Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / Julie Ament Gran on Leading GrandPad's Mission to Reduce Senior Social Isolation

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Julie Ament Gran on Leading GrandPad's Mission to Reduce Senior Social Isolation · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of the Inspired Stories podcast,
0:08
where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from
0:11
their successes and be inspired by how they've overcome
0:14
adversity. My name is Anthony Kotaspodi,
0:17
and today's guest is Julie Amet Grant, chief operating officer
0:21
at Grandpa. They are a private technology
0:24
company founded in 2014 specializing in a simple, secure
0:30
tablet designed for older adults.
0:33
Their mission is to reduce social isolation and reconnect
0:37
seniors with the people who matter most through user
0:41
friendly devices and world class customer support.
0:44
Under Julie's operational leadership, Grandpad continues
0:48
to expand and innovate in the senior focused technology
0:51
industry. In her more than 25 years of
0:54
leadership experience, Julie held key roles at Dayton Hudson,
0:58
Marshall Fields, Macy's, and Life Touch.
1:02
She joined Grand Pad with a commitment to drive revenue and
1:05
deliver seamless functionality for older adults and caregivers.
1:09
The company has been recognized for bridging the digital gap for
1:12
seniors, helping them navigate online communication and
1:15
telehealth services with confidence.
1:18
They have also earned praise from families and caregivers
1:21
worldwide for making technology accessible to an often
1:25
overlooked community. Now before we get into all that
1:28
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AD back benefits.com. All right, back to our guest
2:12
today, the COO of Grand Pad, Julie A Matt Grant.
2:16
Thanks for making the time to Share your story today.
2:19
Thanks, Anthony. It's great to be with you.
2:22
So Julie, you brought more than 25 years of retail leadership
2:26
experience from places like Macy's, Dayton Hudson before
2:31
joining Grand Pad. What lessons from that
2:34
traditional retail world have most influenced how you oversee
2:39
operations for senior focused technology today?
2:44
Yeah, great question. I think coming to Grandpad was
2:48
an opportunity to really do something that was meaningful
2:52
for me and helping people that struggled with technology.
2:55
And it was really looking at kind of taking those corporate
2:58
best practices. But then, you know, we've all
3:01
been there where it's like, oh, we need to do this because it
3:04
says it in a book or a binder, but then really taking the
3:07
practical side of that and applying it to business.
3:10
So if something was a steps one through 10, how do you look at
3:14
that and say what really needs to apply to our business?
3:17
So you're really operational looking at the right things to
3:21
do. So when I came to Grandpad, one
3:22
of the roles I had was leading our customer service team.
3:27
And you might think it's customer service, how hard is
3:30
that? But it was really thinking about
3:33
we're serving older adults. And so we didn't time phone
3:36
calls. It was taking the call,
3:40
listening to what the individual needed and then really putting
3:43
together kind of, you know, best practices around what did we see
3:46
in terms of common themes and then very simply taking that
3:50
feedback back to our product design team.
3:52
So really kind of that full circle in terms of what we hear,
3:55
what do we see, what do we see them use, and then taking it
3:59
back to the product team. So I felt like everything LED up
4:03
to this role in terms of like, you know, going through very
4:07
traditional companies that led me to the spot to be able to
4:11
help influence this amazing product to help older adults
4:16
then use technology that maybe either didn't have experience
4:19
with technology or perhaps had cognitive decline where it just
4:24
was a struggle to use standard technology.
4:27
So basically it's more like a business operational framework
4:32
that you're able to bring from previous experiences into this
4:36
world. It's because it's the industries
4:39
are a little bit different, right?
4:40
Exactly. So I guess it's a great way of
4:43
saying it, Anthony, it's kind of applying common sense to, hey,
4:47
you learn these best practices. So it could be, you know, said
4:50
differently, someone goes to, you know, school to be, you
4:54
know, or MBA and they learn how to do something and then they
4:56
get in the real world and they're like, oh, wait, that's
4:59
not how it really works. And so, you know, in this case,
5:01
I'm having worked at larger organizations than coming to a
5:05
smaller organization and then being able to really apply, as
5:08
you said, that framework to what really needs to happen in this
5:11
situation. And so meeting the customers
5:15
where they're at and then as our company has grown, then applying
5:18
that both to kind of AB to C and then AB to B space of like, OK,
5:21
what really needs to happen here?
5:23
Who are we serving? Who are, who are the end users?
5:27
And then what do they need? And then how does how does your
5:30
business need to grow profitably in that case as well?
5:34
So how did the door open to join Grand Pad and why did you make
5:39
the switch? Yeah.
5:41
So at the time our our previous Chief operating officer who has
5:45
since retired was a colleague that I'd worked with at
5:48
Lifetouch for a number of years. And he reached out, we had lunch
5:52
and I thought to myself, here I am working for a a long term
5:55
established company and he's working for a start up like
5:59
gosh, why, why would I make that change, right.
6:02
And this is gosh late 2018. And I remember thinking, I can
6:08
keep doing what I'm doing, which I felt like I'd achieved a role
6:12
as at that time, the vice president of operations for, for
6:16
a field organization. And it was a role that I, I
6:19
absolutely loved. It was, you know, leading a
6:21
large group of people, developing them, you know,
6:24
working on budgets. Some people don't get excited
6:28
about working on budgets, but turns out I do.
6:31
But it was really shaping the organization at Life Touch and I
6:34
was really excited about that. But every time I talk to this
6:38
individual, Dave Jakeway is his name, I became more excited
6:42
about what Grandpa had was doing.
6:45
I grew up in a small community. My parents were in the farming
6:49
community, and my parents had very little experience with
6:52
technology. They're both in their 80s.
6:55
And it really resonated with me around their experience with
6:59
technology and maybe what they were missing out on, which was,
7:02
you know, being able to connect and see pictures of their their
7:06
children, their grandchildren, their great grandchildren, and
7:09
and then also seeing, you know, extended family members that had
7:13
cognitive decline. And I thought, there's something
7:16
here like it just literally kept pulling out my heartstrings.
7:19
And so that was one piece. The other piece was I had the
7:24
opportunity to talk to a number of people at the company and
7:29
every single person I talked to that worked for grandpa had one
7:33
share that same passion about helping older adults, but they
7:37
were just smart and curious people.
7:39
And, and there was something about that that was just such an
7:42
attraction to the company of people that wanted to roll up
7:46
their sleeves. They didn't care what their
7:47
title was. It was like, how do we get this
7:49
done? And I think after, you know,
7:53
meeting 8 or 9 different people, I thought this is kind of
7:57
interesting, you know, will this work out?
7:59
And I remember the day that at the time the CEO made me the
8:04
offer and I came home and my husband said, hey, like, what do
8:08
you think? And I was kind of, you know,
8:10
pale. And he said, what's the matter?
8:12
I'm like, it's a real offer. And he's like, well, what's,
8:15
what's the matter with that? And I said, I don't know, like
8:18
start up, you know, big company, like, what do I do?
8:21
And, and he's like, what are you going to do?
8:23
I'm like, I'm going to call my mom.
8:25
And here I am, you know, literally in my late 40s at the
8:28
time thinking like, who calls their mom?
8:30
You know, but it was really just, it was such a draw to this
8:34
company. I think for many people would
8:36
seem not logical, but I I felt like I could go and make a
8:40
difference. And, you know, here nearly seven
8:42
years later, I'm very confident that I have made a difference.
8:47
And I know the number of people that we've touched both
8:49
individually kind of as older adults as well as the companies
8:54
we've worked with. You know, this was all pre
8:55
Covad, certainly then Covad hits and we know we've made a
9:00
difference in a number of people's lives that I wouldn't
9:02
change it for anything so. So where was the company at the
9:06
time that you joined them? Was there the product out?
9:09
Was it still conceptual? Yeah.
