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Family Care Navigator
Caregiver tool for state-by-state resources

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For over 35 years FCA has led the way in supporting family caregivers. Your donation makes all the difference!

Connections Credits
Editors
Calvin Hu
Michelle Venegas  

Contributors
Kathleen Kelly
Calvin Hu
Lana Sheridan
Michelle Venegas
Leah Eskenazi

Communications
and Layout
Francesca Pera

Executive Director
Kathleen Kelly
Board of Directors
President
Jacquelyn Kung

Vice-President

Dan Lieberman

Treasurer
Jeff Kumataka

Athan Bezaitis
Wanda Borges
Herman S. Brown
Ping Hao
Catherine Lelong
Michael Malewicz
Rajiv Mehta
Chris Park
Kathleen Raffel
F. Burns Vick
Quick Links
Family Caregiver Alliance's new fee-for-service care management currently serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Click here for further information. 
Vol. 6, No. 9
September 15, 2015
Dear Friends:

We have redesigned a new look for Connections and in the coming months, we look forward to offering a mobile-friendly version. You'll still find all the same useful and relevant caregiver content, but with a renewed emphasis on clarity and readability. At FCA, we know that your time and energy as a caregiver are precious, so we hope that with this new direction, you will get the information you need efficiently and without clutter.

I welcome any feedback you have on our new design. 

Sincerely,

Calvin Hu
Caregiver Education Coordinator
[email protected]
QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"It is not the load that breaks you down. It's the way
you carry it."

-- Lena Horne

WHAT'S NEW AT FCA
Atlas of Caregiving: a new project at FCA
Thanks to all the family caregivers who are participating in the Atlas of Caregiving Pilot. We still have room for interested caregivers. Participants will be compensated $200.

Share your experience of day-to-day caregiving to help FCA advocate for new technologies, improved services, and better policies to make caregiving easier and more effective. The goal of the Atlas of Caregiving is to understand, at a deeper level, the physical and emotional impact of providing care, in the hopes that we can use the data collected to impact change.
Support FCA at this year's Walk to End Alzheimer's
The Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's is the world's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care. Please support FCA and donate to our team, as we walk on Saturday in San Francisco. Please click on the link below to visit our team page and donate.   
$20,000 Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer's Disease Award
Family Caregiver Alliance and The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation are pleased to be presenting $20,000 awards in three categories for the 2015 Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer's Disease Caregiving Legacy Award. Are you involved with or do you know about an organization who may qualify in one of the three categories: Creative Expression, Diverse / Multicultural Communities, or Policy and Advocacy? The purpose of the Gilbert Award is to recognize and reward organizations whose programs have demonstrated success in these areas. The deadline is fast approaching - apply soon!

Deadline: Friday, October 2, 2015 (deadline extended)
Link: caregiver.org/gilbert-awards-general-information
Contact: Crystal Madriles, [email protected]
Scrapbook: View past Gilbert Award winners here
INFORMATION YOU CAN USE
FCA Fact Sheet: Alzheimer's Disease and Caregiving
Alzheimer's often develops gradually, offering time to adjust to the diagnosis, plan ahead, and spend quality time together. To learn more about this topic, please click here
FCA Fact Sheet: Mild Cognitive Impairment 
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a condition that falls between normal age-related memory loss and Alzheimer's disease or a similar impairment. A person with MCI may experience memory problems, difficulties with judgment, thinking and language. To read more about MCI, please click here.  
MONTHLY WEBINAR
Paying for Elder Care: Discover All of Your Financial Assistance Options
As caregivers, we often focus our energy on the caring. However, the financial side can be just as important, particularly if we are remote or continue to work full time. This webinar will focus on how one can prepare for and afford the non-medical costs associated with long term care for an elderly loved one. The presenter will take a comprehensive and pragmatic approach to solving the elder care financial puzzle for families. Federal, state, and local benefits programs will be discussed.

When: Wednesday, September 30, 1 p.m. (PT)
Where: Online
Cost: $15
Registration: Click here
Contact: Calvin Hu, Education Coordinator, [email protected], (415) 434-3388 x 313
ARTICLES FOR CAREGIVERS
'I thought I could fix my Alzheimer's patients. I learned to help them instead.'
A professional caregiver in an article in Vox explains what he has learned about life and caregiving from his work with Alzheimer's patients at a busy nursing home.
'There's a new way to tell the difference between a normal memory lapse and dementia'
Lapses in memory are the most common symptom of dementia, but it's also common in elderly adults without dementia. A new study explained in Quartz has indicated there might be a simple way to tell the difference between memory lapses brought on by aging, and those that might be an early sign of dementia.
CAREGIVERS CONNECT: SF BAY AREA EVENTS
Foro Latino -- La Salud Para Los Cuidadores Familiares (Latino Forum)
Please join FCA in October for the fourth Annual Latino Forum. Forum topics include: A Healthy Body for a Healthy Brain, Long Term Care: What is it and Who Pays for it, and Therapeutic Dance. The event is free and held entirely in Spanish.

