About Wendy

SENIOR AND EX-PAT HEALTH (advocacy/care coordination), HOUSING (assisted living/nursing care placements), HOSPICE OPTIONS IN MEXICO, ECUADOR

Hello and thank you for visiting!!

Optimum health and comfort for all have been my passions since childhood.

I am dedicated to serving families and individuals who seek appropriate and compatible housing, health, and hospice options in Mexico and Ecuador. I provide carefully curated places, meetings and site visits with healthcare principals and property owners, and other resources. I serve as an advocate, advisor, and coordinator in English or Spanish offering attentive and compassionate guidance and support, especially during health care emergencies and end-of-life. 

Areas I focus on (where ex-pats live and where I have developed relationships with senior care and medical communities for 20+ years) are Baja California Norte, Cuernavaca, Guadalajara, Lake Chapala, Mazatlan, Merida, Puerto Vallarta, and San Miguel Allende in Mexico, plus Cuenca, Quito, and Vilcabamba in Ecuador.

I enjoy speaking with expat groups, faith communities, clubs and organizations about aging, senior care, palliative care, and what is involved in relocating to a Latin American country.   My American base is Los Angeles. My current Latin American base is in Mexico, both Guadalajara and Lake Chapala.

A little history…

Apparently, a doctor alerted my parents, medical and public health professionals, that I might not survive my birth. With the intervention of a miracle, and medicine, I became acutely aware over time of how important it is to receive quality care both allopathic and naturopathic.

Healthcare advocacy for diverse populations has been a career theme since 1999.

In California I worked as a Senior Center Director (with outreach to 600 Spanish-speaking older adults); County Office on Aging Head of Information and Outreach ( 92,000 seniors  out of 357,000 were economically insecure); Admissions Director, Marketing Director, and night time live-in Administrator at an exemplary Alzheimer’s campus with 40 beds; Communications and Media Director for a non-profit serving low income families and seniors; Activities Director and back-up Administrator at a highly-regarded Assisted Living home for 200; and as a Book Shepherd for health and wellness authors and publishers.

10 years as a health and mental health grant reviewer for a foundation.

Palliative care and hospice care coordinator and/or volunteer since 1999.  Psychosocial/Spiritual companion for the seriously ill or those nearing end-of-life. Gentle end-of-life doula.

My expertise has been developed tending to health challenges of family members and the public. I have studied various facets of health, mental health, and senior care systems in Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Europe, Mexico, and the U.S.

I’ve met extraordinary heroes and heroines, known and unknown, dedicated to well-being for all. Many have touched my heart. I trust I will be able to share with you, little by little, some special people, projects, and subjects.

If you need my assistance, I will be honored to show up! If interested, please scroll beyond my signature to read my educational history and training.  And, have a look see at my services page.

Wishing you a world of vibrant health and wellness!

Wendy Jane Carrel, wellnessshepherd@aol.com

State of California RCFE Administrator licenses, Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly. Renewable certifications for Hospice Care, Hospice Waiver Licenses, Alzheimer’s Care, Admissions, etc.  http://www.ccld.ca.gov/PG543.htm

Palliative Care training and certificate, Colegio Nacional de Cuidados Paliativos de Jalisco, Mexico www.comecupal.com.mx ; plus two years volunteering at Juntos Contra el Dolor, A.C., Guadalajara, MX and seven years volunteering and coordinating care for Lake Chapala residents with Juntos Contra el Dolor, A.C. and lakeside parishes.

Hospice training, FASEC, a foundation and hospice in Cuenca, Ecuador with Care Partners International of Bellevue, Washington  https://www.facebook.com/fasec.cuenca

Preparing for a Good Death (Prepararsi para Un Buen Morir) training with Argentinian psychiatrist Hugo Dopaso, author of El Derecho A Bien Morir and TED speaker in Argentina, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvCLm4GPoRY

Continuing Education (CE’s) gerontology, social work, chaplaincy, palliative care classes/seminars at universities in Los Angeles, other places in the U.S., and Guadalajara

End-of-Life Doula training  https://www.thedyingyear.org/ with palliative care and hospice nurse Merilynne Rush, former President NEDA National End-of-Life Doula Alliance    NEDA Alliance member, NEDA Proficient

Art of Spiritual Companioning certificate  University of Wisconsin, Green Bay

Hospice Chaplaincy Care Planning certificate    https://hospicechaplaincy.com/

PESI The Body Knows the Score certificate (trauma-informed care) with Bessel van der Kolk, MD; Hanna Institute Trauma-Informed Care Training with Nick Dalton. Hanna is an ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) grantee.

Breath-Body-Mind Teacher Training Level 1, evidence-based integrative mental health for relief of anxiety, stress and more based on the book Healing Power of the Breath (Shambhala, 2012).  See  https://www.breath-body-mind.com/

Palliative Care Tasmania End of Life Care certificate    https://www.pallcaretas.org.au/

Constelaciones Familiares (Family Constellations and Family Systems) training Guadalajara, MX

M.A. Investigative Journalism, UC Berkeley  http://journalism.berkeley.edu/

International Relations Diplomacy certificate, University of Stockholm International Graduate School, Sweden  http://www.ekohist.su.se/sis/

Level I and Level II Healing Touch at College of the Desert Nursing School, Palm Desert, CA

Level I and Level II Reiki, San Diego, CA  (helpful, for some, for relief of pain)