9:11
So no, the product was out. So at the time I joined, which
9:14
was early 2019, we had, you know, I'll say kind of our our
9:19
product, I mean it's since been enhanced, but we the grandpa was
9:23
out, we were doing B to C work. So we had one of our channel
9:27
partners. So we're selling the product
9:30
through a channel partner and we were doing, you know, just, I'd
9:32
say initial work with some B to B partners and, you know, very,
9:37
I'll say dabbling at that point. Literally Fast forward a year or
9:41
so, 2020, you know, we're hearing about COVID.
9:45
I think we all sort of kind of flashback and, and one hand, you
9:47
flashback and go like, do I want to think about it?
9:51
But then you do. And, and, and I remember the day
9:55
one of our, our partners called and said, you know, hey, we,
10:00
they happen to be in California and they said we, we have to
10:03
help serve our older adults. And can you get us 265 grand
10:08
pads? And literally in in seven days
10:11
we got them 265 grand pads because it was, you know, the
10:16
second week in March. And so that began the beginnings
10:21
of our our B to B business. So today about 55% of our
10:24
business is in the B to B space where we saw the grandpa had two
10:28
organizations that then serve older adults primarily, you
10:32
know, dual eligible individuals that you know are are both
10:37
Medicare and Medicaid eligible where they want to be in their
10:41
home, but generally have, you know, a number of chronic
10:44
conditions. And so the grandpa serves as,
10:48
you know, a safe and secure trusted communication device
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that the healthcare organization can then communicate with them
10:55
and allows them to safely communicate with that older
10:58
adult. They can put doctor's
11:00
appointments on the calendar. They can put resources on the
11:03
grand pad and they know only a trusted circle can communicate
11:06
with them. And so, you know, I think back
11:09
to that time the phone was ringing off the hook.
11:12
We were helping a number of organizations, you know, deploy
11:14
devices. And I think back in smile at
11:18
that time, while you certainly, you know, it was a horrible time
11:22
from a, you know, none of us knew what was going to happen in
11:25
the future. Many of us here at Grandpad went
11:28
to bed, you know, exhausted, but put our head in the pillow
11:31
thinking we made a difference in helping some of these
11:35
organizations keep people safe and connected.
11:38
And that was rewarding, right? And it and it helped to
11:41
accelerate our business and think about how could a version
11:46
of telecommunications serve this vulnerable population into the
11:51
future. So certainly was a pivotal time
11:54
for us. So I want to better understand
11:56
the product because on the surface I'm thinking, OK, iPad
12:01
for older adults, why not just use an iPad?
12:07
I've got a nine year old son who's been using one since he
12:10
was 6. Just put a piece of software on
12:14
there that older adults can use. Tell me why my thinking is
12:18
wrong. Yeah, well, and that can work
12:21
for some people. So right, I don't think we claim
12:23
to be everything for everyone. So what our tablet is, is we
12:28
today partner with Acer who designs our tablet custom made
12:32
for older adults. So under the surface is Android
12:36
software, but we take over that software.
12:38
And so all of the updates. So think about your nine year
12:41
old son. There are, you know, updates
12:44
that come right where, you know, you'll get a pop up screen that
12:47
says, hey, you need to install the latest version of fill in
12:50
the blank, right? And you know, if you and I are
12:54
very familiar with that technology, like you put in your
12:56
password and you do that installation.
12:58
If you're 82 years old and never done that, what do you do?
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You call your son or daughter or you say, oh, you know what, your
13:07
son or daughter's really busy. I'm not going to do that.
13:09
Well then if a healthcare call is supposed to come in and you
13:12
can't take it or you can't get information.
13:15
So really the premise behind it is right.
13:17
So it's custom designed tablet. We take over the operating
13:21
system, Android under the covers.
13:22
We do all of the software updates behind the scenes.
13:26
So that's kind of Part 1. Part 2 is the the buttons are
13:31
large and and easy to identify. So it says very clearly like,
13:36
you know, call button and easily identifiable for those that
13:39
maybe have a site impairment. And then the really, I'd say 2
13:45
parts of the secret sauce are, one is we make sure only
13:51
individuals can call and e-mail it that are in the trusted
13:55
circle. So we find that with this
13:57
particular population. And quite frankly, I'll say,
13:59
Anthony, I don't know about you, but certainly my cell phone, I'm
14:02
getting calls and texts that, you know, hey, your bank
14:07
account's been compromised. And of course, it's a scam.
14:10
But we find that older adults in particular are becoming more and
14:13
more scammed and they look more and more real.
14:16
And with AI technology, that's becoming even more concerning.
14:19
So part of our, our technology is this trusted walled garden
14:23
that only individuals that are part of the circle can call the
14:26
device and or e-mail the device. And for many people that is so
14:31
reassuring because they have been scammed.
14:33
I mean, the, the numbers are quite staggering.
14:35
And then lastly, I would say our true secret sauce is our
14:40
customer service team, which we call member experience.
14:42
So, you know, we wrap the custom technology with the custom
14:48
software with our world class service.
14:50
So we hire individuals that, you know, really have a, a passion
14:55
for helping to care for older adults that are patient.
14:58
And it's again, not your traditional call center where,
15:01
hey, how long were you on the call?
15:03
We timed that call, like get off the phone, take the next call.
15:06
But really individuals that can, you know, be patient with an
15:09
older adult, help them engage with the device and then show
15:13
them how to use it. We also have the ability to
15:16
remote into the device. So if someone's, you know,
15:18
really struggling on how to use it, we can remote into their
15:21
device with their permission and help them be able to, you know,
15:26
use the the device in the way it's intended.
15:30
To date, our oldest user was an individual in North Carolina,
15:35
Hester at 116, so 116. And so when you think about
15:41
that, I mean, her daughter was in her 90s, like you just think
15:46
about 106, like, right. You think about how just that is
15:51
and it makes me smile, right? Like she was able to connect.
15:54
And I think of, you know, one story with a different
15:57
organization where we were, they allowed us as grandpa to join
16:01
and they would do these kind of like think of lunch and learn
16:04
Anthony where, you know, they would have their group together.
16:08
And then they do little breakout rooms through Zoom.
16:11
We've got a custom interface with Zoom and the breakout room.
16:14
I was in one of the individuals, she lovely lady.
16:17
I would have maybe guessed she was in her 90s, very put
16:20
together and they were sharing recipes and all of a sudden,
16:26
like someone is talking, but it's likely her son because he
16:30
says, I think it was mom, what do you think of this?
16:33
And she said, well, it's very intriguing to me that I can be
16:37
in my living room chair and having this conversation with
16:40
other people and see you all, but I'm in my chair and, and he
16:46
said, well, isn't that neat, mom?
16:47
Like tell him how old you are. And she said, why I'm 110, you
16:51
know, and so here, you know, through this organization,
16:54
they're providing a grand pad. And and I literally sat there
16:58
Anthony thinking, imagine what she's seen in her lifetime 110
17:03
like just and that this technology is allowing her, you
17:07
know, in her little apartment to connect with other people and
17:12
feel community. Like I like, I'll probably start
17:15
crying because it like it just it made me so happy that day to
17:19
think of like working for an organization to know like that
17:22
brought her joy and brought her son joy to be able to do that.
17:25
Like I like all day couldn't stop smiling because that was so
17:29
fun, right So. So it this is a like a mini
17:33
iPad, like what's the what's the footprint like what's?
17:35
The yeah, so it's a 8 inch device and you know, like you
17:40
said, I mean many people would say, hey, it looks like it looks
17:43
just like an iPad and so you know, custom software on it and
17:50
easy to. Replace a phone.
17:52
It can make phone calls and video calls, right?
17:54
So very much so. And you know, we at some point
17:59
in time we'll probably add a phone to our portfolio because
18:02
some people say, well, it's a little large to carry around,
18:05
but certainly it it can make phone calls as well.
