ELDER CARE PROGRAM SPRING 2016 NEWSLETTER
Dear All,

Greetings of the New Year! Perhaps you were able to get some rest during the campus closure and ease into work upon your return, or maybe you had little or no 'break' from your elder care responsibilities during the holidays rendering you feeling depleted and exhausted. 

I know that balancing work, family, elder care responsibilities and self-care can be difficult and overwhelming. Caregivers have a huge capacity to care for and about others, but tend to "back-burner" their own needs. Please remember that your health and well-being is essential, not optional. If you haven't done so already, make yourself a priority this year.

We are offering all new workshops this Spring, including two that are specific to you, the caregiver. In February, Dr. Michelle Peticolas will guide us through her film and discussion on facing death, both our own and our loved ones. Dr. Peticolas and other end-of-life experts believe that in order to understand our elders' experience of death and dying, it is important that we have a sense of our own. Please consider joining us for this unique opportunity.

Caregiving research continues to show that caregiver stress negatively affects ones' health, both physical and emotional. Our April workshop, Caring for the Caregiver, will focus on the importance of your self-care. I hope you will take the time to attend this workshop to learn how to keep yourself front and center!

And please remember, if you have an elder care concern that is beyond the scope of the workshops, consider meeting with me privately. Our meetings are free, confidential, and specific to your elder care situation. A care plan and resources will be provided. Please contact CARE Services at 510-643-7754. 

Take care,

Maureen
Spring 2016 Elder CARE Workshops

Be sure to go to the Elder Care Workshops and Resources  page to learn more about these upcoming workshops, additional information about the speakers, dates and times, and registration details.

Facing Death
Thursday, February 11th 
Tang Ed. Center, 12.10 - 1.30pm
Although death awaits us all, it's a subject our culture usually denies and avoids until we're forced to face it, perhaps with the decline of an older loved one. Many of us feel unprepared for the death of someone else, let alone for our own death. Through Dr. Peticolas' award-winning documentary Facing Death, workshop participants will be introduced to the stories of four insightful individuals who share profound truths about living fully while facing death.
This workshop will explore beliefs and fears around death, identify unfinished business, suggest action plans that support our physical, spiritual, emotional, and practical needs, and help us to become more comfortable and less resistant to facing death.
Please click here to register for this class.

Understanding and Responding to Dementia Behavior
Wednesday, March 23rd
Tang Ed. Center, 12.10 - 1.30pm
During the middle stage of dementia, the person with the disease often starts to exhibit new behaviors that can be confusing for a caregiver. These behaviors are a form of communication, and are essential to understanding the needs of the person with dementia. This workshop will help caregivers decipher behaviors and determine how best to respond by; Identifying common triggers for behaviors, explaining the process for assessing and identifying challenging behaviors, and listing strategies to address some common dementia-related behaviors. Please click here to register for this class.

Caring for the Caregiver
Wednesday, April 20th
Tang Ed. Center, 12.10 - 1.30pm
As the population ages and our health systems provide less and less care, more caregiving responsibilities are being borne by family members. Caregiver stress, a result of the emotional and physical strain of caregiving, is reported at much higher levels by family caregivers than by non-caregivers. Caring for a loved one strains even the most resilient among us and impacts health. Caregivers who ignore their own health may know the risks, but find it difficult or impossible to make room for themselves. This supportive workshop will provide education, suggestions, and resources for the care of family caregivers.

Planning for Elder Care
Wednesday, May 18th
Tang Ed. Center, 12.10 - 1.30pm
Facing issues of aging, illness, and caregiving can be daunting and overwhelming to elders and family members alike. Internet searches may provide an abundance of elder care resources, but may also be confusing and time-consuming.This reassuring and informative workshop will address the planning stages of elder care, provide vetted resources to get you started, and help reduce your stress and save you time in light of increasing elder care needs or a health crisis.
Please click here to register for this class.
CARE Services Spring Workshops 2016 
  
Be sure to go to the CARE Services Workshops page to learn more about these upcoming workshops, including more about the speakers, the times, and registration information.

How We Make Decisions: The Neuroscience of Decision Making  
Speaker: Ming Hsu, PhD
Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

Emotional Readiness for Retirement 
Speaker: Leslie Bell, PhD
Wednesday, February 10th, 2016

The Psychology of Technology 
Speaker: Dana Walsh, MFT
Thursday, March 3rd, 2016

Resilience and Renewal
Speakers: Laurie Yamamoto, LCSW, and Kathy Mendonca
Wednesday, April 27th, 2016
Faculty & Staff Programs

As part of University Health Services, UHS Faculty and Staff Health Programs offer faculty and staff an array of services that will help you lead a healthy and balanced life. These services include employee assistance, disability assistance, ergonomics, health and wellness, work-related medical treatment and work/life services and workshops. For a list of all upcoming workshops, please click here.
Sleeping Well to Live Well: The Role of Sleep in Normal and Abnormal Aging

Sleep changes substantially across the lifespan, and the mechanisms and functional consequences of these changes are poorly understood. 
This talk will give a broad overview of how sleep changes in normal and abnormal aging as well as present recent data highlighting the role of sleep in the development and progression of Alzheimer's Disease, discussing the potential for sleep as both a biomarker of abnormal aging and a novel treatment target to improve cognitive health in older adults at risk for cognitive decline.

