The Caregiver Community

Are you frustrated because your father can’t hear? Are you concerned about your mother’s vision loss? Do you worry about their safety in the home? Do you wish you could help them enjoy reading and watching television again? Perhaps you aren’t even aware that they might have a vision and/or hearing loss! These are just some of the questions and issues that we will be discussing in this session of the Caregiver Community.

Join Jane Everson and Frances Hall as we talk with Paige Berry, National Coordinator for Senior Adult Services with the Helen Keller National Center about vision and hearing losses as we age. Ms. Berry has more than 40 years of experience serving and advocating for seniors with vision and/or hearing losses.

If you are juggling the needs of aging parents and in-laws with spouses, children, step-children, pets, work, and volunteer activities, The Caregiver Community is for you!

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Talking with aging parents about sensitive subjects is almost always challenging for adult child caregivers. When parents have a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or another other age related form of dementia or memory loss, the conversations can be even more challenging. Nevertheless, discussing sensitive topics – such as living independently, driving, managing finances, and estate planning – often cannot be avoided.

In this session, Jane and Frances talk about the challenges of communicating with parents with Alzheimer’s or other age-related types of dementia or memory loss, along with strategies for making these conversations less challenging and more successful.

Their guest is Meghan Lawton, Regional Manager, Alzheimer's Association – Western Carolina Chapter. Meghan understands dementia and Alzheimer's both professionally and personally, as several family members have or have had the disease

If you are juggling the needs of aging parents and in-laws with spouses, children, step-children, pets, work, and volunteer activities, The Caregiver Community is for you!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our aging population is creating historically unique challenges to families, the workforce, our medical and health care systems, and our caregiving culture. Ten million adult-child caregivers, the majority of whom are working-age adults are hit especially hard by these challenges. In this session, we will be talking about balancing family and setting boundaries while we care for our aging parents – and for ourselves. Every caregiving situation is unique, and of course, every caregiver and every aging parent is unique. However, most of us struggle with juggling our caregiving for our parents with time with our spouses, time with our own children, doing our jobs well, making time for volunteer work, and attending to our own personal health. How do we keep from feeling guilty? How do we set boundaries? How do we juggle it all? These are just some of the questions we will be discussing in this session of the Caregiver Community.

Join Jane Everson and Frances Hall as we chat with Dr. Isabelle Eustice. Dr. Eustice is a board certified psychiatrist with specialization in geriatric psychiatry. She earned her medical degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana and completed a geriatric residency with the University of South Florida in Tampa. Dr. Eustice has been the staff psychiatrist with Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, North Carolina since 2012.

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As our parents age, they may need to change their housing arrangements. These changes may be relatively minor, such as modifying their homes to make them more physically accessible or safe or securing home-based medical, health, or companion services to allow them to live in their homes more safely and independently. Changes also may be much more significant, such as moving to a new residence that is more accessible and that provides more substantial medical and assistive services. No matter how minor or major the changes, these decisions will be stressful for everyone!

 

Every community is unique, and every family situation is unique. And of course, every older adult is unique, so the housing choice that is right for one person may not be right for another person. How do we know how to guide our parents? Ted Goins, President and CEO of Lutheran Services Carolinas, understands the range of housing options open to seniors and the difficult questions associated with choosing the best option. Join Jane and Frances as they chat with Ted about housing and aging. If you are juggling the needs of aging parents and in-laws with spouses, children, step-children, pets, work, and volunteer activities, The Caregiver Community is for you!

 

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Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia sometimes present symptoms (behaviors) that can be difficult to manage. Join host Frances Hall as she talks with Ms. Mary Ann Drummond and Ms. Janie Benton about journeying with a loved one with Alzheimer's, Lewy-Body or one of the hundreds of other forms of dementia. Learn specific strategies for managing the sometimes-difficult symptoms often associated with diseases, exciting new treatments for the conditions, and ways caregivers may take care of themselves. With training and background as registered nurses, Ms. Drummond and Ms. Benton have years of experience working with patients who have dementia as well as helping families better understand how to care for their loved ones. Ms. Drummond is Vice President of Operations at Carillon Assisted Living, an Alzheimer's educator and author. Ms. Benton is the director of clinical services with Carillon Assisted Living and an Alzheimer's educator. (Podcast supports ACAPcommunity Module 3, Program 2)

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In this episode our hosts (Dr. Jane Everson & Frances Hall) will be talking about strategies for preventing a common and frightening problem many of us face as our parents age - falling and the fall-related injuries that may occur.

Our guest is Ms. Tina Miller, the Area Agency on Aging Director for the greater Hickory region in North Carolina. Tina has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from North Carolina State University, and a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from Appalachian State University. Among her additional certifications, she is a certified Matter of Balance Master Trainer.

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Join Dr. Jane Everson and Ms. Frances Hall with this episode’s guest, Ms. Karen Lee Martinez, Outreach Librarian for the Northwest Area Health Education Center (NWAHEC), a department of Wake Forest School of Medicine and a part of the North Carolina AHEC program. Karen offers listeners practical guidelines for evaluating the health and medical information we find on websites. She also shares websites that adult-child caregivers might find useful they begin their caregiving journeys with their parents and other aging family members.

Websites of note mentioned:

Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine (nlm.nih.gov)

MedlinePlus (nlm.nih.gov)

What did My Doctor Say? (mlanet.org)

Recognizing health fraud from the Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov)(consumer.ftc.gov)

NIH Senior Health (nihseniorhealth.gov)

NC Health Info (nchealthinfo.org)

NC Live (nclive.org)

Medicare (medicare.gov)

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As families become more mobile and less place bound, many of us are struggling with caregiving from a distance. What resources are available to help?   Join Dr. Jane Everson and Ms. Frances Hall with this month’s guests, Nancy Ruffner, President and Professional Advocate with NAVIGATE NC and Sharon Kilpatrick, a Geriatric Care Manager with Kilpatrick Care Management as they discuss caregiving from a distance.   

 

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Guest Dr. Barbara Laufer, Professor Emeritus with Towson University in Maryland, joins our hosts as they talk about aging and hearing losses. Learn about the roles of speech-language pathologists and audiologists, the causes and types of hearing loss, assessment tools, and types of aids and devices.   

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Hosts Dr. Jane Everson and Ms. Frances Hall are joined in studio by Dr. Sue Friguglietti, as she talks about tips and strategies for assessing mom and dad’s home environment and physical status when visiting them during the holidays or during other home visits.

Dr. Sue Friguglietti is an Associate Professor and Academic Fieldwork Coordinator in the Occupational Therapy department at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC.  Sue holds a bachelor's degree in occupational therapy, a master's in gerontology and a Doctorate of Health Administration.   

If you are juggling the needs of spouses, children, step-children, pets, work, volunteer activities and parents and in-laws, The Caregiver Community is for you.

 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.