18:09
So. And I'm looking at the website
18:10
here and the pricing seems reasonable, right?
18:14
I mean, there's a special going right now.
18:17
I don't know if I want to mention the special price
18:18
because I don't know when people listen to this, but.
18:22
Yeah. So no, I was just going to say,
18:24
I mean we periodically have specials.
18:25
So but really it is, you know, meant to like right, you buy the
18:29
hardware, we've got different plans and and part of that has
18:32
been our evolution from a consumer standpoint is to really
18:35
think about how do people in engage with kind of products.
18:40
And so we've had different plans and that's been interesting to
18:44
see. But you can see like it's very,
18:46
very comparable to sell plans. And part of having those
18:49
different ranges is, you know, often people will say like, oh,
18:52
my mom's 94, I'm not sure she'll use it.
18:54
It's like, hey, here's an option to try it.
18:57
And we also have a 30 day money back guarantee.
18:59
So it's like, try it. And if it's not for you that
19:02
that's OK, right? Like, but we want people to see
19:04
if it's it's an option. And so how does it work?
19:06
Like, I set this up for my mother and it's just sort of
19:10
like always on in the cradle so that if we try to call her, it's
19:15
not like it's on vibrate in her pocket and or in her purse.
19:19
And she doesn't know about it. It like flashes up there.
19:22
Or if she wants to reach out to one of us, it's real easy
19:26
because the buttons are obvious and she can click like contact
19:30
directory and my son Anthony, or my son vents.
19:33
Yeah. And.
19:34
It's even easier than that Anthony.
19:36
So I'll start on the the first side of it.
19:38
So there is the charging cradle that it can sit on.
19:41
And so when the covers open on that, it actually goes right to
19:46
slideshow. So like if she's not using it,
19:48
what's awesome is, is we have a free companion app.
19:51
And so you and your family can all join the free companion app
19:56
and add pictures. There's no, there's no ads in
19:59
that companion app. And so the pictures then go
20:02
right to her grandpa and are then rotating through.
20:06
So that is a a huge favorite of many of our users.
20:10
While it's sitting there, if you call it, you know, there's lots
20:13
of different options. It can flash if someone is
20:16
hearing impaired so they can see it.
20:17
It can make noise. It's very loud.
20:20
We have front facing custom speakers because we do find as
20:23
older adults, age is they're hearing the decibels available
20:27
to them and again, probably not using the right language, but go
20:29
down. So we make sure that we've got
20:31
front facing speakers and that they're nice and audible, so
20:36
easy for her to hear and see. We also have for those maybe
20:40
that have, you know, change in condition overtime.
20:43
We also have a feature called auto answer where after three
20:46
rings or five rings, you can set it up however you'd like that it
20:48
can auto answer. So in the event, you know, we've
20:51
had people towards the end of their life where maybe they're,
20:55
you know, in a position of they can't get up to answer, you can
20:58
have it auto answer as well. So that's kind of on, on her end
21:02
on on, I mean, on your end, on her end under a call button
21:06
feature, you know, she would just hit the green call button
21:09
and then it shows all of her contacts.
21:11
And we encourage each member that is associated with your mom
21:16
in this case to put their family photos.
21:18
So your picture would be there if your son had a different
21:22
phone number and all the the pictures are there so she can
21:24
just scroll through. And you'll notice that in the
21:29
device that as you're scrolling, it's usually left to right.
21:32
And it's part of our design. We have a group of individuals
21:36
called our grand advisors and the youngest now I think Richard
21:40
just maybe turned 80. But we, any new product feature
21:44
is we put in front of our grand advisor group before we roll
21:48
out. And part of the reason I
21:50
mentioned that is when the product was first designed and
21:53
it was before I was here, But you know, all of our, most of
21:55
our smart devices scrolls sort of vertically instead of
21:59
horizontally. And so they were showing that to
22:01
our grand advisors and they're like, you don't, you don't read
22:04
a book that way. And so our design is, you know,
22:07
left to right. And so, and there's buttons and
22:11
arrows. So on the call feature, you
22:13
would, you know, kind of just scroll and find your picture.
22:15
And maybe 1 meaningful story is one of my colleagues that I
22:19
worked with a few years ago, his mom had advanced dementia and he
22:24
was out and about on a Saturday and he sees on his phone he's
22:27
getting a call from his mom, from the grandpa.
22:30
And he thought, oh, his sister must be visiting her in the
22:34
facility that she was living in. So he answers and thinking it's
22:39
his sister and it's his mom. And he says, mom, like, like
22:44
you're calling. And she said, well, I was
22:47
looking at this thing, you know, like she didn't know what it was
22:50
called. But, and I saw your picture and
22:52
I pressed the button and it was the first time in 10 years that
22:57
she had called him on her own. And like when he told me that
23:02
story, like, I, I mean, I again, I'll probably tear up, Anthony,
23:05
but like, just like she's like, I saw your picture and I knew it
23:08
was you, Mark. And I, I thought, I wonder what
23:10
happens if I press the button? And they had this lovely
23:14
conversation. And, you know, it was probably
23:17
just a handful of months later that she, she passed away.
23:21
But it's one of, it's 1 of this dear memories of his that he
23:25
has, of that the technology met her where she was at and
23:30
empowered her to be able, you know, to talk to her son.
23:33
So it's stories like that that just, you know, for me, make my
23:38
day, right? Of like, hey, we're able to help
23:40
people live their best life where they're at.
23:44
That's really cool. I want to get back to talking
23:47
about the business to business component, which sounds like it
23:50
really grew during COVID. But first I want to understand
23:53
how you're reaching that B to C side.
23:55
How are you guys connecting directly with consumers?
23:58
Yeah. So as you mentioned earlier,
24:01
we've got our own website and so we kind of do what I'll say are.
24:08
Real quick, sorry, it's grand. Grandpad.net.
24:12
Yes, well done. So we do kind of, I'd say
24:16
traditional means of, of marketing kind of through
24:18
Facebook, Instagram, Google ads, kind of I'll say modern time
24:25
marketing tools. And then we've got channel
24:29
relationships. So you know, where we'll use
24:31
other sort of cell phone providers where, you know, they,
24:35
they sell other cell phones. And so we're continuing to look
24:37
at how we grow through those partners and we've had
24:41
relationships with places like consumer cellular and then, you
24:45
know, continue to explore other avenues to do that through major
24:50
channel partners. So, you know, again, those are
24:53
always ongoing, if you will, in terms of what that looks like.
24:56
So that's on the B to C side of things.
24:59
And then on the B to B side of things, you know, like I
25:02
mentioned earlier, we we saw that grow through COVID times
25:06
and then you know, look to continue to expand that just in
25:09
the ever changing healthcare space.
25:11
And so on the healthcare side of things, more on a dual eligible
25:15
special needs programs, which are kind of those individuals
25:17
that would be eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid are kind
25:21
of really worked. In our why specifically the dual
25:24
eligible? There's within those, there's a
25:28
lot of supplemental benefits that are available to those
25:31
individuals. And so just there tends to be
25:36
opportunity for digital equity where individuals need
25:41
assistance and like how do I connect?
25:43
So maybe they don't have, they maybe have a cell phone, but
25:46
maybe it's a flip phone. And so there's opportunity for
25:50
them to be able to do both digital health that way in terms
25:53
of having a video call with a healthcare provider as well as
25:58
social isolation and loneliness is has a huge impact on their
26:03
health. And So what some of those plans
26:07
do is have benefits related to making sure like there's a
26:13
reimbursement towards depression and loneliness and isolation.
26:18
And so some of those plans can carve out funding specific to
26:21
that. And so then matching up where
26:23
that that there's a good opportunity there, if that makes
26:26
sense. And so right, part of it is just
26:29
looking at those health plans that line up that would be a
26:31
good benefit for Grandpad. And so who are these businesses
26:36
that help get you connected to the right folks?
