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Newsletter Credits
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Editors
A.J. Dugay
Andrea Orvik
Michelle Venegas
Contributors
Kathleen Kelly
A.J. Dugay
Andrea Orvik
Lana Sheridan
Michelle Venegas
Graphics/Production
Andrea Orvik
Executive Director
Kathleen A. Kelly
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Board of Directors
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Directors
Ping Hao, President
Herman S. Brown
Katy Thomas Fike
Moira Fordyce
Jeff Kumataka
Jacquelyn Kung
Mark Lachman
Dan Lieberman
Michael Malewicz
Rajiv Mehta
Kathleen Raffel
F. Burns Vick
Deborah Wolter
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A new year is an opportunity to reflect on what we have accomplished in the previous year as well as note what lessons we have learned. It is a fresh start. At FCA, we hope that you take this new beginning and prioritize caring for yourself even when a lot of your time and energy is devoted to caring for a loved one. To care for another to the best of your abilities you NEED to care for yourself, prioritize your own emotional health and well-being.
We would appreciate any feedback that you have for us on our monthly newsletters. Please email me directly at adugay@caregiver.org.
Sincerely,
AJ Dugay
Education Coordinator, Family Caregiver Alliance
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 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
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FCA launches NEW program: FCA+(plus)
 As of January 1, 2015 FCA+(plus), our new signature program, offering fee for service care management, began accepting clients. Click on the link for more information about the program.
 The Stanford Geriatric Education Center, Family Caregiver Alliance, Openhouse, Alzheimer's Association, UCSF NorCal Geriatric Education Center, Institute on Aging and The San Francisco Department of Aging are hosting a 1-day educational program on dementia care and caregiving for diverse, (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) older adults. Come join leading experts and community leaders at this anticipated event designed specifically for the LGBT community, their famillies, friends and partner caregivers, as well as healthcare/social service providers and policy makers.
When: February 20, 2015 from 8:30am-5:00pm
Where: The Milton Marks Conference Center,
Hiram W. Johnson State Office Building, Lower Level
455 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102
Register online. View the brochure for more detailed information.
*If you are interested in exhibiting at this conference, please contact AJ Dugay (Education Coordinator at FCA) at 415-434-3388 ext. 313 or adugay@caregiver.org
You are invited to attend the 2014 Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer's Disease Caregiving Legacy Awards ReceptionThe reception will be held at the 2015 Aging in America Conference on Wednesday, March 25th from 6:00pm to 8:00pmWhere: Hyatt Regency Chicago151 East Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois, USA, 60601This reception honors the recent winners of the Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer's Disease Caregiving Legacy Awards. These programs focus on improving the lives of adults with Alzheimer's disease and their family caregivers through creative expression programming, targeting diverse/multicultural communities, and organizing for advocacy and policy changes. The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation and Family Caregiver Alliance's National Center on Caregiving are pleased to host this reception and invite everyone to attend.
NEW General Caregiver Support Group in Alameda County Starting in February!
Join FCA for an ongoing monthly support group for family caregivers on the third Wednesday of each month.
First Session: Wednesday: February 18, 2015 from 6:00pm-7:30pm
For more information: Please contact Tiffany Pippen, MSW, Family Caregiver Alliance at 415-434-3388 ext. 304 or email tpippen@caregiver.org
*If you are not a client of FCA's, please call to register before going to this support group.
Petition to Support CA Seniors & People With Disabilities on SSI/SSP
Low SSI/SSP grant levels have left California seniors hungry, homeless or with extraordinary housing cost burdens, unable to afford medical care, and without access to the basics like clothing, transportation, or the ability to take care of basic needs like doing laundry or buying hygiene items.
Join us by signing the petition and telling our state policy-makers to take action and improve SSI/SSP starting in the 2015-16 legislative session.
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| LEAD ARTICLES FOR CAREGIVERS |
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This Nursing Home Calms Troubling Behavior Without Risky Drugs
Agitation is common in some people with Alzheimer's. Often, nursing homes will manage this with antispsychotic drugs rather than taking time to doing meaningful activities.
