporting

and bring options and education straight

to the table on. This is what you need, this is what you don't need.

So it could be one of two things. You either going to have to interview

and vet those resources yourself and pick the right one

or you may be on a tangent for in

home care services, when really you need home health services,

you really need physical therapy over just a companion, you know.

So even bringing education on what an individual needs or

what's appropriate right now, especially when we're talking about

cost. So I love it when we are able to work with a family or

an individual and educate them even on what

types of services are out there, what's covered by insurance,

what's considered medical, what's considered non medical, what are we going

to have to pay out of pocket as opposed to be covered by Medicare or

insurance. The Medicaid process. Oh my goodness.

Everybody's got questions about Medicaid. What does that look like? How

do we get on it? What does that cover? We're well versed in that.

We know when to apply for it, we know when not to. We know how

you'll get onto it, we know how long it'll take. Like we can walk

folks and handhold them through almost every

question and scenario that may come up while again

offering that expertise and navigating that.

We don't need this resource yet, but we need this other

one in place. Oh, well, I didn't even think about that. Glad you

pointed us in the right direction. That's why sometimes when we start working with

folks, there may be a lot of work on the front end, but then things

can be maintained, you know, ongoing, but then now

you still have an expert in your back pocket, you know,

waiting on in the wings, especially if anything changes down the

road. And now we have to rehash the conversation, maybe bring

in more resources, maybe do a transition in care. And

you just. You have, again, like, that general contractor

that knows the industry, knows who to call, knows who not to call,

and can get the job done efficiently and especially

cost effective. Yeah. You know, my mind is racing now because I

actually have an elderly mother, and, you know, she lives on her own. She lives

with her. You know, she lives with other. She lives near other siblings

of hers in Pittsburgh. But, you know, I'm constantly thinking about. And I talk

about it with my wife, like, oh, man, what am I going to do when?

Or what am I going to do if. And, you know, I just don't have

any of the answers for that. Right. I mean, I know what I know, and

I also know what I don't know. And I think what I don't

know is how to navigate that process, you know, in a way

that will bring honor to my mother as my birth

parent. And, you know, somebody that, you know, you're supposed to honor your mother and

your father. Right. That's what it says. So, you know, I try to follow that

tenet. I'm as good of a son as there can be, I would think. But

I guess, you know, that the verdict is still out because, you know,

I know in the back of my mind, oh, there are some things that I'm

probably going to have to do down the road to ensure that,

you know, the latter years of my mothers are as

fruitful and as high of a quality as they can be.

And I think that's what people really need to be thinking about. Right. It's not

so much, oh, I just have to solve a problem. It's like, well,

the biggest thing is just making sure that quality of life. Because I'm thinking, what.

What do I want my kids to do for me when I'm that age or

when I get, you know, above 80 or 85, depending on, you know, whether

I'm infirmed or whether I'm actually out, you know, walking three or four

miles a day, you know, which I. I hope it's the latter, but if

it's the former, then, you know, it's like, well, I want to have some options

available to me. And I would imagine that most, you know, most individuals

with elderly parents or aging parents need to figure that out.

And, you know, I think what your service and what you guys offer

certainly can Help navigate those unfamiliar

waters. That is so correct. And I really appreciate you sharing

personally, you know, where you even find yourself in this

conversation. This is why I love that our services are

really flexible in the way of not only

maybe working with Purview Life right now, working just

to have a consultation, just to educate you

in that role of possible caregiver, decision

maker and son and educate yourself

and be prepared yourself for the things that may come

up with mom, because of course, even though she's not physically here, she's

going to be part of the conversation when you consult with us. So that

then when anything happens or you find yourself having to be in that

decision making role, you feel educated yourself

on just even the different types of services that

they are and when they may be needed and what they do.

Because whatever is available here in Northwest Arkansas and whatever

we learn from a consultation with Purview Life here in

Northwest Arkansas can still be translated to Pittsburgh where

she is. Because there's going to be resources there,

there's going to be a care manager that we can find through the Aging Life

Care association there. You're going to have boots on the ground

there that will back up and everything that we talked

about here in Northwest Arkansas with Purvey Life can come to fruition.

So I love not only this resource and the concept

that it is, especially when we're hands on and assisting families

and individuals, but the education and the

preparedness is so crucial. In 14

years that I've been working senior care, I can't count how many

times I've had to step in and we're in crisis mode.

We are past the point of assigning a medical poa.

We are already hospitalized, we're discharging to

rehab. We're past the point of aging in place at home.

And now we have to have the hard conversation about facility

care. The dementia diagnosis was, it was

always kind of there. We were told six years ago, now my mom's

wondering, now the police are involved. Like, I

can't tell you how many scenarios of like, I wish you would have called

me two years ago. I wish you would have called me six months ago.

