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Choices ~ Healing ~ Love
February 1, 2004 Publisher & Editor: Gail R. Mitchell - grm4love WELCOME JOURNAL EXERCISE UPDATES AT THE SITE CAREGIVERS' CONCERNS NEWS INFORMATIVE CAREGIVING ARTICLES & INSPIRATION MESSAGE BOARDS & EMAIL BAG JOKES & HUMOR DISCLAIMER  NEWSLETTER ARCHIVESSo much for global warming back here on the east coast. It's been an unusually cold winter across the nation. I quite like it as long as I am bundled up in layers. The air is so fresh and clean. However, there are many resident's without proper heating so it is important to insure that your loved one's have all the heat they needto maintain their health. Check out our new article by the Center For Disease Control and Prevention below. For those of you who have no children and are caregivers, have you ever thought of who would caregive to you should you need it in the future? This is a huge problem that many caregivers are anticipating. With dimminishing services and health care provisions across the board, we are saddled with really taking a good deal of care into our own hands if we choose not to opt for an assisted living facility or nursing home. Personally, I have had conversations with a few close friends who have and are caring for a loved one. We often think that we would move together to a small place and share a common cook, housekeeper and aid depending on our needs. I also think that there will be more communal living that will crop up as the need arises.. much like in the sixties but without the hippie connotation of sex, drugs and rock and roll. The boomer generation in particular have no prior models to follow in terms of aging as we know it today. People are living longer and many will work right up until it's their time to return to the creator. If you have any thoughts about this please email : aging@care-givers.com with your thoughts. I will post the results in the next newsletter. We are very fortunate to continue receiving caregiving article contributions in all areas of caring. Check out our new additions to the database below. Stay warm... take care.. May your journey be gentle and beautiful! National Organization For Empowering Caregivers NOFEC At a recent program where I presented, it was called to my attention that many members who access the Empowering Caregivers site were unaware that it was a part of National Organization For Empowering Caregivers www.nofec.org, a 501(c)(3) charitable non profit organization. We invite you to join in our complimentary membership at: Join Us. While you are there, please take a few minutes to fill in the Caregiver Survey. Your input is extremely valuable and we will respect your privacy. Your support in filling in the survey will help us and our funders to reveal areas where programming is most needed and where it will be most effectivec. Survey. Empowering Caregivers Chats Hosted chats are on Monday evenings and Thursday evenings. Dee is still ill and Prairie Gal has been consumed with caring for her dad and helping with her brother in law. If you would like to volunteer as a host, please fill in our application at: Chat Host. If you would like to volunteer moderating the boards, please fill out our application at: Moderator. Mary C. Fridley Hypothermia: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by CDC It's a Pity Party...And You're Invited! By Mary Fridley Study Shows People With Alzheimer's Can Benefit From Exercise - Alzheimer’s Association If you are interested in submitting an article(s) please go to: Submit. You will find a form for submitting your article, bio/profile, copyright permissions, etc. Please review our guidelines for acceptance, submit and we will notify you upon acceptance. ~ ~ In an interview years ago, Gail Gibson Hunt, who heads the National Alliance for Caregiving in Washington, D.C., admonished that caregiving is not a pathology. It has taken me years of personal and professional experience to understand just how empowering that insight truly is. Beth Witrogen Mcleod Beth Witrogen McLeod is an author, journalist, speaker and consultant on caregiving, end-of-life issues and renewal at midlife, especially for women. Beth is one of our featured experts at the Empowering Caregivers with one of the largest collections of her articles. She is a double Pulitzer Prize nominee, and has won many national and regional awards for her work. She has written for Good Housekeeping, SELF, Family Circle, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. Her latest book is Caregiving: The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss, and Renewal www.Witrogen.Com ~ Foundation For Grandparenting's Founder: Dr Kornhaber will be on the NBC Today show on Monday February 2, and Tuesday, February 3. He will be speaking about the subject close to our heart, promoting healthy and loving parent-grandparent relations. Dr. Kornhaber has written a first-ever new book for parents to help them understand the benefits of three-generational living and involving grandparents in their lives - “The Grandparent Solution (Jossey-Bass Publishers)s. Please see www.grandparenting.org. for details.. ~ The next meeting of the