Consumer Agency Launches Tool To Help You Find A Cheaper Mortgage
Everyone loves a good bargain. But, when it comes to finding a good mortgage, most of us do not shop around to see what different banks may be offering. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is launching a set of online tools today to make these comparisons and decisions easier for U.S. homebuyers.
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"Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment we rise above ourselves."
- Mason Cooley
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A sibling's guide to caring for aging parents - PBS Newshour Caring for an aging parent alone is complicated. When your brothers and sisters are also involved, and when care, medical and financial decisions must be arrived at together as a team, caregiving can become even more complex. Your siblings can be enormously helpful and your best support. But in many families, they can also be a source of stress. No two families are ever alike.
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the things which you think you cannot do."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
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8 Technologies Changing Home Healthcare - Information Week
Technologies such as sensors, GPS, and even senior-focused social networks can help seniors continue to live at home.
"We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone."
- Ronald Reagan
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For The Record: Aging Out and Moving On - NPR
The number of aging seniors is expected to double in the next 35 years. This means that many families will be facing the difficult decision of what to do when a loved one is no longer able to take care of themselves.
Five new movies explain why caregiving is real work - The Washington Post These new films depict just how difficult it is to care for someone with serious illness or disabilities. |
CAREGIVER INFORMATION
| | 8 Areas of Age-Related Change - National Institutes of Health
Learn more about common changes related to aging.
Partnership with Home Instead and Hilarity for Charity offering respite grants throughout the U.S.
 Hilarity for Charity®, (actor, Seth Rogan's charity), and the Home Instead Senior Care® network are working together to award home care grants to those providing care to their loved ones living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. Application available online.
Brochure on Different Programs that Help Low-income families Pay for Utilities - California Public Utilities Commission
This h elpful brochure is available to families in both English and Spanish. Click to download one today.
Walk and Talk for Caregivers Program - El Camino Hospital
Meet & Move is free and open to adults who provide some level of caregiving to an aging relative or friend, have access to the Internet and currently live in Mountain View, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, Cupertino and surrounding communities. For general information and information about the next orientation please call 650-934-3556.
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| FCA PRESENTATIONS & WORKSHOPS | | |
January 21, 2015; 12:00pm-1:30pm (PST) ONLINE
Family Caregiver Alliance presents a FREE webinar on ways tech serves families caring at home for ill or elderly loved ones
- January 21, 2015: Guide to Tech Services & Products: Making the Best Match for Your Family's Needs. If you're not a tech wiz, how do you find and evaluate the new digital products that are available right now? In the second of this two-webinar series, we'll offer useful tips and checklists to guide your decision-making. Click HERE to register.
January 28, 2015; 1:00pm-2:00pm (PST) ONLINE The Normal Aging Process and How it Affects the Body - Webinar
FCA presents a webinar on how aging affects the body and suggestions on healthy aging. Our bodies are miraculous, over hundreds of miles of nerves, tendon, muscles and veins. Mix in the water, minerals and brain matter and we have a life. An average life span for 2014 is now 80.4 years in California. As our bodies age each body system goes through changes. We will discuss each of the 11 body systems and how they may be altered by age. We will also look at ways we can either slow or repair those changes.
*This webinar costs $15 (please purchase ticket at least 24 hours before this webinar). You have the option to register to view it live OR as a recording. CEU's are available through the Board of Behavioral Sciences (MFTs, LCSWs, Ed. Psychologists, & Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors). REGISTER ONLINE
January 29, 2015; 5:00pm-7:00pm in San Mateo
Taking Care of SoMEone Else: Self-Care for the Family Caregiver
A dynamic 2-hour workshop for YOU, the caregiver! Caring for a family member may extend over many years, and the tendency may be to set your life aside during this time. You are invited to stay open to change, to think about other ways you might be handling your caregiving situation, and how you can take action on YOUR OWN behalf by learning a few tools to help YOU take care of YOU!
Subjects covered: steps to identify sources of stress and how to manage them, negative self-talk, inability to ask for help, and identifying what we can and cannot change.
