Capturing Our Elders’ Stories with Sky Bergman, Director of Lives Well Lived

Asking the Right Questions

On this episode of the LTC Heroes podcast, Sky Bergman, Director
of Lives Well Lived sits down with us to discuss her documentary
and the fruitful insights that came from it.


Sky outlines her inspiration for the film and highlights the
importance of having the right questions and framework to start
from when capturing the stories of elders.


She notes that if your LTC facility wants to start a similar
process of gaining insight from your residents, it’s best to take
it slow—asking one question per week could be a great place to
start.
Everyone Has a Story

She discusses mortality and says it’s important to converse with
our elders about it to give them the chance to truly describe
their last wishes and desires for the remainder of their lives.


Sky describes the positive benefits LTC facilities have gained by
screening her film, including the fact that it serves as a
concrete reminder for staff that all residents have a story. They
wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to engage with their
residents on a deeper level.


Sky closes the episode by highlighting the importance of
intergenerational connection for breaking down ageism. She also
provides nurses and other LTC staff with actionable advice on how
to connect with residents about their stories.


Learn more and sign up to be notified about future episodes at
LTCHeroes.com
Rapid Fire Q/A:

What kind of valuable and actionable advice do you expect we’ll
cover in today’s episode?


I think one of the things that is really important is to collect
the stories of our older adults, you know, those will be lost if
we don't collect them. And then of course we have to share them,
and share them with the people who are working at the long-term
care facilities. Because to remind everyone, that these are not
just patients, they are people that have amazing lives. And it
really helps to validate everyone's life if we collect the
stories, and we really listen to our elders.


What is one lesser-known resource, book, or newsletter that you
go to when you want to be up to date on LTC info?


I really love Dr. Roger Landry and Masterpiece Living, and I
think that their ideas very much align with the things that I
discovered in the film. I would definitely look at his work and
his book.


Who is one mentor who has influenced the way that you do care in
our industry?


Of course my grandmother has been my biggest role model because I
want to be like her. And then I think secondly, I would say my
dad, who is a geriatric physician, and has been since he got out
of med school. He is still practicing even now, in the midst of
all this craziness.
Resources:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/skybergman/

https://seniorplanet.org/

Regrets of the Dying

https://www.lives-well-lived.com/

lives.well.lived@gmail.com