Caregivers · Families · Elders
Serving Western Washington · Caregivers everywhere
Are you…
So your family can focus on just being family.
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Shandell Sosna
Founder & Care Strategist
Built on a 20+ year leadership career inside some of the country's largest healthcare systems — Providence Health, Kaiser Permanente, Group Health Cooperative, and St. Joseph Health — and fueled by watching my dad waste away from Lewy Body dementia and Parkinson's disease, simultaneously. What made it particularly painful was that he was the most brilliant, energetic, hilarious man in the world. These diseases trapped him in his head and his body. And five years managing my mom's dementia care. I've been there, exhausted and heartbroken, helping those I love as they slip through my fingers. I know how healthcare systems work from the inside, and how to navigate the care maze.
The calls, the insurance battles, showing up at the facility hoping nothing has slipped through the cracks — I've lived that. I know what it's like to be in the middle of hard family conversations, and to watch the sibling relationships you treasure start to strain under the weight of it all.
That means when I show up for your family, I bring my expertise in executive coaching, mediation, and project management — all in service of one goal: making sure your loved one gets the care they deserve.
Why Families Choose to Plan Ahead
It's an expensive invoice that hits you in your health, your paycheck,
your family, and your options.
Your health pays first
Dementia caregivers carry twice the stress of other caregivers — and nearly 4 in 10 become depressed.
The strain rewires the body: higher heart-disease risk, disrupted sleep, slower healing. And the toll doesn't end when the caregiving does.
Your career pays next
The average caregiver over 50 loses about $300,000 in wages, pension, and Social Security — women lose up to $324,000.
Nearly 6 in 10 caregivers have to cut hours, rearrange their schedule, or leave a job to keep up.
Conflict costs you too
Siblings rarely agree on timing or who does what.
Every week spent stuck in disagreement is a week closer to a crisis decision — with fewer choices and a higher price tag.
Waiting costs you your options
Wait for a crisis, and you don't get to choose.
You take whatever bed is open. Skip the paperwork, and a court may decide who speaks for your parent — on their timeline, not yours.
You can't remove every cost of caregiving. But you don't have to carry it alone — and planning ahead changes everything that comes next.
Sources: Alzheimer's Association 2023 Facts & Figures · MetLife Study of Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers (Arno, Viola & Shi, 2011)
National Alliance for Caregiving.
Caring for the Caregiver
When someone you love needs care, every eye turns to them: the doctors, the family, the facility. As it should. But behind every elder there's usually one person holding everything together. That person makes the calls, keeps the schedule, and lies awake at 2 a.m. running the list. And that person rarely hears the question, "How are you doing?" Fewer still wait for the answer.
If that's you, you already know the toll. The workout you stopped making time for. The friends who stopped calling, not because they stopped caring, but because they don't know what to say. Dinner eaten standing at the counter. You're not failing. You're pouring everything you have into someone else, and no one is refilling your cup.
Most caregivers can't answer "What do you need?" There's no room left to even think about the question. So I help you find the answer. In a Caregiver Profile conversation, I draw on my coaching experience to help you uncover what's missing, what's wearing you down, and what would make the biggest difference. Then we choose from four menus of support, built around the parts of life that caregiving squeezes first. I find people I trust, get them started, and make sure the help actually lands.
How Caregiver Care works
You come first.
We sit down together for a Caregiver Profile conversation, separate from the family assessment, and look at where you're running on empty.
We choose the right help.
Together we decide what would help most. I bring in established, insured providers I've found reliable, and you contract with and pay them directly. I never take referral fees from anyone I recommend.
We check in every month.
As your needs change, so does your support. Caregiver coaching is part of every check-in, to help you make hard decisions, set limits, and make room for yourself.
A plan just for you
From $900/mo
If you're carrying most of the load on your own, Tended is for you, wherever you live.
What's included:
Bigger projects, like an Off Duty getaway with respite care arranged, are priced separately. Caregiver Care can also be added to any eldercare tier below.
Caring for someone you love shouldn't mean disappearing yourself.
A Signature Family Steward Experience
There comes a moment in every family's journey when the conversations you've been avoiding can no longer wait.
Full Circle is a one-day retreat at a private venue, custom designed for your family. It gathers your elder's full circle of care — the family and friends who give so much — for a day of honest conversation, where concerns are heard, decisions are made, and bonds are deepened. A day that moves your family forward, together.
From $3,600 plus venue, food, and travel
You don't have to be a Family Steward client to experience Full Circle —
it's open to any family ready to do this work together. Wherever your family lives, I'll travel to a neutral, central location.
When Your Loved One Needs More
An independent advocate — my only obligation is
to your family.
Every engagement begins with a Care Discovery & Assessment — a thorough process that includes interviews and meetings with family members, the care facility, the care team, and your loved one, along with a careful analysis of everything I learn. Shortly thereafter, you'll receive a Care Roadmap — a clear summary of findings and recommended next steps, with a suggested tier of support best suited for your family.
My support tiers are designed to match the complexity of your family's situation.
For families whose loved one's care is relatively stable but you need a trusted expert in your corner. Perfect for far away families.
From $1,250/mo
For families navigating more complex care needs: more hands-on coordination, more frequent communication, and a steady presence managing the details.
From $2,500/mo
For families who need full support. Deep in the details, I give full attention to your loved one's care so you can truly rest.
From $4,000/mo
Every tier begins with a Caregiver Profile. Add any part of Caregiver Care to your tier, or choose Tended on its own.
Because eldercare coordination happens in person, the tiers are available in King, Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom Counties. Caregiver Care and family advocacy are available wherever you live.
Services Offered:
Or call me at (360) 230-8808
Serving Western WashingtonKing · Snohomish · Skagit · Whatcom Counties
Caregiver Care & family advocacy, wherever you live