When: January 21st, 2016
Time: 6 pm to 8 pm
Where: Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline Street, Berkeley
  
It Takes Two! A Refreshing Approach to Understanding and Coping with Dementia Behavior
This four week class is a wonderful, free opportunity. Offering new skills and tools for family caregivers who care for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias, in It Takes Two, you will:
  • Learn more about your relative's ability to understand and communicate.
  • Learn new skills to handle troubling behavior.
  • Feel more confident and positive about your caregiving role.
When: 1pm - 3pm, Friday February 5, 12, 19, & 26th.
Where: Jewish Home of San Francisco, 302 Silver Avenue
San Francisco.
Cost: FREE
 
Caregiver Survival 101: Caring for Someone with a Dementia - Reducing Your Stress

If the emotional ups, downs, & loop-de-loops are your head spin, this Caregiver Survival series offered by Eldercare Services may help you!

When: March 23, 2016
Time: 5.30 pm - 7 pm
Where: 1808 Tice Valley Bvd. Walnut Creek, CA 94595
  
Topics include: 
  • The major challenges of dementia care
  • Responses and reactions to reduce your stress
  • Self-care activities and mini-support group
Sharing Stories: An Online Community
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The internet provides access to many blogs which chronicle the day to day experiences of caregivers around the world.  You may find yourself nodding your head in understanding or smiling at the similar situations that greet these caregivers. Ultimately, blogs may provide you with the realization that you are not alone in your caregiving role or experiences. 

A great blog filled with caregiver tips and strategies, not to mention experiences, Ten Plus Years of Care, Commentary, and Cleaning Up is written by a caregiver working through the different stages that Lewy Body Dementia has had on her Father. This Parkinson-related dementia is known for its drastic mood swings and sometimes violent and erratic behavior. 

Alzwife chronicles the thoughts and experiences of a husband caring for his wife who has Alzheimer's disease.

My Dementia Experience is a great blog that discusses the fears, anxieties, and experiences of caring for someone with dementia.

 The Upside to Dementia is a poignant, at times humorous blog dedicated to the ups and downs of dementia from a daughter's point of view. 
Keep watch for information about our upcoming Elder Care 
webinars. Details to follow soon.
In This Issue
Quick Links

 

UC Berkeley Programs

> CARE Services

 

Community Resources

>Alzheimer's -NorCal

> Elder Care Locator

> Family Caregiver Alliance

Senior Center Without Walls


Senior Center Without Walls offers telephone activities, friendly conversation, and an assortment
of classes and support groups to older adults and caregivers in California who find it difficult to
participate in activities in their community. Participants can take part in these free activities using
their own telephones in the comfort of their homes.

Topics include:
 
- Elder Financial Fraud

- Living with Chronic Pain

To register and to request the 2016 schedule, please call 877-797-7299 


Technology Aids
The following gadgets may help you save time, money, and worries when caregiving.



Attach this wireless tile to your wallet or keys, install the app on your phone, and if you can't find your wallet or keys, simply use your app to locate them by making the tile beep. 




This intelligent thermostat senses when someone is in the room and adjusts the temperature to make it more comfortable. When the room is empty, the gadget reduces the heating or cooling, keeping your bills lower.


Book Recommendations


"Juggling Life, Work, and Caregiving" - Amy Goyer

"Amy Goyer shares wisdom and practical tips based on decades of personal experience as a caregiver.
Juggling Life, Work, and Caregiving is her guide to help caregivers at any stage of the journey manage day-to-day challenges and take care of themselves at the same time"

 

_________________


"Before I forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer's" - 
B. Smith and Dan Gasby

"This is a must-read for families, particularly African Americans, coping with Alzheimer's. WIth her husband and now caregiver, gorgeous lifestyle guru and restaurant founder B. Smith, 66, shares her struggle with this disease." 



About the
Elder CARE Program
Elder Care Hands

As part of CARE Services, the program offers confidential, free assistance for current UC Berkeley faculty and staff and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory employees who are caring for or concerned about an elder or dependent adult. 
 
The Elder Care Counselor, Maureen Kelly, is available to answer your questions, help set priorities, refer you to resources and provide support.

If you'd like to schedule an appointment with Maureen, please call

 
 (510) 643-7754