26:38
Are they like senior care facilities, skilled nursing?
26:43
What? It's more the plan.
26:44
So like we work with, you know, organizations like within.
26:50
So like you care is a plan here in Minnesota that we work with
26:54
HealthPartners PACE organization.
26:57
So program for all inclusive care of the elderly.
27:00
Not all states have PACE organizations, but that's been a
27:03
large group of organizations we've worked with across, I
27:08
think we're, you know, in a number of states, I, I don't
27:11
have the number of states that we're working with, but that was
27:13
one of the ones certainly through COVID that we've worked
27:17
with. And then, you know, sometimes
27:19
we'll work with very specific plans if there's a, a diagnosis,
27:23
like as an example, you know, we've done some pilots with
27:26
organizations that are working on kidney care, right, where
27:29
depending upon, if someone's, you know, very isolated or a
27:33
rural population. So it kind of depends on the
27:35
organization a little bit in terms of what might be a for
27:38
them. What other business to business
27:42
relationships would you like to see develop?
27:46
Yeah, that's a, that's a great question.
27:48
I mean, I think we're always looking at where there's that
27:51
need. I mean, again, our sweet spot is
27:53
obviously older adults. And typically we would say, you
27:57
know, super seniors is something that we've used those greater
28:00
than 75. But I would say that's also ever
28:03
changing in the sense that, you know, sadly cognitive decline
28:07
continues, you know, to not be solved.
28:10
And so that is becoming younger and younger, but it's really
28:14
older adults. And then I would say, you know,
28:16
we're seeing more in the space of rural disparities as it
28:21
relates to healthcare. So, you know, if you start to
28:24
look at some of the trends over time, you know, there's more and
28:27
more pressure on the healthcare system.
28:29
And so, you know, I'd look again at, you know, some individuals
28:32
in my own family and where they live and access to healthcare.
28:35
And so, you know, how do we look at those organizations that are
28:38
responsible for caring for those individuals and what access do
28:42
they have to, you know, healthcare?
28:44
And so thinking about how can technology help them see
28:48
individuals and meet them where they're at.
28:51
So again, thinking about that rural healthcare side of things,
28:55
one organization we work with today needs to see individuals
29:00
for an annual assessment to make sure are they receiving the care
29:04
that they need to. And so are there opportunities
29:06
there where, you know, again, they can utilize a grand pad to
29:10
see someone that's maybe five hours from a clinic?
29:13
And so you're just thinking about those opportunities for
29:17
older adults. When you look at those over the
29:20
age of 65, in the next 20 years, this will be the only population
29:24
that will actually grow in size because people are living
29:27
longer. And so just thinking about how
29:29
we can help meet that need safely from a healthcare
29:33
standpoint, but also then I'll reducing loneliness and
29:36
isolation. There's some really interesting
29:40
kind of facts around as we've seen more and more people maybe
29:44
be and I won't have the statistic, Anthony just so he
29:47
knows. But when I look, when you look
29:49
at there's more people that have divorced like in the last 20
29:52
years, you sort of take that forward into an older adult
29:55
space. That means there's likely more
29:57
people that are quote single. And then like what that does in
30:01
terms of people being lonely and how can we connect them in terms
30:04
of a community. And so just, yeah, thinking
30:08
about that of like I said earlier, the individual that was
30:10
110 and allowing her to be in her living room and connect with
30:14
other people and, and how we can make sure that people aren't
30:17
isolated. I mean it, some of the facts on
30:20
isolation is really staggering for people it of any age.
30:25
I mean, just anecdotally, I've talked to a lot of folks in
30:27
senior care facilities and everybody has the same story
30:32
going through COVID, you know, folks who were OK, you know,
30:36
kind of they, they were getting by, they were doing all right.
30:38
And then they lost contact with family.
30:41
They lost, you know, that regular contact with the people
30:44
that worked there were there to support them.
30:46
And they're, they just declined. They just, you know, went
30:49
through the floor and there was no recovering at that point.
30:53
Yeah, there is a statistic, I think it was Doctor Juliana
30:57
Holt, and I can send it to you. But I think she's got a study
31:00
from the early, it's maybe 2012 that indicates it's.
31:05
Yeah, loneliness and isolation is equivalent to smoking like 15
31:09
cigarettes a day. And you kind of you're sort of
31:12
startled by that number, but then you know what you just
31:15
said. And I think we saw that during
31:17
COVID, right, of just people losing the will to live because
31:22
they just didn't have that interaction.
31:24
And you can see it and it kind of breaks your heart.
31:30
And then it's like, OK, what can we do?
31:32
And certainly, you know, just to be clear, I mean, we think in
31:35
person, you know, connecting with people in person is best
31:39
if, if you can't be in person, right?
31:41
Like, can I see my mom over the phone?
31:44
And, and the importance of seeing them.
31:45
Like I, you know, I, I video call my mom's only three hours
31:49
away, but like, there's times where I want to see like, is she
31:54
OK? You know, she tends to like to
31:56
garden and things like that. And I'm like, are you drinking
31:58
enough water? And just, and in seeing the
32:01
change in in how people look and just that gives you reassurance
32:06
that that things are OK as well. So.
32:09
And so you were talking about how the device helps give folks
32:13
access to care providers in a much easier way, especially if
32:16
they're not able to get out of the house on a regular basis.
32:20
You guys, just to be clear, if I'm understanding it correctly,
32:23
you guys aren't providing those care services, but you're
32:26
integrating with particular virtual care providers.
32:29
Can you say more about that? Yeah.
32:30
So generally like when we work with an organization, you know,
32:34
they will have kind of a care network.
32:36
And so one of the the buttons, like I know you were looking at
32:39
the website, there's a number of buttons that are on the grand
32:44
pad. And so we provide with our B to
32:47
B enterprise version, there's a button called providers.
32:50
And then under that button we can provide all the the
32:52
providers for that individual. So they can have their doctor,
32:56
their cardiologist, their their dentist.
33:01
And so it's easy for them, you know, to then just be able to
33:05
call that individual. So think about like I, I often
33:08
say it's like, think about all the cards that are maybe on the
33:11
refrigerator for an older adult that like they're all then in
33:14
the grand pad device, the other pieces with some of these
33:17
organizations, like a pace organization, the pace
33:20
organization takes over, if you will, as the primary care for
33:24
that individual. So in our B to B enterprise
33:27
space, we put what's called the concierge button on the grand
33:31
pad. So it's the very first button.
33:33
And so they can just call the paste button right there and ask
33:37
them any question. And so it's just very, very easy
33:41
for them to be able to get a hold of their provider, ask
33:44
questions and you know, get that simple care versus literally
33:49
having to like, you know, OK, I have to go call someone.
33:52
So very easy to do and then provide resources so we can put,
33:59
you know, if someone maybe has congestive heart failure and now
34:01
they're on a low sodium diet, we can put, you know, APDF of, you
34:06
know, healthy eating tips on or we can, we've had organizations
34:10
say, you know, we're going to conduct a low sodium cooking
34:13
class and it's going to be virtual and we're, you know,
34:16
Anthony's going to be in his home.
34:17
I'm going to be in my home and we're going to do that through
34:20
the grand pad in our enterprise version.
34:23
We've got a portal situation where they can then, you know,
34:25
much like we are today, do it virtually and show them how to
34:28
do that. So there's many benefits for the
34:31
healthcare organization that's providing the grand pad to be
34:34
able to do that. You know, the example I gave in
34:37
healthy cooking or fall prevention is another one, just
34:40
as an example, where they can do a virtual tour of the home and
34:44
just see are there hazards in the home for that individual.
34:47
So lots of different applications.
34:51
Is there a feature or function that you guys?
34:54
Hey this looked really good on paper and as you tried to
34:56
execute it kind of fell apart for some reason.