But it's okay, you've called me now we can help now.

But I love what you shared personally because it's just,

it's starting that conversation. And again, we understand

how sensitive these conversations are. Nobody wants to have

them. I don't want to talk about being old. I don't want to talk about

my parents being old. Yeah, I don't want anything to

happen to My neighbor because I love her to death and I want her to

be the spicy neighbor that she is right now. I love her. So,

no, we don't want to talk about these things. It's the same with,

you know, even pre planning for our own affairs or trying to think about

caring for a family member or an individual. It's not a great

conversation to have. No one wants to have it, but it is

needed. If I can communicate anything, it's needed. It is

a reality. It's that dripping faucet in the background and then

you're going to find yourself in front of a fire hydrant. So the preparedness,

the education, just having the conversation, I promise

you it brings so much as maybe

anxiety ridden as starting the conversation will be.

It will bring a lot of peace and clarity and

preparedness is everything. It's right down to the saying that we all

know knowledge is power. Yeah. And it's a sensitive conversation

to have, but knowledge is power. Well, listen, I mean, you

are. And again, I just wanted to. I've always tried to be transparent

on my podcast because I think, you know, you never know what other people are

going through. Right. And I'm sure there's somebody that's going to be listening to this

that's like, you know what, I'm glad Randy shared that I need to

so. And so for my father or for my mother or whomever. And,

and so you're just giving me a lot of food for thought and a lot

of things to think about. You know, I would be curious to know. And, and

well, first of all, let me just ask you, what is your business model? How

does that work? So, like, if I came to you next week and I said,

hey, you know, Sheree, we had an amazing podcast conversation, but I really do need

your help with my mom. Here are some of the things that I'm looking at.

Here are, are some of the things that I'm thinking about. I mean, in the

back of my mind, I've thought about moving my mom here to Arkansas. But you

know, she's a Pittsburgh girl and that's where she was born and raised. And so

it's one of those things where I've got to kind of reconcile those two things.

But I also want to make sure I'm doing the right thing by my mother.

Right. And so, and like you said, you said something very, very important,

that we don't want to be making knee jerk decisions where because

of situations and circumstance, we, we are forced to be

making a decision. Yes. Right. Oh, absolutely. It's so proper

planning is definitely prevents us from having to do

things at the last minute. It's going to make a hard situation

even harder and more uncomfortable. When we are trying

to again, you find yourself in that crisis mode and

you're scrambling and just pulling the trigger

on resources and decisions that

have to be prepared for and thought out. And then

again, as I mentioned before, a lot of emotions tied

into that difference of expectations. Yeah,

you have to think too, you as the son and then

in relation to your mom. You are her child,

this is your mother. You guys are going to have emotional connection

that could even convolute things. Even above and beyond that,

you're trying to do right by her. She's resisting your decisions. Even

though you feel like they're right, you're in crisis mode. You

know, it can become very messy and that

is the blessing of a care manager, whomever that

may be. Again, that could be even outside of purview life.

That can be that third party that comes in and

quiets all of that chaos and all of that

noise. And if I haven't said it enough, I feel like I'm

overusing the word expertise, but I can't play on

that word enough because, you know, but

clarity would be another word that I would put in there as

well. And even mediation of, okay, this is

the right decision to make. And you know that it is. The healthcare

providers are saying so, the care manager saying so and mom

is resistant. Know this is the worst case scenario for her.

That has to have some hand holding, that has to have some

compassion to have those conversations and make that

tradition or make that transition. And then that's a lot

to put on that family caregiver. They've had to make the decision and

now they have to carry the burden and the weight of it, you know, and

that's just, that's some unnecessary suffering. And that

is our goal at Purview Life and that's the goal

overall with care managers is there should not be any

unnecessary suffering. Whether it's decisions, it's

a transition or it's just that conversation of the

reality of you have a diagnosis and this is where

you are right now. We respect who you

were and you're still that person. But here's the reality of

where we are right now and let's navigate through that the

best that we can, bringing as much comfort,

understanding and the best quality of life that we can, no

matter the situation that we're we're facing. Just a couple of

years ago, we updated our tagline for Purview

Life. And we, we changed it to adding life

to years. It might not always be appropriate

to add years to life depending

on the situation, the diagnosis, the

overall situation or season for a person.

But adding life to the years that we have,

that's our number one goal. Yeah, I love that.

Explain to me your business model. How does it work and like,

look like. And again, I'm just going to put myself in that chair. If I

came to you next week and said, hey, I love the podcast, I think I

need your help, how does that work? Am I paying you for

your services or is that come from someplace else? I mean, my mom

actually has amazing health care because she was a teacher for 35 years

in New Jersey. And her health care, she's got the gold standard. She's one of

those people that when, when you, the hospital sees her coming a mile away

because they're like, oh, she's got everything. So we'll make sure we order all these

tests because we know that this will get compensated for that.