Lifespan Respite Task Force will be held on Thursday, February 19, 11:00 am in Conference room 2009, 2nd floor of American Psychological Association, 750 First St., NE, Washington, DC (next to Union Station). If you need directions, please contact Deborah A. Cotter, APA, Ph: (202) 336-5668. ~ The National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance in collaboration with the National Alliance for Caregiving, the National Respite Coalition, the Families and Healthcare Project of the United Hospital Fund, Americans for Better Care of the Dying, and the National Family Caregivers Association have worked together to create a statement of principles on caregiving designed to serve as a foundation document for caregiving policy initiatives..View document. ~ Don't forget the National Town Hall Meeting on Family Caregiving being organized by the National Family Caregivers Association and others. The event will be held on Capitol Hill on February 24 from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. (Continental breakfast will be available at 9:30 a.m.) in Russell Senate Caucus Room. For early registration, RSVP to Eliza Brinkmeyer at 301-652-1558 or email ebrinkmeyer@burnesscommunications.com. ~ The course will be based on the work of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, who has developed a model of aging in a conscious way. We will look at aging not as a time of decline, but rather as a time of exciting personal growth and development. At age 60, most of us will have another 20 or 30 years to live. We will discuss how to make those years satisfying and productive. The course will be highly interactive, with discussions and exercises to add to the student’s understanding. This course will be particularly suitable to those in the second half of life. Cost: $75, plus $20 for course text and supplies. Class Location: Continuing Education South Building. For more information, call: Gary Carlson, 505-897-1850. To register, call: Continuing Education, 505-277-0077 ~ Members will be supported in taking specific steps to set goals that enable more profound and satisfying caregiving. For caregivers who have not been able to attend support group meetings, This telephone group is convenient, private and not limited by geographical constraints. The focus is to strengthen the impact of your caregiving, while easing your burden. Open discussion, visualization, information/technique sharing with a focus on caregiver's goals, both short and long term, are emphasized. The tele-support meets twice monthly, over the phone, beginning Monday, January 19th, 2004 (6 pm ET, 5 pm CT, 3 pm PT) ~ Communicating Effectively with Healthcare Professionals empowers family caregivers to advocate more persuasively on behalf of their loved ones with the healthcare professionals providing treatment. It helps family caregivers function as true members of the healthcare team, assuring better continuity of care and better access to the resources needed by the care recipient. Apply online at www.nfcacares.org. CEU credits for nurses and social workers are available! For more information contact John Paul Marosy at 508.854.0341 or jpmarosy@nfcacares.org. ~ This conference is for parents and professionals for the care, treatment, and recovery of children with autism. The conference organizers are themselves parents of children with autism. Parents are, and must remain, the driving force of the autism community. The issues are too sacred and the stakes too high to delegate to outside interests. Autism One features over 100 speakers: many of the world's leading researchers, educators, practitioners, agencies, and parents. Learn about the latest treatments, your rights when dealing with school districts, the best ways to handle insurance companies, how to petition government agencies, along with a host of other pressing issues. In addition, leading parent-advocates and autism organizations will be on hand to present and inform For more information: Contact:Edmund Arranga at Ph:714.680.0792 E-mail or visit their site at: http://AutismOne.org ~ A caregiver support group is meeting 2x a month where people can come (drop in or attend regularly) and hopefully find some answers to questions and lessen feelings of sadness and isolation that people have when a loved one is given and/or cares for a loved one with a "severe" diagnosis. We seek to educate the public to issues about caregiving and the toll that it takes on people on businesses and on families... ~ The Families and Health Care Project of the United Hospital Fund is sponsoring a conference called “Family Caregiving in a Changing World, “ Thursday-Friday, March 4-5, at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. You can check our website at www.uhfnyc.org or contact Hollis Holmes at hholmes@uhfnyc.org. Ph: 212-494-0761.Brochure ~ The American Red Cross Family Caregiving program was released this onth as a series of nine modules providing resources and support to the family caregivers of the elderly and sick. The modules included in the program are:
For more information on the American Red Cross Family Caregiving Program, contact your local Red Cross chapter or visit their site at: Red Cross. You will have to locate your local Red Cross to find out about their nominal fees for the program. ~ The California Attorney General's released a handbook summarizing the state and federal laws designed to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The guide is focused on helping persons with disabilities and their families. It discusses different discrimination laws in different areas of the system. They also include information on programs, services, benefits and health care. For more information please go to: handbook. ~ The National Mental Health Association began their campaign to raise awareness onthe different types of depression. Among the most misunderstood is bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. Bipolar disorder can be tricky to identify. To hear their special audio report, please click here. ~ The National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) is pleased to release a new policy brief on critical family caregiving issues, funded by the Archstone Foundation. Caregiving and Retirement Planning: What Happens to Family Caregivers Who Leave the Work Force, is co-authored by Laurie Young, PhD, executive director, Older Women's League, and Sandra Newman, MPH, policy specialist, FCA's National Center on Caregiving. The policy brief highlights how retirement income can be affected by caregiving activities, with particular attention paid to the impact on women caregivers. Social Security, savings, pensions and unpaid leave are discussed. Policy recommendations for future action are included. ~ The Alzheimer’s Information Site (www.alzinfo.org) will be holding bi-weekly Online Expert Chats. The next event will be held January 21, 2003 at 7pm (ET). Our expert will be Dr. John Zeisel. John Zeisel, Ph.D., is a pioneer in non-pharmacologic treatment of Alzheimer's, is President of Hearthstone Alzheimer Care, and manages Assisted Living Alzheimer's treatment residences in New York and New England. For more information on Dr. Zeisel and the topic for this event please visit Alz Chats Alzinfo.org is a tool of the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation to educate people about this devastating disease. The mission of the website is to educate, engage an online community with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access to information and support via online chats, message boards and the most comprehensive resource databases available. For questions or comments please email info@alzinfo.org or call 1-800-ALZ-INFO ~
Promising practices in caregiver support among the states
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted a series ofreports on promising practices in caregiver support. Available on the CMS website: "Vouchers Caregivers Use to Pay for Services - Georgia";"Supporting Family Caregivers withPayment for Services - North Dakota";"Resource Counseling and Financial Assistance for Informal Caregivers - Pennsylvania"; and "State-Sponsored Endowed Trust Fund - Washington." Download: ~ The Medicare reform bill (H.R. 1) signed by President Bush on 12/8 will continue to entitle all Medicare beneficiaries access to hospice care regardless of which Medicare program they select. The Medicare hospice benefit will continue to provide comprehensive coverage to Medicare beneficiaries who are terminally ill. The recently passed Medicare reform bill expands upon the existing hospice benefit to allow Medicare-certifiedhospices to contract with other Medicare-certified hospices for core services when unanticipated staffing shortages arise or when there is an unusually high demand for care. This revision in Medicare law also enables continuous coverage for traveling patients. The reform legislation allots coverage for a one-time hospice consultation for terminally ill beneficiaries. The hospice consultation service includes evaluation of the beneficiary’s pain and symptom management needs, counseling regarding end-of-life issues and options, and advising the individual regarding advance care planning. The full text of the newly enacted Medicare legislation can be found on the U.S. Congress’ Thomas Web site at: http://thomas.loc.gov. ~ The American Diabetes Association launched the new "diabetes.org" Web site. Developed to better serve the ever-increasing online audience, the enhanced Web site is packed with fresh content and more resources than ever before. In addition, new navigation will make clicking to your favorite areas simpler than ever. To address the distinctive demands of each and every viewer, the new site features "mini-sites," where visitors can find information and distinctive navigation bars tailored to fit the needs of health professionals, parents, children, our Spanish-speaking audience, and those newly diagnosed with diabetes. The new diabetes.org will be better than ever. View at: Diabetes.Org ~ I am a graduate student in rehabilitation psychology at University of Wisconsin Madison. I have had the opportunity to work with individuals with TBI and their families, and pursued more school so I could commit more time and energy to somehow improving the services and funding in this area. I am pursuing what I feel to