35:00
You know, there was 1 initially pre COVID that we, we did an
35:04
integration for a transportation app.
35:07
And I'll just leave the, the app out of it for the, the name of
35:10
it where it seemed like, hey, that would, that would make
35:12
sense, right? Where older adults might need to
35:14
get from point A to point B, much like you and I do, where it
35:19
maybe didn't kick off as well as we thought.
35:22
So we sort of backed away from that one.
35:26
So I think that's one. I mean, I think we always look
35:28
at like, hey, should we continue to go forward with, you know,
35:32
things like that of like what, what are apps that we would want
35:35
to bring forward? You know, one of the questions
35:38
we often get like, oh, can can we just go to the App Store and
35:41
download apps? I mean, because our software is
35:44
custom software that is not an option today.
35:47
I think, you know, in the future, do we see, you know,
35:50
like I said earlier, do we see a phone, phone version of the
35:54
grand pad? Do we see a, you know, a
35:57
modified grand pad where there are apps, you know, for quote, a
36:01
younger, older adult? So I think those are things that
36:04
will look at in the future in terms of being able to provide
36:08
flexibility. So the the transportation app
36:11
was certainly one of them. What's the most powerful growth
36:14
lever that you guys are pulling on right now today?
36:18
It's really the B to B side of it, which in that healthcare
36:20
space of it, because they're like I said, there's, it's the
36:25
fastest growing population, right?
36:27
People are aging. There's more pressure on the
36:30
healthcare system. There's more, well, I shouldn't
36:34
say more. There is, generally speaking,
36:36
less people going into the healthcare profession.
36:38
And so it seems like there's just this like convergence, if
36:44
you will, of not enough people to care for individuals.
36:49
How do we do it differently? And so it feels like there's a
36:53
good opportunity for us there. We've seen growth there.
36:56
Part of it is, I think there's also Healthcare is huge, right?
37:00
And so we're not going to be everything to everybody.
37:03
And so I think it's really important to be very, very
37:05
focused on what makes sense for us, who do we make sense for and
37:11
how do we serve that segment. I think we've all probably seen
37:15
organizations like we can do that, we can do that and we can
37:18
do that. And as we look to the future,
37:23
we're very focused on what it is we do and what it is we don't do
37:27
and who we serve and who we don't serve.
37:28
And so we have I think an amazing product.
37:32
It does not serve everybody. And so and being clear about
37:35
that and that's OK. I think that I think when
37:37
companies tell us that vendors that we're buying from, I
37:41
actually appreciate that. So I think we're, we're very
37:43
focused on, as I talked about earlier, kind of that dual
37:46
eligible group because there are many underserved needs there.
37:50
And it's, it's a good fit for us being able to provide a digital
37:54
solution to those individuals that, you know, really have
37:59
special needs and have chronic conditions and need a
38:01
communication tool to help them, you know, connect with their
38:04
healthcare provider. What's the biggest operational
38:08
challenge that you've had to overcome in your time there,
38:10
Julie? Wow, I feel like you might have
38:13
stumped me, Anthony. Or just pick a big one.
38:17
You don't necessarily have to pick the biggest.
38:20
Yeah, I mean, I, I don't know if it's the biggest one.
38:22
I mean, I think under the covers, right, we're an LTE
38:26
provider, right? So like the, the device comes
38:28
and you can connect to the Internet.
38:30
So under that, right, we use all the major providers.
38:33
And so today, right, like if your cell phone doesn't work,
38:36
you can easily switch from one provider to the other.
38:38
They can send you a SIM card. You know, if you're 86 years
38:42
old, we don't send SIM cards out.
38:44
So it's not, it's not hard. We just replace the device,
38:48
right? You send out a new device with a
38:49
different SIM card. And so not hard, just you think
38:54
differently about how you solve things operationally when you're
38:57
dealing with an older adult, right?
38:59
So, yeah, so I wouldn't say hard, just you think differently
39:05
or, you know, if there is, I know one of the, the partners we
39:09
worked with, we're changing from, you know, 3G to 4G at one
39:12
point in time. And again, you know, people
39:15
like, oh, you just send out a SIM card, not for an 86 year
39:18
old, right. So the beauty is, I think
39:21
because we have this grand advisor group, like it really
39:24
does, we, we tend to start, we always think about, OK,
39:28
grandma's sitting in her chair, how does this work for them?
39:31
So we always come at it from the customer perspective.
39:34
So that's why I kind of say it doesn't feel like anything's
39:37
hard. Like it's just maybe more
39:39
complex. So yeah.
39:42
What about something that, I don't know, it was kind of
39:46
holding you guys back in terms of growth or or being able to
39:50
deliver more units or something like that that you guys have had
39:55
to work through? Yeah, I mean, I I always say
39:59
this to people is. You know, the, the good news
40:03
about particularly in the B to B side, the good news about
40:07
grandpa is it's not a commodity. The bad news is it's not a
40:10
commodity. Like meaning you're still
40:13
selling a new concept, right. So if if you said, you know,
40:17
like, hey, every, every older adult's going to have a grandpa
40:20
as part of or have a have a device as part of their
40:23
healthcare solution, you know, would that be good for you
40:28
grandpa or bad for you? I'd say that's good for us,
40:31
right, because it raises the votes for the industry.
40:36
So, right, sometimes when you're talking to, you know, pair
40:39
providers and talking about, you know, the solution, it depends
40:45
on where people are at with the change curve.
40:46
And so, you know, I think that's part of it is just like
40:50
sometimes you're selling a new concept of like, how will people
40:53
use this? So, you know, some of the
40:55
organizations we work with you're, while you're talking
40:58
about this device, you're actually managing the change
41:01
curve, right? You're, you're going in and
41:04
you're delivering the device to an older adult.
41:07
But then if there's a care team, I'll just use a PACE
41:12
organization. You know, they have an
41:13
interdisciplinary team of individuals from a behavioral
41:17
team to, you know, an occupational therapist to a
41:20
doctor. Those teams then have to embrace
41:24
utilizing the grand pad to deliver care and information to
41:28
you, right? So you're managing change at
41:30
multiple levels when you're delivering a new idea.
41:33
And so I think it's that kind of concept of just recognizing it's
41:38
not just a product, right? Like it's not just like, hey,
41:41
here you go, it's a thing and you're done, right?
41:43
Like so we, you know, particularly in the B to B side,
41:46
like we've got account executives and clients, success
41:49
managers that are there with you every step of the way and are
41:53
equally as passionate about their business because we know
41:57
we're managing that change along the way, if that makes sense.
42:00
It does. You know, it strikes me that one
42:03
of the really cool things about your product is something you
42:05
talked about in the beginning where it's kind of a closed
42:08
system, right? Like you have to be on the list
42:11
of Trusted Contacts for a message to get in or out, which
42:16
really helps to protect the user.
42:18
How do you get more people added?
42:21
Say it's my mother and she's got a new next door neighbor that
42:24
moves in and now she wants to add Sally into her list.
42:28
Can she do it? Is she calling you guys for you
42:31
to add her? How does that work?
42:33
Couple ways so she can call us and say hey, I approve Sally to
42:37
be added and we can right there. Our customer service team can do
42:41
that. Typically on the, well, both
42:45
sides, B to B&B to C, there's usually a family administrator.
42:49
So like in your case, if you were the family administrator,
42:51
you can add Sally. You can send a link to Sally and
42:54
say, hey, Sally, I'm approved and you can be added so the
42:57
family administrator can add her.
42:59
So easy, easy ways to do it. We've got the free companion
43:04
app. So when we set somebody up like
43:08
what our customer service team does today, so let's say that
43:11
your mom is a new grandpa user. We actually almost 50% of our
43:17
customer service calls are outbound where we're calling
43:20
both the, the user, in this case your mom and you and onboarding
43:25
and saying, Anthony, who do you want added, right?
