Families invited to Free Webinar and Live Event – November 8 – Free CEU for CCMC, NURSE AND SOCIAL WORK

Free CEU Seminar & Networking Reception
Empowering Caregivers of Dementia Patients on Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Viki Kind – Author of The Caregiver’s Path to Compassionate Decision Making – Making Choices for Those Who Can’t
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EST

or Join via Webinar
RSVP Today at SeniorBridge.com/Seminar – Program Starts at 6:00 p.m. EST

Join Us In-Person at SeniorBridge
845 Third Avenue, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Wine & Appetizer Reception Starts at 5:30 p.m.

Adults age 85+ are the fastest growing segment of our population – and half of them have Alzheimer’s. This seminar
will help professionals and families struggling to make decisions for those without capacity develop a pathway,
framework and tools for making thoughtful, ethical decisions. These tools are designed to be tailored to individual levels of incapacity and situations and to give voice to those who can’t speak for themselves. Respect and compassion will be the core values of this decision making process.

CCMC, NURSE AND SOCIAL WORK CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS PROVIDED BY SENIORBRIDGE*
Nurse contact hours pending by State of Florida Nursing Board for RN, ARNP, CNS, LPN. Social Work credits
pending by State of Florida Social Work Board for LCSW, LMFT, LMHC.
CCMC credits pending by the Commission for Case Manager Certification.
*Professionals should confirm acceptance of CCMC & Florida State approved CEUs with their licensing board.
For more information, email webinars@SeniorBridge.com or call 212-994-6153

Have a kind and respectful day.

April 13 – An Evening with Viki Kind – Austin, Texas, 6:30 PM Presentation sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association of Texas and Austin Groups for the Elderly

April 13 – An Evening with Viki Kind – Austin, Texas, 6:30 PM
Presentation sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association of Texas and Austin Groups for the Elderly.

The Alzheimer’s Association-Capital of Texas Chapter is a non-profit organization that provides family support, community education, public awareness and supports research for the prevention, cure and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.

Their mission is to provide leadership to enhance care and support services for individuals and their families while supporting the advancement of research to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease. Their vision is a world without Alzheimer’s disease.
Austin Groups for the Elderly is a non-profit organization empowering caregivers, the elderly and their families through education, advocacy, resources and support.

RSVP to 512.241.0420 or email
TXPrograms@txalz.org

Have a kind and respectful day.

Caregiver Resource Day at the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center on March 19 from 8:30-1

Caregiver Resource Day

Viki will be speaking at the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center’s annual event which provides support, education, and resources to caregivers – will be held on Saturday, March 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Senior Center, located at 22900 Market Street in Santa Clarita. With its title sponsor Comfort Keepers In-Home Care, the free symposium will provide information and advice from leading experts, including a noted Alzheimer’s researcher and a bioethecist. Registration, networking, and breakfast begin at 8:30 a.m. with lectures commencing at 9 a.m. Free adult day care is available during this event but requires advance registration. The event is open to community members 18 years of age and older. Care-giving-related businesses are invited to host vendor tables at the event and/or provide sponsorship.

For further information about Caregiver Resource Day please contact SuzAnn Nelsen or Diana Sevanian at 661-255-1588. You may also email them at snelsen@scvsc.org or dsevanian@scvsc.org.

Have a kind and respectful day.

Pasadena Highlands – Grand Opening of Focused Care – dedicated to residents needing memory care

Join me as I will be speaking at the Grand Opening of Focused Care – Pasadena Highland’s memory care center on March 11 from 3:30-4:30. Open House from 3-6.

Pasadena Highlands is excited to announce the opening of a secure Alzheimer’s/Memory Care unit that will accommodate about 15-18 residents. Focused Care is all inclusive and the rates will be $4500 to $6000 per month.

Friday, March 11, 3pm to 6pm

Viki Kind will be speaking on “Empowered Decision Making for those with Dementia” 3:30pm – 4:30pm

Please RSVP by March 8th, (626) 791-1981

(626) 791-1981

Pasadena Highlands

1575 E. Washington Blvd.

Pasadena, CA 91104

Have a kind and respectful day.