When: Saturday, October 3, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where: On Lok Lifeways, 225 30th Street, 2nd floor, San Francisco, 94110
Registration: Hilda Uribe-Escobar, (415) 434-3388 
Taking Care of SoMEone Else
One of the greatest challenges of being a family caregiver is maintaining one's own physical and emotional health. We cannot stop the impact of a chronic illness. However, we, as caregivers, need to be responsible for our own self-care. At this workshop you will: understand why caregivers often feel sad, guilty, and alone, and how you can change these feelings. You'll also learn specific tools to help you reduce stress, change negative thinking, ask for what you need from others, and take positive steps that will benefit YOU!

When: Wednesday, October 7, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Catholic Charities Adult Day Services, 787 Walnut Street, San Carlos 94070
Speaker: Christina Irving, LCSW, Family Consultant, Family Caregiver Alliance
Registration: 
Calvin Hu, (415) 434-3388 ext. 313 (please leave a message with your name, number, and the name of this workshop)
Link: caregiver.org/taking-care-someone-else-5
Improving Care at Home: Challenges and Opportunities
Join the University of San Francisco School of Nursing and Health Professions for a special conference on how health professionals can support family caregivers. Unpaid and low-paid caregivers provide up to 90% of the care provided to people who are ill and disabled, but living at home. This conference seeks to educate health professionals on how to support these "invisible" members of the healthcare team.

You will learn about the diverse demographic characteristics of caregivers, identify opportunities for improving training and support, understand which new technologies might be used to assist home caregiving, and learn steps service providers can use to work more effectively with unpaid caregivers.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. 

When: Saturday, October 24, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: University of San Francisco-- Fromm Hall, 2497 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco 94118
Cost: free for students, and $25 for others
Registration: caregiver.org/improving-care-home-challenges-and-opportunities
It Takes Two! A Refreshing Approach to Understanding and Coping with Dementia Behavior
This four week class offers 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, and feel more confident and positive about your caregiving role. 

This four part class meets on four consecutive Thursdays starting October 29. You will need to be able to attend all four sessions.

When: Four Thursdays, starting October 29, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: San Leandro Senior Community Center, 13909 East 14th Street, San Leandro 94578
Instructor: Jo McCord, MA, Family Consultant, Family Caregiver Alliance
Registration: 
Calvin Hu, (415) 434-3388 ext. 313 (please leave a message with your name, number, and the name of this class)
Link: caregiver.org/it-takes-two-refreshing-approach-understanding-and-coping-dementia-behavior-5
CAREGIVERS CONNECT: SF BAY AREA PARTNER EVENTS
Pleasant Hill Family Caregiver Retreat
Caregivers ... take a much needed break ... and learn ways to help you take better care of yourself and your loved one. You both deserve it!

Come share a day of camaraderie, education, and learning about the many resources available to you. You will receive lots of practical ideas and information to help make your life easier. All speakers are specialists in their field who have generously donated their time for this wonderful FREE community event. Lunch will be provided.

When: Friday, October 16, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: Hope Center Church, 2275 Morello Avenue, Pleasant Hill 94523
Registration: 
Danielle Habr, (925) 671-5221
Link: ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/14618
The Basics: Memory Loss, Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease
Learn about the differences between normal aging and dementia, the basics of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, the diagnostic process, and management of the disease. Learn about resources offered by the Alzheimer's Association, keys for planning for the future, and how family members and caregivers can help the person with dementia.

When: Tuesday, November 10, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Where: Senior Services Center, 4444 East Avenue, Livermore 94550
Registration: 
Judy Stanger, 925-373-5760 
Link: Click here
RESEARCH REGISTRY
OUR SUPPORTERS: THANK YOU!
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.

View a list of our current donors here.
For over 35 years FCA has led the way in supporting family caregivers. Your donation makes all the difference!


785 Market Street | Suite 750 | San Francisco, CA 94103
(800) 445-8106 | [email protected] | www.caregiver.org