43:27
And you give us a list and we'll add them and like, right,
43:31
Because for us, we know that the more people that are engaged
43:35
with the end user, the more likely they're going to be
43:37
successful, right? And the more images coming in,
43:41
the more likely that person's going to pick up the grand pad
43:44
and use it and see like, hey, did did anybody post any
43:47
pictures? Like did I see anything?
43:49
So it's it's very easy for individuals to get safely added
43:54
and unfortunately, right things happen in families.
43:58
Families are are messy at times. And so at times, if there's
44:02
somebody that has to come off, equally can come off as well.
44:05
Right. I wonder if you guys have
44:07
considered either integrating with devices that do this or
44:12
building out your platform to be able to offer more kind of
44:18
proactive monitoring services. Oh my gosh, like did you, you
44:22
must have read my mind. We actually are integrating, we,
44:26
we integrate with two solutions today.
44:28
One, we have a Bluetooth weight scale.
44:31
So some of our partners, particularly with congestive
44:34
heart failure, the weight of an individual is, is pretty
44:38
critical to their health. So they can gain, you know, 234
44:42
pounds quickly because of just fluid around fluid in their
44:48
body. And again, certainly not a
44:49
medical expert, but fluid around their heart.
44:51
It becomes concerning. So we've had partners reach out
44:55
to us to say, hey, can we connect your device to a weight
45:00
scale? So we've done that.
45:01
So we've got an integrated solution there.
45:03
And So what happens is while they've got a grand pad, they
45:06
take their weight. We've got kind of, I'll say a
45:09
range of programs in the sense that if the person doesn't take
45:12
their weight, a pop up reminder happens on the scale.
45:16
But we also have can have our member experience team reach out
45:19
to them to take their weight and then that that information gets
45:23
transmitted to their healthcare provider.
45:25
So that's been a really successful program.
45:28
And then we, we have a integrated blood pressure
45:30
monitoring tool as well. So, you know, same thing where
45:33
we can, you know, do reminders on the grand pad to say, Hey,
45:37
Julie, it's time to take your blood pressure.
45:39
And really to the point you're making is really trying to be
45:41
proactive and helping that person, you know, be healthy and
45:44
monitor that and make sure that you know, they're, they're
45:48
watching what they're eating. And you know, just, or sometimes
45:52
it's not Even so much what they're eating, but maybe
45:54
there's a change in medication and those those tools help them
45:57
to see is that medication working in the way they want it
46:01
to. Tying in with an Apple Watch or
46:04
building a Fitbit kind of competitor.
46:07
Or so again, so fascinating. We, we tried something early on
46:14
and I'm going to forget the name of it.
46:17
We are actually revisiting that conversation.
46:20
What has been maybe a barrier, and this is maybe to your
46:24
earlier question is the charging of these guys is what's usually
46:29
kind of holds us up, if you will, again, kind of our
46:33
population being the Super senior group of 75 or older as
46:37
people age, just their dexterity tends to be a bit more
46:41
challenging. And so finding a device that
46:44
carries a long battery life that doesn't have to be charged as
46:49
frequently is always a little bit of a challenge for us.
46:53
However, that's coming a long ways as well.
46:56
So, and there's also different ways, like it doesn't always
46:59
have to be sort of that tiny little connection.
47:02
So we just last week looked at like, hey, what do we put back
47:07
on the table in terms of devices?
47:09
Because there's really some interesting devices that also
47:13
monitor kind of your walking gait and the gait of your walk
47:17
is predictive of some other health pieces.
47:21
And so like how interesting would that be for different
47:24
people both, you know, kind of individually as well as on the
47:26
healthcare side of things. And then just fall detection,
47:29
right is a, a key component. So it's back on our product list
47:33
to kind of come back to. OK.
47:35
We'll check back in maybe in a few months and see how that's
47:38
progressing. Absolutely.
47:40
Kind of shifting gears here, you know, Julie, we all go through
47:44
big tough stuff in life, right? We don't often talk about that.
47:49
I'm going to give you a chance to maybe share a big, serious
47:52
challenge that you've overcome in your life and how you got
47:55
through it. Yeah.
47:57
Well, you know, I think everybody from the outside, you
48:01
know, look at people and you always say like, oh, like, don't
48:04
they have it? Like that person is, you know,
48:07
like they got it all together. And I think, you know, you
48:12
always step back and go, well, wait a second, not everybody has
48:14
it all together. And first of all, everybody's
48:16
going through something like you just don't know what they're
48:18
going through. So, you know, we probably all
48:22
have multiple stories. You know, mine is, I want to say
48:28
is I don't want to say interesting, but is mine, You
48:33
know, a little over 13 years ago, my first husband was
48:37
suddenly diagnosed with lung cancer.
48:40
And so I'm going about my career and, you know, with some regret,
48:47
I'll say, you know, my career was very, very important to me.
48:50
And so worked a lot of hours and, and Long story short, here
48:55
we end up, you know, going through radiation and chemo and
49:00
in a short time frame, you know, his health rapidly declines.
49:05
And what is interesting in that is, you know, through that, you
49:11
know, you learn a lot about yourself.
49:14
You learn a lot about the people you work with.
49:16
You learn a lot about family and through that I had the
49:22
opportunity to, I guess, look inwardly and at times think
49:27
like, like, why me, right. You can sort of take different
49:30
perspectives and, and that and sadly, I'll just, I lost him
49:37
after 5 1/2 months. It was a, a short journey and,
49:41
you know, still painful to this day, of course.
49:45
But I, I remember a, a really close Co worker of mine who had
49:50
a different story, but a sad one, said, you know, it's a
49:55
little bit about perspective. And I kind of looked at him, you
49:58
know, I think it was at a bitter, bitter phase probably.
50:01
And, and I said, well, what do you mean?
50:03
And he said 99 1/2% of the world would want to be you.
50:11
And I kind of, you know, and I, and he said, look at it.
50:15
You have an amazing family. You have an amazing support
50:19
system. You have, you know, taken the
50:24
the lessons that you've learned in life and applied them to a
50:27
career. You're a curious person and you
50:31
like wake up every morning trying to make a difference.
50:33
He's like 99% of the world would want to be you.
50:36
Yes, you've had this horrible thing happen to you, but they
50:42
would want to be you like you live in a first world country,
50:44
you have access to food and water and it it was this pivotal
50:50
moment, I think for me of you can choose your perspective,
50:56
right? This, this horrible thing
50:59
happened and you don't get to choose it, but but you can
51:04
choose your perspective. And so it's, you know, it's
51:08
forever on me, but it so you can wake up and say and, and in life
51:13
and, and at work and in relationships of why did
51:17
something happen and focus on like, why did that happen?
51:19
Why did that happen? And kind of, you know, narrow
51:21
down. And I think it, you know, it was
51:25
probably who I was a little bit before that happened, but it is
51:29
certainly who I am today in the sense of, you know, people will
51:32
come to me at work. Oh my gosh, this thing has
51:35
happened like this. And it's like, and literally a
51:38
little bit of, and Mike was his name, my first husband.
51:42
And like nobody died like, and, and you laugh a little bit,
51:46
right, because that's what you have to do.
51:49
But I think it is, it is perspective.
51:51
And let's talk through it, right?
51:53
Of like, hey, and I say that not to, to make light of it or
51:58
anyone that is going through it, but it is to, to try to look at
52:04
situations and just say, hey there, what can you learn from
52:07
those? What can you take from it?
52:09
And like, can it, can it move you forward in your life in your
52:14
perspective? And, and can it help somebody
52:17
else? And, and so that's really been a
52:20
little bit of my journey. And, and at times, like I know
52:23
at work, you know, I will share that story to, you know, maybe
52:27
help people through a difficult situation and to share like this
52:33
is who who I am and, and where I am today, right?
