LET’S TALK ABOUT: AGING & CAREGIVING MATTERS
Tuesdays from 3:00 to 4:30 pm (except on 9/24 at 4:30 pm, see details below)
Upstairs Conference Room
Please join us on select Tuesdays for 6 programs designed to inform, inspire, and connect our community and to help individuals navigate the territory of getting older, caregiving, serious illness & more.
Bonnie Evans is a geriatric nurse practitioner with experience in hospice and palliative care, an end-of-life doula, and grief counselor.
Join one, some or all sessions! All sessions will be available via Zoom (see links below)
Schedule:
Sept 3 – A Guide to Difficult Conversations
Have you been reluctant to initiate discussions around sensitive issues: safe driving, medical treatment decisions, advance directives, or issues around caregiving? Let’s review some tips on how to prepare, where to start, and some ways to encourage mutual problem solving.
Sept 10 – Understanding Dementia-Related Behaviors
With advancing stages of dementia some problematic behaviors such as wandering, resisting care, and sleep disorders can occur. Many times, this is related to unmet needs of the individual or the impact of the environment around them. Let’s look at how to assess what may be contributing to these behaviors and how and when to modify their environment.
Sept 24 – Medical Aid in Dying –
a View from Both Sides
There are now 10 states that offer “Death with Dignity” and it has been introduced in RI. Let’s look at why someone might consider aid in dying, the differing opinions on this option, and some of the current guidelines.
Oct 8 – Services Across the Care Continuum
Deb Burton is the creator of the website RI ELDER INFO that offers resources for RI seniors, caregivers, and professionals. She will offer guidance on how to find and access various services (homecare, long-term care, memory care) across the continuum of health care services.
Oct 22 – Food, Illness & Nourishment
What do we do when a loved one is no longer interested in eating? This is often part of an advanced illness. Food is associated with
love, and this can be very distressing to families. How do we continue to offer comfort and care?
Nov 19 – Our Own Death Café
The concept of a Death Café (gathering over tea and cake and having an open discussion around life & death, and what really matters to us) originated in the UK and has now gone global. We will follow the conversation wherever it leads us. This will bring our fall program to a close.
There is NO Zoom for this meeting
For information on additional programs, please visit our calendar at rogersfreelibrary.org/calendar