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(360) 230-8808 Family Steward ♥

Caregivers · Families · Elders

Serving Western Washington · Caregivers everywhere

Are you…


I am here for you.

So your family can focus on just being family.

Start the Conversation

This work is personal — and professional.

Shandell Sosna, Founder of Family Steward

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

What caregiving alone
actually costs you

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

Caregivers have needs of their own.
That's why I take care of you too.

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.

Running the Home

The household doesn't pause because you're stretched thin.

  • Household admin: calendar, scheduling, repairs, and the running to-do list
  • A trusted handyman's number on your fridge
  • House cleaning
  • Meal delivery
  • Grocery and errand delivery

Caring for Yourself

Your body is carrying this too.

  • Your own healthcare appointments, scheduled and kept
  • Counseling referrals for grief, guilt, and stress
  • Grief circles, retreats, and restorative experiences to help you heal and recharge
  • Personal training
  • Yoga, meditation, and mindfulness classes
  • Pampering: massage, facials, hair, nails, and the little things that make you feel like yourself

Breathing Room

Respite: time off from caregiving while someone else steps in.

  • In-home care hours
  • A trained companion for your loved one
  • Adult day programs
  • Off Duty: a multi-day respite stay for your loved one, paired with a real getaway for you, planned start to finish

Staying Connected

Caregiving shrinks your world. These keep the doors open.

  • Rebuilding your circle: helping friends and family learn how to visit, help, and stay close
  • Companions for concerts, events, and outings
  • Support groups
  • Good Company: matinees, music, and meals with fellow caregivers

How Caregiver Care works

Step 1

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.

Step 2

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.

Step 3

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

Tended

From $900/mo

If you're carrying most of the load on your own, Tended is for you, wherever you live.

What's included:

  • Your Caregiver Profile, updated every month
  • Regular check-ins by phone or Zoom, with caregiver coaching woven in
  • A monthly visit with you, about you, in person, or by video if you live outside Western Washington
  • Hands-on help setting up anything from the four menus above
  • First invitations and member pricing for Good Company outings

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

Full Circle

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.

MorningWelcome, shared commitment, communication foundations, and a structured and safe release of concerns, worries, and what's gone unsaid.
MiddayLunch prepared together by your full circle. Group activities built on the principle that laughing together is healing — and there are no wrong answers.
AfternoonDecision-making frameworks, problem solving, and brainstorming to find the overlap and agreement that is necessary to move forward together.
EveningCreation of your Full Circle Document — the decisions and agreements of the day, captured. Then a closing dinner to celebrate the work you've done 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

Every family's situation is different.
So is my support.

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.

Steady

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

Alongside

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

Devoted

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:

Ready to stop carrying this alone?

Start the Conversation

Or call me at (360) 230-8808

Serving Western WashingtonKing · Snohomish · Skagit · Whatcom Counties
Caregiver Care & family advocacy, wherever you live

☎  Call (360) 230-8808