52:36
And I'm fortunate in the sense that I, I say I've had another
52:41
chance at love and I'm happily married today and I have a
52:43
stepson. And so, you know, you, you see
52:47
people and you see them for a moment in time.
52:50
And so just know that everybody's got a journey.
52:52
So. So you mentioned your friend
52:56
sort of giving you this different perspective.
52:58
Was that a perspective that it was easy for you to embrace?
53:04
At that moment in time, like maybe not as easy, right?
53:08
Like, I mean, just I think it was, you know, pretty I think he
53:12
saw I was having a bad day. So I think it was a chance for
53:14
him to kind of just like, hey, here's here's a perspective,
53:19
right? And, and in his case, I mean, he
53:22
equally had a journey like he lost a child to SIDS, he was a
53:26
recovering alcoholic. And he in that point in time,
53:30
shared his story with me to, to show how he came out the other
53:34
side of it, right? And that it is a journey and,
53:38
and partially sharing the story. Like, like we're friends and
53:43
like, if you're having a bad day, let's talk about it, right?
53:45
So like it, it was kind of the power of friendship and it was
53:49
the like, you kind of need to hear this because like there's
53:52
paths you can go down. Like, so it was, I'm forever
53:56
grateful for the conversation, right?
53:58
Like he's a dear friend today. And you know, he's since retired
54:02
and we don't talk all the time. But like, I also know I can pick
54:05
up the phone and call him and, and feel so blessed to have had
54:09
so many positive people in my life.
54:11
And he's just one of many. Say more about that because I'm
54:14
curious what the support system was like for you going through
54:17
that. Yeah, I mean, I think, you know,
54:20
it's it's a world of I mean in general, right?
54:23
I think you, you get what you put out there, right.
54:27
So I think through, through my career, I feel like I've always
54:31
been a person that I mean, this is a little bit of an aside, but
54:36
like I'm always like the person back in the day when there were
54:38
quote cubes of like, what, what are those people doing over
54:41
there? Right?
54:41
Like I'm, I'm a curious person. And so I think because of being
54:46
curious, I also like, like to be helpful.
54:49
Like I, I don't know that I've ever said like that's not my
54:52
job. And so part of that is I think,
54:55
you know, I like to be helpful and, and, and put that out
54:58
there. So I think when, when going
55:00
through sort of this time of, you know, hey, I had to leave
55:05
the office at a certain time to, you know, pick my husband up to
55:09
get him to a treatment. Like I had to literally had a
55:13
team of people because I was a little bit notorious knowing for
55:16
working long hours, I'd be like, OK, it's time to go like, right.
55:20
And, and, and so people I had the support team of they knew
55:25
how candidly to manage me in a difficult time.
55:30
And, and I think they could see like I had a boss that was like,
55:34
you need to do what you need to do.
55:36
Like, meaning you're going to work at times and be available
55:40
at times. And towards the end, candidly,
55:45
you know, I remember, you know, people talking about like you,
55:50
you know, probably need to take a leave and they're like, we'll,
55:52
we'll need to take your computer away from you.
55:55
And like, and I say that smiling because they knew it was also a
55:59
distraction because they're like, how do you, how do you
56:01
manage this? Right?
56:02
So it, it wasn't, I'll just say an interesting time as I look
56:08
back at it a little bit surreal in the sense that it doesn't
56:12
seem like you, it's a little bit kind of like we talked about
56:15
earlier of you kind of think back of COVID and you're like,
56:17
did that really happen? Like 'cause there's a part of me
56:19
of like, was that I guess that was me, right?
56:22
So. You know, in times of grief and
56:26
loss, you know, some people, they do better to sort of unplug
56:29
and be in their grief, be in their sadness.
56:35
Others take more of AI. Need something to distract me
56:39
and keep me busy. What was your balance like?
56:44
Were you kind of going back and forth between those two or did
56:46
you gravitate towards one or the other?
56:50
It's funny that you asked that question.
56:51
Like it was, it initially seemed like I needed to be in work.
56:55
So like it was like get through one day, like right.
56:58
So you'd kind of go through and it'd be like, OK, it's Friday,
57:01
like OK, I'm done, I'm done with work.
57:03
Like meeting like I'm just trying to get through the day.
57:06
And then I would kind of get to Friday night and I'd be like,
57:10
OK, I don't have to talk to anybody for a while.
57:12
And then I'd get to about Saturday at 3 O clock and I'd be
57:18
like, oh, like, poor me. Like I would, it would, there'd
57:22
be this quiet time where I'd like, because I'm, and some
57:26
people don't believe me, but I'm an introvert by nature in the
57:28
sense that like I, I gain energy by, you know, time by myself and
57:33
like listening to either podcasts or, or audiobooks.
57:37
But, but they're right. There was this window of time
57:42
where if there was too much time by myself, then, you know, look
57:47
at how sad my life is because I had this terrible thing happen.
57:51
So, and I'm a routine person. So I quickly recognize I was
57:55
like, Oh, I, there's like, I got to figure this out, right?
57:58
So like it was probably a combo for me, like meaning I knew I
58:01
needed some time where I had like quote alone time where I
58:05
could kind of like reflect on like, OK, here's what happened.
58:08
And and you know how the how time at work went so that it
58:13
wasn't just sort of masking the grief, right?
58:15
But it's like dealing with it. But it was also like, I can't
58:18
have too much time alone because then it becomes this sort of
58:22
like what was me. Yeah.
58:23
So and, and to your point, like everybody deals with it
58:27
differently. And so like when I've known
58:29
other people to go through something similar, it's trying
58:32
to offer support without sort of saying here's how you do it
58:37
because it's different for every single person, right.
58:40
So. Yeah, One thing I've noticed
58:42
observing myself, I've never experienced loss on that level,
58:46
but certainly have had loved ones passed away.
58:49
And I typically do best with a small amount of alone time to
58:55
process and grieve better with more time to do it with other
59:00
people who were affected by the loss.
59:03
Or maybe not, but can support me and sort of hear and allow me to
59:07
process and vent. And then pretty quickly, for me
59:12
anyways and what I've experienced up to this point,
59:15
move into, OK, now I have to move on.
59:18
Now I need to put 1 foot in front of the other.
59:20
And that doesn't mean to say that the grieving process is
59:23
done. It's still bubbles up at times,
59:26
unpredictable. But I see you nodding your
59:29
heads. Yeah, I'm very much like that as
59:32
well, Anthony. I mean, you know, we're, gosh, I
59:35
don't know if it's 13 or 14 years.
59:37
I'd have to do the math, but, you know, I, I can talk about
59:41
many of the things very calmly. And there's things like I can on
59:45
a moment's notice, you know, be in tears, right?
59:48
And so, but for me, it was, I did have to put 1 foot in front
59:52
of the other, like I had to move forward.
59:54
And some of that probably is just maybe how I was raised.
59:58
Like, I mean, in the sense of, you know, I remember a day in
1:00:03
sort of, you know, towards the end where it wasn't going well.
1:00:06
And I called my mom and like, you know, I was in tears and.
1:00:09
And she like, let me cry for what felt like 2 minutes and
1:00:12
she's like, OK, are you done now?
1:00:14
And I was like, like, I kind of not really, you know, she's
1:00:18
like, OK, but like, what are, what are we going to do moving
1:00:21
for Like, what are you going to, you know, And, and in a way,
1:00:24
right. Like that was a OK.
1:00:26
Like there's something about action, at least for me, whether
1:00:30
again, in this personal situation or even at work, like
1:00:33
action for me feels like there's control.
1:00:38
And while we're quote, never in control, action has some sense
1:00:43
of moving forward and feels like you're doing something.
1:00:48
And so, and I tell it to people at work as well, like sometimes
1:00:52
there's things that of course are out of our control.
1:00:55
What can we do, you know, in the situation that can help move it
1:00:59
forward? And that sometimes gives people
1:01:03
comfort. Does for me.