And I mean that's, that's unfortunately is more of an indictment of our

health care system than anything. But the bottom line is she is, she's got the

Cadillac of health care coverage. And that's something that I'm

extremely thankful for. But I'm just curious to know from your

perspective, how does your business model work? If I come to you and say, hey,

I need you, I need your help with my aging parents. Sure.

We are a fee for service organization.

We are private pay care management is not a concept

or a resource that is noticed yet

by any kind of insurance, Medicare,

not even Medicaid. So unfortunately we are out

of pocket. But fortunately we have

established ourselves where there is a lot of different ways to

utilize us. So just because it's going to be out of pocket

service, don't let anybody think that this is

unobtainable. So for you, as example,

if you come, you're going to speak to me directly. We're going to kind of

do an intake process. We're first going to have a conversation

again with somebody local here in the community that will stay on the

phone with you for 10 minutes, for an hour or for two hours and talk

about your situation as a whole and make sure that really we can be

utilized. We can step in, we can help. Because if this is going to be

out of pocket, let's make sure that we, you know,

that this is a service that we need to utilize. We have a lot of

different options which could be a one time consult for

a one time fee. And that's face to face with the registered

nurse, the care manager that can formulate a

care plan, that can organize that to do list, that can give

education and resources, really set you up for success. And

if that's all you can afford and that's all you can do, then we know

that we've had a beneficial conversation with you and we've set you

on the right path. Yeah, we have one time setup fees for

our other services like serving as someone's medical poa.

So again, a one time fee that puts us in that role

and then a very small annual fee after that where

we come in and face to face check in with you one time a

year and make sure that we're all again, that we're

just continuing the conversation, we're continuing to be in your back pocket.

We're putting eyes on you, we're putting eyes on the home, we're putting

eyes on anything that you may have going on and that

nothing has changed, nothing else further needs to be addressed.

Because that's a really important role and we want to continue to be in that

role. We don't want to do that blindly. Other than that our services are

ongoing and build by the hour. But an interesting

thing about our hourly rate is we bill in six minute

increments. So when we make a phone call for a

resource, when we solve a problem that we can

do very efficiently because we're experts in our field where it may be

a three hour phone call for you, it could be a 30 minute phone call

for us. We know who to call, we know. When time, time is money.

And so, and that's what I love about our services as well

is, you know, time is money. Yeah. And so a lot

of times families retain us just because they're like, okay, we understand

you could do this a lot more efficiently. And I'm working a full time job

and my kids got soccer at three and then my other kid has baseball

at four and I don't have the time to sit on the phone. I know

my mom needs this, I'm educated about that enough, but I don't know

how to navigate through that. So again we could be that expert that

again we're in the back pocket of someone to be like to just delegate

to worst case scenario and be efficient at

it. And I love that we bill in those six minute increments because that three

hour phone call that's done in 30 minutes, that's actually pretty

affordable. Once you see it broke down on the invoice.

That's one thing I love about our billing is every invoice is

detailed. So folks not only know what we do, but then

they see it in black and white. Once they've invested in our services. They

see the date, the task that was completed, how long it took,

and then the charge that coincides with that after we build in the

six minute increments. So when we talk to folks and say our

hourly rate, I'm like, don't be scared. You know, we base

our hourly rate off that national average. That's why we're part of the

Aging Life Care Association. You know, we're, we just don't make a

number up. We follow kind of what the national average is, but it can be

very affordable. Yeah. You know, and it's funny, as you were talking about that,

I was thinking, so tell me this because I know that like if

a person has like an fsa, a flexible spending account which

does allow them to pay for certain needs for dependent

care, including parents, would some of your fees fall under that?

For. Okay, so again that would be part of

the conversation that we would have with an individual. Sure. Again

we are private pay and so we're not going to be covered by

insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. But

when we're talking to a veteran who may have aid in attendance,

that's a whole different conversation. Okay. A healthcare

savings account. Even long term care policies. I've

reviewed long term care policies. We got a referral out of the

Silent Springs area once where the gentleman had

me review his parents long term care policy

and it said it would cover nurses

visits. An actual registered nurse coming out.

So I told him, I said you do a high level consultation,

you're face to face with my care manager who is a licensed

registered nurse. Yeah, I see all the boxes checked.

Yeah. So he scheduled a high level consultation for the one time

fee that we charge. We completed it, we

submitted him notes from our visit, we came and did it in person.

