Episode 2: Lessons from the Pandemic

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

COVID-19 has added a new and unprecedented layer of complexity to caregiving. John Stagliano tells us his story of struggling to maintain social distancing while taking care of his 82-year old parents, both of whom contracted COVID-19. Grace Whiting from The National Alliance for Caregiving and New York Times correspondent Paula Span (author of the New Old Age blog) join us afterward to talk about the impact of the pandemic on America’s 53 million caregivers.

CAREGIVER: JOHN STAGLIANO

JOHN STAGLIANO [bio]

EXPERTS: GRACE WHITING, PAULA SPAN

GRACE WHITING At thirty-two, Grace was named the President/CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, after previous stints as the COO and the Director of Strategic Partnerships. In her work at NAC, Grace led the nation’s first national policy study of 1,400+ rare disease caregivers with Global Genes. She has supported two nationally representative studies on caregiving, Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 released this past May with AARP, and the previous version in 2015. She has led new policy research on families managing cancer, autoimmune disorders such as IBD, cancer, dementia, mental illness, and chronic disease. She has provided testimony to Congress on caregiving programs and provided policy analysts to national media outlets such as C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. In addition to her role at NAC, Grace represents NAC and the United States on the Governing Board of the International Alliance for Carer Organizations and offers ex officio support for NAC’s role as Secretariat.

PAULA SPAN writes the New Old Age column, about aging and caregiving, for the New York Times. She is the author of “When the Time Comes: Families With Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and Solutions.” She teaches at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is at work on an audiobook about grandparenting for Audible.