be much needed research in the area of how families cope/care for a family member/loved one who has experienced a traumatic brain injury. I believe this is an area that still continues to be ignored by researchers and health care professionals and demands more attention. I am hoping there may be caregivers of persons with TBI out there who are interested in participating in my research. It is vitally important to raise the awareness and service provisions for families and the individual to which they are caring. To participate, you need to be currently involved in the care for a family member / loved one with a TBI who sustained the injury at or after age 18, and the injury needs to have ocurred no less than one year ago. If you choose to participate, it involves completing a survey (which can be done in your home at your leisure) that takes about 30-45 minutes. You also receive $25 for your time right away. Best regards, ~ Locks of Love is a nonprofit group that provides free custom-fitted hair prostheses to financially disadvantaged childrensuffering from long term or permanent hair loss. The organization serves children under 18 suffering ill effects from Alopecia, burns, extended chemotherapy, radiation to the brainstem, injury, ectodermaldysplasia, trichotillomania, or any other medical cause of hair loss. ~ In 2004, the Rosalynn Carter Institute is inaugurating a new award for professional caregivers. The purpose of the Rosalynn Carter Institute Caring & Competent Caregiver Award is to recognize exemplary professional caregivers across the nation who, through service to others, demonstrate uncommon levels of competence and care to those in need and their family caregivers. Award recipients will receive a commemorative bronze medallion from former First Lady Rosalynn Carter during the Gala Celebration of Caregivers at Symphony Hall in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 15, 2004.
To nominate someone for the award, complete the Nomination Form and submit, along with appropriate supporting documentation, to the Rosalynn Carter Institute no later than February 13, 2004. For more information go to: http://www.rosalynncarter.com/ Phone: 229-928-1234 * Fax: 229-931-2663 * Washington Office: 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002 ~ Physicians should focus attention on the well-being of this hidden, at-risk population, as well as the patient they are treating. Caregiver self assessment tool at: AMA Top Of Page Quotes The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Mahatma Gandhi. There are only four kinds of people in the world: Within each one of us there is a master of the universe. Not the universe out there but the inner universe of our thoughts and feelings, attitudes and actions. It is a universe we are not encouraged to explore, and when we do, we are often pooh pood by those who prefer to avoid looking within themselves. And yet the metaphors contained within all our fairy stories, mythologies and legends are based on awakening, conquering and mastering our inner world. But why you may ask? Simply because, if we don't, we will never know what it is to be fully conscious, to fully live... to live a fulfilled life. We will never know the beauty of our inner landscape. We will never harness the energy and power that is available to us - the power of our inner peace, the power of our creative minds, the power of the virtue which we each contain. Most people realise too late what awaits within and how valuable it is. For too long we allow ourselves to be distracted and bewitched by all that is happening outside. To be the master of your inner world is to be the master of your own destiny. Are you going to be the master or a slave? Marlene Rodriguez It’s the book that’s changed the life of millions. Download a FREE eBook of James Allen’s "As A Man Thinketh." "I have personally read As a Man Thinketh over 25 times." - Mark Victor Hansen, co-author, the Chicken Soup books. To Download a FREE eBook of James Allen’s "As A Man Thinketh." Visit ~ ~ ~ Tom Krause I had an opportunity to see the movie " Calendar Girls" which is based on a true story, It tells of 11 middle-aged women from a small village in Yorkshire, England who are all members of the Local Women's Institute . Every year they create a somewhat boring calendar on scenes and activities around the local area. However, after one of the women's husbands became ill with leukemia. and passed away the women decide to do an artistically nude calendar in hopes of selling a few hundred copies locally to raise funds to purchase a new sofa for the family's waiting room at the hospital so that they could spend their hours at the hospital waiting with a bit more comfort. Not anticipating the impact both of the calendar and the cause behind it, it has become a huge International success; raising more then they dared to imagine for leukemia research. The movie is heartwarming and touching. Caregivers alike can appreciate the support and bonding of these women. Having the courage to reach out to your friends and to do something out of the norm as they did even with the repercussions was a remarkably empowering experience for them all