He turned it into his long term care policy. They re

reimbursed him for the consultation. Wow. Because it was

a visit in person by a registered nurse. So

there's a lot of work around on resources that could

cover us. Yeah. Worst case scenario might be out of

pocket. I got you. Okay, well that's perfect. Well Sheree, you have

really. You've given us a lot to think about. You've given me a lot to

think about. And I hope that our listeners can

appreciate the level of expertise and depth that you've

brought to this conversation. So I really want to thank you. If people

are listening to this and they're like, you know, I probably need to have a

conversation with Sheree. I need to maybe meet with somebody on her team

because she seems well connected with all of the elder law

attorneys, the facilities, and all the community resources

that are here in northwest Arkansas in my backyard. And, oh, by the way,

if I have somebody, a family or relative that's not here,

she probably knows who I should be contacting in another place. So

there's a lot of value in having that initial conversation. So I want to

encourage people to reach out. But if anybody wants to reach out to you, Sheree,

what's the best way for them to do it? Sure. Sure. Our.

I love our website, not only because it does a great

job of breaking down verbally what

we do and the concept of our services. So that's

purviewlife.com. but also there's some testimonial

videos embedded within our website as well. So you can see

professionals and individuals that have utilized our services and kind of get

some of that storytelling on. On what that looked like.

Other than that, our local Phone number is

479-579-8723.

It rings right into me to kind of do that

inquiry and intake process and see if we would even be a good

fit. Sometimes we're not. Sometimes I'll get, you know,

folks that'll call and say, you know, here's the backstory and

here's where we're at now, and here's what I need. And I'm like, oh,

I don't know that you're appropriate for care management yet.

Sounds like you just need some help with transportation or companion care. Maybe

you're in the very early stages of trying to navigate this. So

let me point you in the right direction, but keep me in your back pocket

because things will progress, you know, and so that's a great place to

start, just to. To call or it's a number

that you can text. So if you have questions, is this a

right fit? Do we need to talk to you now? Do we need to

talk to you now and use you later? We can have that whole conversation

and they can reach us directly. And then

depending on the conversation and what the best next steps are, then they

may meet with our care managers or at least learn what we do and know

when to utilize us. We do have a presence in

Bentonville as well, so we like to meet folks

where they're at. So if we're going to do a consult or a meet and

greet. It's beneficial that to see them in their environment,

whether that's facility communities or in their

personal homes. But that's not comfortable to everyone. That may not be

appropriate for every situation. Sometimes folks are like,

again, my dad's having cognitive issues. I think this

conversation may be overwhelming for him. I. I would like to come

and meet with you guys first. And so we have some office space in

Bentonville, and we have some conference room space available where folks can

also meet with us. But that main

479-579-8723 number

is the best way to reach us directly. And we'll go from

there. Yeah. And we'll make sure we put all of that in the show notes.

But, Sherry Clark, thank you so much for

coming on and really sharing the work that you're doing.

Certainly, I would imagine that. That this type of work

can be taxing, you know, just not emotionally

taxing. And so at times. And so I want to applaud

that, the vocation that you've chosen, because not everybody's cut out to do the

kind of work that you do. And so I appreciate you. I appreciate

you saying that, and I appreciate you letting me share

my personal story at the very beginning. Like I said, I feel like I was

put in that caregiver role for a reason. I had no idea that it would

turn into a profession, but I

cannot imagine myself doing anything else.

And so if that even brings some comfort to folks, that

I am a Northwest Arkansas native and I've sat

on the other side and watched my father navigate through

that process and navigated it through it myself

with family members. I hope that brings some kind of comfort and

ease because, again, these are emotional conversations. They're hard conversations to

have, but you will get a listening ear. You will get

somebody that. I haven't walked in your shoes, but I have walked

in my own shoes on the same path. And so even if

you just need a sounding board, that's what we're here for.

And it's a real blessing to be able to bring that to my community. And

I appreciate you giving me another platform just to communicate

that out to the awesome community that

we have. Yeah, absolutely. Well, no, you. You hit it on the head.

And this is one of those evergreen episodes that will be as

valid five years from now as it is today. So we really appreciate.

Yeah, we really appreciate you, Sherry Clark, for coming

to join us From Purview Life NWA folks, to learn

more at purviewlife.com just go to their website

again. Purview Life.com P U R V I. E.

And the Aging Life Care Association. You can learn more about

them as well. We'll put a link to their website on our show notes

to understand the standards and find professionals. And then we'll

link to everything that we've discussed today, including the phone number

and all of Sherry's information. We really appreciate you

listening to this special episode of the I Am Northwest

Arkansas Podcast. You know, we cover the intersection of business,

culture, entrepreneurship, and I would say that this topic

today falls under life and so without without.

With that being said, we really appreciate it. We'll be back here next week

with another new episode of the I Am Northwest

Arkansas Podcast. We'll see you soon. Peace.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of I Am Northwest

Arkansas. Check us out each and every week, available

anywhere that great podcasts can be found. For show

notes or more information on becoming a guest, visit

imnorthwest Arkansas.com we'll

see you next week on IM Northwest

Arkansas.