For Veterans And Their Caregivers:  Special Workshop Sept. 23
  

Caregivers of our military veterans are the focus for a special workshop the Caregiver Coalition and Community Hospice Veterans Partnership will co-host on Friday, Sept. 23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Community Hospice in Mandarin.

We will welcome national speakers, including Deborah Grassman from Bay Pines VA Healthcare System and Margaret Kabat, the VA's national caregiver support program manager. We'll also cover topics such as Caring for the Caregiver, Spiritual Aspects of Caregiving and Social Service and VA Resources for Veterans.

The event is free and lunch will be included. To register or request free care for your loved one during the workshop, call 904.407.6790.

U.S. Caregiving Valued At $450 Billion, AARP Research Finds
 

If the unpaid contributions of U.S. family caregivers had a dollar value placed on them, they'd generate nearly half a trillion dollars in economic impact, according to an AARP Public Policy Institute paper.

The report, part of AARP's Valuing the Invaluable series on the economic value of family caregiving, estimated these caregivers' value at $450 billion in 2009, up from nearly $375 billion in 2007. The paper also reported that for 2009, about 42.1 million U.S. family caregivers cared for an adult with limitations in daily activities at any given point in time, and about 61.6 million provided care at some time during the year.

The report also explains the contributions of family caregivers, details the costs and consequences of providing family care, and provides policy recommendations to better support caregiving families. For more information and to access the full report, fact sheets and previous years' studies, visit the AARP website.

Review Senior Care Service And Drink Up At Starbucks!

Have you had an experience-good or bad-with a senior service provider, and want to share your story with fellow caregivers? Caring.com is giving you a way to do that, and offering a $5 Starbucks gift card for your review.

Simply visit Caring.com's Ratings & Reviews entry page and rate a service provider by August 10. Providers can include living facilities, in-home care, hospice providers and other organizations. The Starbucks card will be whisked to you via e-mail.

Social Security/SHINE Partnership Streamlines Services For Seniors

A new partnership between the Jacksonville South branch of the Social Security Administration and ElderSource's SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) program is enhancing service to Medicare and Social Security beneficiaries, family members and caregivers in need.

Clients can now visit the Social Security Office at 7185 Bonneval Road, Suite 1

in Jacksonville and get one-on-one Medicare counseling from an experienced SHINE Volunteer. A Duval County SHINE volunteer staffs window 10 each Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on a first-come first-served basis.

With the combined expertise of Social Security specialists and SHINE volunteers in one location, Medicare beneficiaries get the most accurate and timely information to resolve concerns - more than 100 since April. Plans are under way to add more SHINE volunteer counselors to meet the growing need, along with plans to extend this partnership to other SSA branches in Florida.

SHINE's unbiased and confidential counseling services are available at no cost to elders, people with certain disabilities and caregivers through ElderSource. Learn more about SHINE services or partnership opportunities by calling 800.963.5337.

Home Safety For Your Loved One With Alzheimer's Disease 

As caregiver to a person with Alzheimer's disease, you face a larger, ongoing challenge of adapting to constant changes in your loved one's behavior and functioning. It can be very difficult to predict what, or when, changes will occur in his or her condition. By taking a proactive approach to ensuring home safety for your loved one, you can reduce your own stress and find peace of mind.

Here are some things to consider:

• Have you set the answer machine to turn on after the fewest number of rings?
• Have you hidden a spare key outside?
• Have you kept any potentially dangerous items out of the way?
• Should your loved one become prone to wandering, rummaging or hiding things from you, how do you adapt your environment?

Our friend Pat Colvin from Colvin Health Group has some ideas that can help. You'll find the full article on our website, mycaregiverconnection.org.

Helping Someone with Dementia Communicate

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias can gradually diminish a person's ability to communicate. People with dementia have more difficulty expressing thoughts and emotions. They also have more trouble understanding others.

Our ability to exchange our ideas, wishes and feelings is a basic need. Good communication is difficult to achieve for anyone, and it involves more than talking and listening. Communicating with a person with dementia requires patience and understanding. Above all, you must be a good listener.

To help the person communicate:

• Be patient and supportive - Let the person know you're listening and trying to understand what is being said.
• Show your interest - Keep good eye contact. Show the person that you care about what is being said, even when you do not understand what they are saying.
• Offer comfort and reassurance - Let the person know it's okay. Encourage them to continue to explain their thoughts.
• Avoid criticizing or correcting - Don't tell the person that their statements are incorrect. Instead, listen and try to find the meaning in what is being said. Repeat what was said, as it may help to clarify the thought.
• Avoid arguing - If the person says something you don't agree with, let it be. Arguing usually only makes things worse.
• Offer a guess - If the person uses the wrong word or cannot find a word, try guessing the right one. If you understand what the person means, you may not need to give the correct word. Be careful not to cause unnecessary frustration for the person with dementia or yourself.
• Encourage unspoken communication - If you don't understand what is being said, ask the person to point or gesture.
• Limit distractions - Find a place that's quiet, so you won't be interrupted. The surroundings should support the person's ability to focus on his or her thoughts.
• Focus on feelings, not the facts - Sometimes the emotions being expressed are more important than what is being said. Look for the feelings being the words.

For more information on communicating with someone with dementia, contact the Alzheimer's Association at 800.272.3900.