Join Viki as she speaks at the South Bay M.A.P.S. meeting at Silverado Senior Living in Redondo Beach, on March 8 from 8:30-10:30AM PST.

Join Viki as she speaks at the South Bay M.A.P.S. meeting at Silverado Senior Living in Redondo Beach, on March 8 from 8:30-10:30AM PST.

Silverado Senior Living -Assisted Living Dementia Care in Redondo Beach
514 N. Prospect Ave.
Redondo Beach 90277
http://www.silveradosenior.com/dementia_care/LA_Ventura_County_CA/zip_90277/silverado_senior_living/2568
Phone 310-421-4867

Silverado Senior Living -Move your loved one into our Redondo Beach Assisted Living Dementia Care Community located on the campus of the Beach Cities Health District, a preventive health and wellness agency. This three-story, state-of-the-art community offers all of the trademark amenities and services that have made Silverado famous for providing exceptional, world-class care in beautiful surroundings. Like all Silverado communities, Beach Cities is a secure environment specializing in caring for those with any type of memory loss.

When you look for a senior care community to take care of your loved one with dementia, it is important to consider if their health needs will be taken care of by qualified staff. At Silverado Senior Living – Beach Cities, we believe in hiring the best! We have registered nurses and licensed nurses at our community in Redondo Beach just like every other Silverado community. All of our caregivers receive extensive training on how to provide special care for those with memory-impairing conditions. Our caregiving and nursing staff will support your loved one to enjoy the best of health every day, while giving our families peace of mind.

Have a kind and respectful day.

The Center for Memory Disorders in Orlando, Florida, is hosting a workshop by Viki Kind on January 26, 2011, from 2 PM to 4 PM.

The Center for Memory Disorders in Orlando, Florida, is hosting a workshop by Viki Kind on January 26, 2011, from 2 PM to 4 PM. This program is presented by the Alzheimer’s Association, Central and North Florida Chapter, The Center for Memory Disorders and Visiting Angels.

Please RSVP to 1-800-272-3900 or 407-951-7992
Free Respite Care is available, CEU’s available for nurses.

http://www.memorydisorders.org/cmd_events.htm

Wouldn’t it be a relief to know that you are making the right decisions and doing right by the person in your care? “Empowering Caregivers to Make the Difficult Decisions” is a free two hour workshop led by Viki at The Center for Memory Disorders in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, January 26, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 p.m.

The mission of the Center for Memory Disorders is to provide a non-profit, integrated approach to the diagnosis, treatment and support of patients with memory disorders, through the use of professional services, cutting-edge therapies and caregiver respite.

The Center recognizes that chronic, pervasive illness is not only a problem for patients and families, but a concern for the entire community. The Center’s vision is for a community outreach program which will educate, treat and thereby positively impact the overall quality of life of persons suffering from Alzheimer’s and related dementias. The Center’s goals are to provide medical diagnostics, treatments and ancillary services, in conjunction with family education and interventions, the totality of which will result in correct diagnosis and treatment at an earlier stage in the disease process.

When there is no good answer – Turning a difficult decision into a better quality of life

Every day, caregivers are faced with painful choices. The other day, a man shared with me that he had promised his mom that he would never put her in a nursing home. But now she needed more care than he could provide. Just this week, she had started a fire in the kitchen. He didn’t want to break his promise but he couldn’t protect her from herself.

This type of situation can be so painful. We want to do the right thing, but sometimes it becomes impossible. I explained to him that even though he had made a promise, he couldn’t stand by and let his mom be in harm’s way. He hadn’t known what the future would hold when he made that promise. I explained to him that as caregivers, we have a responsibility to step in and to make sure the person is safe.

