A Question of Care

07/25/2025

What happens when there aren’t enough care workers for people dealing with serious illness?

Families suffer. Patients return to hospitals. And dignity is lost.

In Episode 7 of this season’s A Question of Care, host Robert Espinoza and Brynn Bowman, CEO of the Center to Advance Palliative Care, talk about what’s at stake—and how we build something better for this critical workforce.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/37j4wjdp

07/24/2025

Emotional labor isn’t “soft.”

It takes skill to comfort, listen, and guide someone through serious illness.

In Episode 7, Season 2 of A Question of Care, host Robert Espinoza and Brynn Bowman, CEO of the Center to Advance Palliative Care spotlight the care workers doing just that.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/37j4wjdp

07/23/2025

During times of serious illness, who helps patients live life on their terms?

Care workers.

In Episode 7, Season 2 of A Question of Care, host Robert Espinoza and Brynn Bowman, CEO of the Center to Advance Palliative Care talk about the invisible labor behind palliative care—and what’s needed to support it.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/37j4wjdp

07/22/2025

Palliative care isn't just medical—it's emotional, relational, and personal.

In Episode 7, Season 2 of A Question of Care. host Robert Espinoza and Brynn Bowman, CEO of the Center to Advance Palliative Care, explore the skill and compassion required to deliver this care—and the workers we rely on to do it.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/37j4wjdp

07/21/2025

What is palliative care—and who makes it possible?

In Episode 7, Season 2 of A Question of Care, host Robert Espinoza and Brynn Bowman, CEO of the Center to Advance Palliative Care, explore the people who help others live (and die) with dignity.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/37j4wjdp

07/11/2025

In-home care from a trusted family member can be life changing.

That’s the power of consumer direction—an often-overlooked solution in the long-term services and supports landscape.

In Episode 5, Season 2 of A Question of Care, Corinne Eldridge from the Center for Caregiver Advancement and Host Robert Espinoza explore how this model keeps families together, helps people remain in their homes, and ensures caregivers get paid.

They also talk about what’s needed to strengthen training and policy support for these workers.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts:

In this episode, Host Robert Espinoza speaks with Corrine Eldridge, President and CEO of the Center for Caregiver Advancement. They discuss what consumer direction offers, why independent providers need more government attention, and how to boost this aspect of long-term care.

07/10/2025

Consumer direction is one of the most person-centered policies in long-term care. It allows people to choose their caregiver—often a trusted family member—and receive care in the comfort of home.

So why isn’t it more widely used?

In Episode 5, Season 2 of A Question of Care, Corinne Eldridge and Host Robert Espinoza discuss what’s working, what’s missing, and how to invest in this critical workforce of independent providers.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/3sdrrejp

07/08/2025

Most people don’t realize they can hire a loved one to provide paid in-home care through Medicaid. It’s called consumer direction, and it’s a vital but underutilized option in long-term care.

In Episode 6, Season 2 of A Question of Care, Host Robert Espinoza talks with Corinne Eldridge, President and CEO of the Center for Caregiver Advancement, about why this program matters and what needs to change.

Corrine shares how consumer direction supports older adults and people with disabilities while allowing families to stay together and remain financially stable. They also explore why these workers—known as independent providers—need stronger training, support, and public investment.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/3sdrrejp

07/04/2025

Consumer direction is growing—but too slowly.

As demand for in-home care surges, we need to strengthen this model with better policies, training, and investment.

In Episode 5, Season 2 of A Question of Care, Corinne Eldridge from the Center for Caregiver Advancement and A Question of Care Host Robert Espinoza dive into how independent providers—the paid family caregivers in this model—deserve more attention, support, and respect.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/3sdrrejp

06/27/2025

You can’t have quality care without quality jobs.

In Episode 5 of A Question of Care, Host Robert Espinoza speaks with Dr. Kezia Scales at PHI about why improving pay, training, and support for nursing assistants isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s essential for the future of long-term care.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/yftpe4x6

06/26/2025

COVID-19 exposed what many of us already knew: we’ve neglected nursing homes—and nursing assistants—for decades.

In Episode 5 of A Question of Care, Host Robert Espinoza speaks with Dr. Kezia Scales of PHI about the role of nursing assistants, how the pandemic changed the conversation, and what it will take to move from crisis to transformation.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/yftpe4x6

06/25/2025

We say we value caregiving. But nursing assistants—the frontline workers in our nation’s nursing homes—are paid poverty wages and denied basic protections.

In Episode 5 of A Question of Care, Host Robert Espinoza talks with Dr. Kezia Scales of PHI about how we got here, why it matters, and what it will take to build a system rooted in equity, safety, and respect.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/yftpe4x6