1:01:06
You know, thinking about just a a couple of folks I've lost in
1:01:10
my life, my grandparents who played a big role in raising me,
1:01:13
I'll still have moments of sadness as I remember and think
1:01:16
of things. But for those situations, it
1:01:20
happened in the normal course of time.
1:01:22
They had lived a full life. And so for the most part, when
1:01:26
that sadness comes up, there's still a great deal of love and
1:01:29
gratitude coming through with that.
1:01:34
I wonder, in your case, with the passing of your husband, maybe
1:01:39
it's harder to get to that place of love and gratitude, and
1:01:43
perhaps there's still more bitterness that comes up when
1:01:46
those emotions well up. But yes, no.
1:01:50
Yeah. I mean, I think you feel gypped,
1:01:52
right? I mean, just to say it straight,
1:01:54
not great in the sense that like, hey, how did this happen?
1:01:58
Why did it happen? And then you kind of go like,
1:02:04
OK, I can't do anything about it.
1:02:06
And, and this will sound Pollyanna Anthony and it's not
1:02:09
meant to be. But simultaneously, while I was
1:02:12
going through it, I'm a Co worker and I didn't know him
1:02:15
super well, but he was going through something similar with
1:02:19
his wife who had brain cancer and she ended up having brain
1:02:25
cancer for 7 1/2 years. And through that journey, they
1:02:31
had two children. Mike and I didn't have children,
1:02:34
but over the course of time, right, they did a number of
1:02:37
surgeries. And so she lost the ability to
1:02:39
speak and to move. And I remember like thinking to
1:02:43
myself, like, could I have survived 7 1/2 years of that?
1:02:49
Like, right. So like in a, in a way, like I
1:02:53
was kind of like, I do, I am I grateful for 5 1/2 months of
1:02:58
treatment or so I found myself like, well, I felt gypped.
1:03:02
I felt thankful for the weird journey I had, if that makes
1:03:07
sense. Like meeting and or you hear of
1:03:10
other stories, like I interacted with a gentleman recently who
1:03:13
his wife had early onset dementia and she's, you know,
1:03:18
already unable to speak. And I think she's only 62.
1:03:22
And I thought, oh, wow. Like, so I again, I kind of came
1:03:27
back to try to be at the perspective stage of didn't like
1:03:31
it and can be better, but at least it's not this like so,
1:03:39
yeah. So you eventually remarried?
1:03:41
What's your husband's name? Chris.
1:03:44
Chris, how long before you felt like you were ready to go out
1:03:48
and date or meet people? Yeah.
1:03:50
So that's an interesting story as well.
1:03:53
Like it was fairly soon, like, I mean, I, you know, like it with
1:04:00
within a year of, of Mike passing away.
1:04:02
And, and part of that, like some people will be startled by that,
1:04:05
right part of it. And again goes back to Mike and
1:04:09
I story like we, you know, we knew he was in Hospice.
1:04:12
We knew he was was dying and we were going through, you know,
1:04:18
the Hospice checklist more or less and vivid story of I was
1:04:22
making him dinner and you're, I mean, the things that you're
1:04:26
doing, Anthony, are a little bit surreal at this time, but we're
1:04:30
we're buying a burial plot, right?
1:04:31
You're buying things that you don't think you're ever buying.
1:04:35
And you can buy one plot or two plots if you're doing casket or
1:04:40
cremation, right. So like, I'm like, so I'm asking
1:04:43
the question and Mike says to me, well, we're going to get
1:04:46
cremated, but you should buy 2. And, and we had a dog.
1:04:49
And I was thinking, well, I don't know if they're going to
1:04:51
let us bury Wiley at the cemetery, but, and he's like,
1:04:54
well, no, like you're a young woman, you should get married
1:04:57
again. And I want you to get married
1:04:59
again. And like, of course I'll, I'll
1:05:01
tear up again. He's like, but like, I want that
1:05:03
for you. And so you know what, what a
1:05:07
gift, right, 'cause I think there are situations where that
1:05:11
doesn't happen. So, you know, I happen to be a
1:05:14
person of faith and I, I truly feel as though Mike had a hand
1:05:18
in picking Chris. And so, and you know, Chris has
1:05:23
a wonderful son. And so some people don't get a
1:05:27
chance at love once. I got it twice.
1:05:29
And so here I am so on the other side of that, so you know, and
1:05:35
so life is a journey, right? And you, it comes at you and
1:05:40
it's unpredictable and messy and and good all at the same time.
1:05:46
Wow. Thank you for sharing all that.
1:05:48
Julie, I've just got one more question for you today.
1:05:51
But before I ask it, I want to do three things.
1:05:53
First of all, anybody looking to get in touch with Julie can
1:05:57
visit her LinkedIn profile and we'll have a link in the show
1:05:59
notes. But it's Julie Ament AM ENT Gran
1:06:04
Gran and also to get in touch with the company.
1:06:08
They've got a great website, lots of details you can buy on
1:06:11
their grandpad.net. And then as a reminder for
1:06:15
listeners, if you want to get more senior living employees
1:06:18
access to benefits that won't hurt them financially and
1:06:21
carries a financial website for the company, reach out to us at
1:06:24
adbackbenefits.com. Finally, if you'll take just a
1:06:27
moment to leave us a comment or review on your favorite podcast
1:06:29
app, you'll hold a special place in my heart forever.
1:06:31
Thank you. OK, so last question, Julie, a
1:06:35
year from now, you and I reconnect and you are
1:06:37
celebrating something big. What's the big thing you hope to
1:06:41
be celebrating one year from today?
1:06:46
Yeah, I feel like it's two things.
1:06:48
So that's probably, yeah. Well, yeah, well, two things
1:06:51
would be one, we will have the next probably the next
1:06:55
generation of our our tablet that will be out there.
1:06:57
So which is just a normal evolution I guess of of our
1:07:01
product. But we're excited about that 5G
1:07:04
enabled. So that'll be fun.
1:07:06
And then it'll likely be just further expansion into the
1:07:11
healthcare space of of you know, large partners.
1:07:14
So I know not specific, but part of that is how it works, right?
1:07:18
So, but just really, you know, hitting major milestones of
1:07:22
helping lots of older adults. I mean, I, I feel a little bit
1:07:25
generic in saying that, Anthony, but I just, when I look across
1:07:30
the country and see, you know, how, how many people need to be
1:07:37
able to connect digitally and get information.
1:07:40
And there's so much changing with all these different plans
1:07:44
and just being them able to safely, you know, and securely
1:07:48
connect and know that they're not being scammed.
1:07:52
I mean, so anyways, I'm rambling so I'll, I'll try to be concise,
1:07:56
but I just, I think it's really just helping more seniors and
1:08:00
older adults and them feeling safe and confident with
1:08:04
technology because it's here to stay and and we want to be a
1:08:07
part of that conversation. And for the new generation of
1:08:09
device that's coming out, outside of upgraded hardware and
1:08:13
all of that and the 5G capability, which is really
1:08:16
nice, are there other features that people can look forward to?
1:08:19
You know, oddly enough, compared to other technology, the answer
1:08:23
is no. And, and mostly on purpose, like
1:08:26
meaning because we want it, we want to keep it simple, right.
1:08:30
So behind the scenes, like yes, there's, you know, the in
1:08:33
insides of it, yes, will be different.
1:08:35
But for the external side of it, no, just because we want to keep
1:08:38
it simple. So yeah.
1:08:40
Well, Julie, Amen, Grand from Grand Pat, I want to be the
1:08:43
first to thank you for sharing both your time and your story
1:08:46
with us today. I really appreciate it.
1:08:48
Well, thank you, Anthony. It was an absolute pleasure.
1:08:52
Folks, that's a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories
1:08:55
podcast. Thanks for learning with us
1:08:56
today.