When: Thursday: January 29, 2015
5:00pm-7:00pm
Where: Mission Hospice and Home Care
1670 S. Amphlett Blvd., Suite 300
San Mateo, CA 94402
Speaker: Christina Irving, LCSW, Family Consultant,
Family Caregiver Alliance
To Register: Contact Lisa Deal at Ldeal@missionhospice.org or (650) 554-1000
February 19, 2015; 1:00pm-4:00pm in San Rafael There Must be a Better Way Than This!  Communicating with a loved one who has Alzheimer's disease or another dementia can be frustrating and disheartening. However, a few simple strategies can make caregiving easier and help you continue to feel connected to your loved one.
In this interactive half-day workshop we will discuss how dementia affects a person's ability to understand and communicate. Participants will be coached on the best ways to handle troubling behavior and how to speak with and respond to a person with memory loss.
When:
Thursday: February 19, 2015
1:00pm-4:00pm
930 Tamalpais Ave. San Rafael, CA 94901
Speaker:
Tiffany Pippen, MSW, Family Consultant
Family Caregiver Alliance To Register: Contact the Education Coordinator at 800-445-8106 ext. 313 or email adugay@caregiver.org with your name and the title of this class.
February 25, 2015; 1:00pm-2:00pm ONLINE
The Mindful Caregiver: Why Self-Care Really Matters (Webinar)
Many caregivers focus so much on trying to meet their care recipient's needs that they lose sight of what their own needs are. It can then become difficult for them to recognize how stressed out they really are and the impact of this stress. This workshop will inspire participants to become "mindful caregivers." Participants will be able to identify how unrealistic expectations caregiver beliefs, difficulty with saying no and holding onto guilt, can fuel stress. Participants will learn how to utilize mindfulness approaches and appreciate how the "spirit-side of caring" can transform the caregiving experience.
*This webinar costs $15 (please purchase ticket at least 24 hours before this webinar). You have the option to register to view it live OR as a recording. CEU's are available through the Board of Behavioral Sciences (MFTs, LCSWs, Ed. Psychologists, & Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors). REGISTER ONLINE.
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EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY
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January 15, 2015; 6:00pm-8:00pm in Berkeley
Aging in Place for Low-Income Seniors: A New Model
Aging In Place for low income seniors is currently only possible for people who can live independently. As people age and need more help with activities of daily living, the only alternative in California is a move to the nursing home. A much more cost effective approach would be to provide Medicare coverage for assisted living care in independent senior housing. That means bringing care to the people where they need it, keeping people in their home and community. Lamar Turner, founder of ElderFocus, an advocate for low income seniors, developer and serial entrepreneur has been working on bringing together the many stakeholders and funding
sources that would allow for such new Aging In Place model for low income seniors. He will present this new model and talk about his vision.
Where: Ed Roberts Campus (Koret Conference Room) 3075 Adeline Street, Berkeley (Across from the Ashby Bart Station)
January 23, 2015; 9:00pm-5:00pm in San Francisco
Swindles, Scams and Schemes: Exposing the Elder Financial Abuse and Exploitation Epidemic
 A day-long conference addressing Financial Elder Abuse as a key factor affecting the health and well-being of older adults.
Where:
UCSF Laurel Heights Campus, Auditorium
3333 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94118 To Register: Purchase ticket through link above.
January 27, February 3 & February 10; 10:00am-12:00pm in San Francisco Living With Alzheimer's: for Persons with Alzheimer's (Early Stage) & Living With Alzheimer's: for Care Partners (Early Stage) Both groups meet simultaneously, in separate rooms When someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, friends and family have many questions.What does the diagnosis mean? What kinds of plans need to be made? What resources are available to help? As the disease progresses, new questions reflect growing needs for skills, programs and services. Living with Alzheimer's for Caregivers is a series of education programs that provide answers to the questions that arise in the early, middle and late stages of the disease.Hear from those directly affected and learn what you need to know, what you need to plan and what you can do at each point along the way. This program will cover information for caregivers of people with Early-stage, Middle-stage, or Late-stage Alzheimer's disease. Where: CPMC California Campus,San Francisco,CA Registration Required: Joanne Robinson Teran 800.272.3900 jrobinson@alz.org
January 29, 2015; 5:30pm-7:00pm in Walnut Creek Caregiver Survival 101: Caring for Someone with Dementia - Reducing Your Stress Riding the roller coaster of dementia care?
