Greetings from Liberty Healthcare Services!

July 2011

Each month we bring news and information that is important to you and your family regarding senior issues, elder care and much more. Enjoy our June enews!

Greetings,

Happy Summer! This month we celebrate our Nations Independence, The Sandwich Generation and Social Wellness. Have a safe and fun July 4th and remember the caregivers (mostly the Sandwich Generation) in your life! Give them a break and tell them how much they are appreciated!

Warm Regards,

Kevin Zepp, President

Liberty Healthcare Services

Liberty Healthcare Happenings!

Hamilton NJ:

Our Hamilton location will have a HHA class starting July 12th through July 29th Tuesday thru Friday from 9a - 3p.

Our Hamilton location will also have a conversion class from CNA to CHHA on July 27th and 28th from 9a - 2p. Please call Hamilton office for details, 609-890-0311.

Men Are Caregivers, Too

Men Are Caregivers, Too

Almost half the people who care for an elderly, disabled, or chronically ill family member or friend are men. But the way they cope is different from women.

By Richard Trubo WebMD Feature

Marty Beilin plays many roles in his day-to-day life -- from breadwinner to husband to father of two daughters. But for the past five years, he has also found himself thrust into a new and unanticipated role -- as primary caregiver for his wife, Debbie, who has multiple sclerosis.

"It changed everything," says Marty, who teaches school in the Philadelphia area. "There's shock, denial, anger, guilt, and then finally acceptance."

Marty has assumed a long list of responsibilities in caring for his wife who must use a wheelchair or a motorized scooter when she leaves the house. "Debbie has chronic, progressive MS, but luckily she has not been so impaired that I've had to stop working," says Beilin. "At this point, we try to live as normally as we can. The key is to find a way to be a caregiver , but also to go beyond just coping skills and to have a life."

According to the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA), there are more than 54 million Americans like Beilin who have provided care for an elderly , disabled, or chronically ill family member or friend during the past year. Even though caregiving is often thought of as a role assumed primarily by women, an NFCA survey found that 44% of caregivers are men.

Beilin is president of the 14-year-old Well Spouse Foundation, which provides information and support for spousal caregivers. "There hasn't been enough attention to the needs of family caregivers," says Beilin. "People see the person in a wheelchair, but they don't really focus on the person pushing the wheelchair."

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Meet Our Team!

Elizabeth Kodran, R.N. Vice President of Clinical Services

Beth comes to Liberty Healthcare Services with an extensive healthcare background in hospital and home care, as well as administrative experience. She started her nursing career at Brick Hospital as Charge Nurse on a Med/Surg floor and later in ICU/CCU. When she left the hospital setting in 1989 she went in to home care with Holy Redeemer VNA as a field nurse, case manager, marketing and ultimately as an Administrator of Home Health and Hospice in the Ocean County office. After leaving HRVNA in 2000 she became a liaison between Southern Ocean County Hospital and Deborah Heart and Lung Center, then transitioning to Case Manager at Deborah Heart and Lung Center. Beth joined Liberty Healthcare Services in 2009 as a field nurse/supervisor and recently became Vice President of Clinical Services.

beth@lhshomecare.org

732-408-4002