in the final analysis. Caregiver4DH Hi! Just found your site tonight or I should say this morning, about 2am. Was looking for something like this out of desperation. Mom lives with my hubby and me. (We have been married 2 1/2 years and she has lived with us for 2 years). Although she can take care of most of her needs, she basically just needs me to drive her to appts., wash her clothes, fix her hair, and make sure there is nourishing food in the 'fridge. That part isn't too hard, but for months she has been badmouthing hubby and me to her friends, my kids, etc. and today it all blew up, when instead of keeping it to herself, she verbally attacked my husband. Now he has left and is staying in a motel tonight and doesn't want to come home as long as she is here. I feel put in the middle which he sympathizes with but that's about it. I think she may have some dementia, but not sure. She says/does things and then later says she didn't say it or do it. She even told my son (18) that she thought my husband was poisoning us. This was several months ago. Her elderly friends believe everything she says. She is never grateful that we provide for her and offered her a place to stay when the only other option would have been assisted living. We have a very quiet, peaceful household until she gets 'nit-picky' about everything. I know it seems I'm complaining, and I guess I am venting a bit. I realize others have much worse situations, but this is affecting all our lives and just knowing that others are dealing with similar situations is helpful. I've been reading some on the boards and feel much better already. AngelGirl. ~
My 83 year old father had a brain stem stroke on December 31. Although he doing very well in rehab, my 80 year old mother is having trouble seeing happiness in the future, is worrying about being a caregiver, and all the other things there are for a spouse of 60 years to think about. I would love for her to be able to correspond via email with a caregiver in a similar situation...not necessary an elderly person, but someone who has changed her life in order to care for a spouse. Mom is fairly adapt at emailing, looks forward to checking for them every morning and always replies.
Also, although she will be her primary caregiver, both my sister and I are a large part of his care and we have the resources to hire whatever help we need. ~ While on a road trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant and resumed their trip. Subject: Period A kindergarten class had a homework assignment to find out something exciting and relate it to the class the next day. When the time came to present what they'd found, the first little boy the teacher called on walked up to the front of the class, and with a piece of chalk, made a small white dot on the blackboard and sat back down. Puzzled, the teacher asked him what it was. "It's a period," he replied. I can see that," said the teacher, "but what is so exciting about a period?" Darned if I know," he said, "but this morning my sister was missing one. Mommy fainted, daddy had a heart attack and the boy next door joined the army. "Phone Call" A woman, calling a local hospital, said, "Hello, I'd like to talk with the person who gives the information regarding your patients. I'd like to find out if the patient is getting better, or doing as expected, or is getting worse." ~ THAT'S IT FOR THIS ISSUE Subscribe: empoweringcaregivers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com REGARDING THE FORWARDING OF THE NEWSLETTER: Please do not forward this letter or subscribe anyone if they have not given you permission. We would like you to share it with others, but we do not want those who are not open to receiving it to be subjected to your forwarding it without their express permission. Thank you. DISCLAIMER: The Empowering Caregivers Site and the Empowering Caregivers newsletter contain views, opinions, statements, and recommendations of third party individuals, writers, advertisers and organizations. Empowering Caregivers/www.care-givers.com does not represent or endorse the views, accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, product or service displayed or distributed on this web site. You acknowledge that any reliance upon such opinion, advice, statement or information shall be at your sole risk. The information provided by Empowering Caregivers / www.care-givers.com is for educational purposes only and should not be treated as medical advice. Nothing contained on Empowering Caregivers/www.care-givers.com is intended to be for medical diagnosis or treatment or a substitute for consultation with a qualified healthcare professional. In no event will Empowering Caregivers / www.care-givers.com, its affiliates, partners, agents, or contractors be liable to you for any damages or losses resulting from or caused by Empowering Caregivers / www.care-givers.com and its services, including use of the community message boards and chat rooms, free email, free web pages, content (including articles, stories, news) or any errors or omissions in ts content, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
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