Jodi Bellam, founder of The Blue Hug and a seasoned homecare agency owner with over 16 years of experience, joins host Carol Chiang, to unpack one of caregiving’s most sensitive challenges: bathing. Together, Carol and Jodi explore why this essential ADL often sparks resistance and what clinicians can do to ease that burden. You’ll hear stories from the field, and you’ll learn about creative strategies and new tools designed to preserve dignity, increase cooperation, and reduce caregiver stress. Whether you’re troubleshooting a tough case or seeking fresh solutions, this conversation will leave you feeling more equipped and empowered.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the evidence around resistance to bathing and its implications for caregiver burden and client well-being
• Determine the situations in which modesty-preserving bathing aids and structured routines provide the most benefit for maintaining dignity, safety, and ADL engagement
• Solve patient case scenarios involving barriers to bathing due to cognitive decline, trauma history, or sensory sensitivities using adaptive equipment and evidence-informed strategies

Timestamps

• (00:00:00) Welcome
• (00:02:05) Jodi Bellam’s journey into senior care
• (00:03:29) The Blue Hug: a sensory approach to safety
• (00:07:30) The role of relationship and trust in caregiving
• (00:08:40) Challenges of facility-based vs. in-home care
• (00:10:30) Addressing modesty and the “opposite-sex problem”
• (00:11:18) Clinical “battle plans” and modesty solutions
• (00:15:25) Evaluating market solutions and product innovation
• (00:23:51) Clinical reasoning: when to use specialized garments
• (00:31:00) Improving the caregiver experience
• (00:32:30) Success stories: restoring options and hygiene
• (00:39:49) Top takeaways for clinicians

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