If the emotional ups, downs, & loop-di-loops are making your head spin, our Caregiver Survival series is for you! Topics include: - The major challenges of dementia care
- Responses and reactions to reduce your stress
- Self-care activities and mini-support group
- Resources for coaching and support
Where: Walnut Creek California94595
Registration Required:
Contact Eldercare Services at
(866) 760-1808 No Fee. Advanced registration required. Class intended for family caregivers or those dealing with the challenges of aging.
January 31 & February 7, 2015; 10:00am - 1:00pm
(Participation in both parts is required) in Burlingame Dialing Down the Pressure: Strategies for Caregiver Survival Are you overwhelmed by taking care of your elderly relative or friend that you have neglected your own needs? This free two part self-care class will teach you practical tips for improving your mental and physical well-being.
Where:
Mills-Peninsula Medical Center
1501 Trousdale Drive, Burlingame
(Conference Room H, First Floor Conference Center) To Register: Call (650) 696-3660 to register or for more information.
Registration required; Register by January 28, 2015
Click HERE for more information.
February 10, 2015; 6:00pm-7:30pm in Menlo Park A Workshop Presented by the Alzheimer's Association KNOW THE 10 SIGNS - EARLY DETECTION MATTERS If you or someone you know is experiencing memory loss or behavioral changes, it's time to learn the facts. Early detection of Alzheimer's disease gives you a chance to begin drug therapy, enroll in clinical studies and plan for the future. This interactive workshop features video clips of people with Alzheimer's disease. Free: donations accepted and appreciated. Where: Peninsula Volunteers Rosener House Adult Day Services / 500 Arbor Road, Menlo Park Contact: Florence Marchick (650) 322-0126email:fmarchick@peninsulavolunteers.org |
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU
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PROFESSIONAL LISTINGS: Life Enhancing Activities for Family Caregivers (LEAF) Researchers at the University of California San Francisco are testing a program for family caregivers of people with dementia. Six positive emotion based skill-building sessions are delivered one-on-one via videoconferencing on study-supplied tablet computers, so caregivers can take part from anywhere in the USA. This study consists of six weekly hour-long sessions, nightly home practice, and online surveys. To be eligible, you must be the primary caregiver of someone with any type of degenerative dementia, and you must have consistent access to a reliable wifi connection for your weekly sessions. For more information, please access our website: HERE, email us at: leaf@ucsf.edu, or call (415) 514-2935. Caregiver Health-eBrain Study: Research to Improve Brain Health Are you one of the 15 million caregivers looking after a loved one with Alzheimer's or other types dementia? Help scientists understand how the caregiving lifestyle impacts brain performance. Join the Caregivers' Health-eBrain project and participate in an online study to assess your cognition. 30 minutes of your time is what's required. For more information or to join the study, Click HERE
GRADUATE LISTINGS: The Family Caregiver's Experience - Examining the Positive and Negative Aspects of Compassion Satisfaction and Compassion Fatigue Are you a family caregiver of someone with a chronic illness? We are conducting a short, 15 minute survey and ask that you to reflect on your experience as a family caregiver and provide insight regarding both the positive and negative aspects of your experience. If you would like to participate in this research study or know someone who might, please click on the link below to go to the survey. Your participation in this survey is voluntary and all your responses will be anonymous and kept confidential. |
| GIFTS FROM THE HEART | 
A thank you to our donors and supporters
We would like to take a moment to extend a warm thank you to the many generous supporters who make the work we do possible through thoughtful donations to Family Caregiver Alliance.
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For over 30 years, Family Caregiver Alliance has offered programs to support and sustain the important work of families and friends caring for loved ones with chronic, disabling health conditions. FCA offers programs at national, state and local levels. The National Center on Caregiving was established at FCA in 2001 to advance the development of high-quality, cost-effective services and policies nationwide. A wealth of caregiving advice, resource listings, newsletters, fact sheets, research reports, policy updates and discussion groups are available free on the FCA website. Visit www.caregiver.org or call (800) 445-8106 for more information.
© 2013 Family Caregiver Alliance. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this newsletter may be reproduced without the express permission of Family Caregiver Alliance.
785 Market Street, Ste. 750, San Francisco, CA 94103
www.caregiver.org | 415.434.3388
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