I encouraged him to do what he could to keep her at home. Perhaps he could hire more help or make the house safer. But if those options didn’t work, he had to forgive himself and do the right thing to find a good care facility. This doesn’t mean he won’t feel badly about going back on his word. This is the hard road of caregiving.

Choosing the Least Worst Option

What often helps caregivers making the tough decisions is to realize that sometimes we have to pick the “least worst option.” What does this mean? It means we don’t always get a “good answer” or a “good choice” when making a decision. The only choice may be to pick the least terrible option, because that is the best option available.

Of course, caregivers should work hard to determine if there are any better options available, asking other people for help as they research their choices. But if the only option is one that is less than optimal, we will need to make peace with the situation by doing our best to make a bad situation a little better.

Creating a Better Quality of Life

When the “best” choice isn’t available, we can still make the decision better. As you evaluate the options, think about how your decision will be experienced by the person in your care. What will it feel like to move to a new place? What will it be like to go through a medical test or procedure? How will the decision be perceived through the mind of someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia?

For the gentleman who now needs to place his mom in a memory care unit, he will need to look at the places that are available, to consider what his mom can afford and to make sure the place will meet his mom’s needs. He will also have to look at how he can make the transition easier on his mom. What can he do to make her feel safer when she moves there? How can he bring joy and comfort to her when he visits? What can he do to improve the quality of her life, even though this is not the kind of life she would have wanted? Even though his mom would never have wanted to move out of her home, her son can make each day a little better for her. This is called person-centered care—when we think about how our choices will be experienced by the individual in our care.

Have a kind and respectful day.

Improving the Medical Experience of the Person struggling with Alzheimer’s or other memory loss

When a person with Alzheimer’s or dementia is going to have a medical test or procedure, how can we help the person to feel less frightened and to minimize any suffering? If the patient is struggling to understand what will be happening to them, do a practice run-through and show the person the room where the test will happen. Or find a book with pictures that will help him understand what you are talking about. If the person with diminished capacity is afraid of being alone, you may want to introduce him to the nurses who will be working that day. For my dad, we tape-recorded the doctor’s explanations so he could listen to the information over and over again until he felt more comfortable.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the patient may be experiencing symptoms that affect his or her participation. These symptoms could be pain, side effects of medications, loss of hearing or sight, lack of sleep, an undiagnosed illness and grief, to name a few. Find out what can be done to relieve these symptoms to make it easier for the individual to participate in the process. Ultimately, our goal is to think about the quality-of-life questions from the person’s perspective as he or she will experience the consequences of our decisions.

Have a kind and respectful day.

The Gardens at Park Balboa will be hosting a presentation on 9/8/10 from 7-8:30pm PST

Viki will be giving a presentation at the Gardens at Park Balboa on 9/8/10 from 7-8:30pm PST

The Gardens at Park Balboa, an Assisted Living residence in Van Nuys, California is a recently remodeled building located in the heart of the San Fernando Valley. They believe in encouraging the growth of their residents as individuals, while offering personalized assistance and support when needed or desired. Residents experience the benefits of belonging to an engaging community with amenities, activities and companionship, yet all the while knowing that assisted services are available around the clock, every day of the year.

Residents and their families have the added security of knowing that Safe Haven, their secure unit for Alzheimer’s and dementia care is just steps away on the same property. In addition, residents have convenient geographical access to distinguished physicians and services at Valley Presbyterian Hospital, Sherman Oaks Hospital, and other acute care hospitals located in the SFV.

Have a kind and respectful day.

A Caregivers Journey interviews Viki Kind on 6/28/10 at 11am PST

A Caregivers Journey is a free radio show run by Susan Baida and John Mills, co-Founders of eCare Diary.com. This show will focus on issues of care providers, long-term care, advanced aging — and it will feature expert speakers on aging, long-term care, dementia and other illnesses and issues typically associated with aging in America.

eCareDiary.com is a one-stop source for all things aging. They support both the aging community AND care providers. They are sought after speakers on advanced aging and care providing, and their website is a huge source of tools and information.

Have a kind and respectful day.

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