Health First Offers Caregiving for Seniors Annual Conference
Providing care and support for aging loved ones can be a difficult but worthwhile journey. Health First is here to help, offering its 13th Annual Caregiving for Seniors Conference scheduled for 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Saturday, March 18, at the Hilton Melbourne Rialto Place.
Keynote speaker Elaine Sanchez hopes to empower caregivers to relax, enjoy, learn and connect through her theme, “Finding Hope, Humor and Heart in Caregiving.” Sanchez will focus on how “there’s nothing funny about caregiving, but it’s entirely too difficult to take it seriously all of the time.” She is the author of “Letters from Madelyn: Chronicles of a Caregiver” and is the co-founder of CaregiverHelp.com, an online support program for both family and professional caregivers. She is also a regular contributor to numerous magazines and online publications, including The Huffington Post, and has created a number of online courses for nurses, long-term care administrators and mental health professionals.
Sharing stories from her unflinchingly honest and surprisingly funny book, Sanchez aims to help caregivers realize they are not alone – and that having negative feelings doesn’t make them bad people. She will also hold a breakout session to help caregivers understand and cope with their anger and guilt – two emotions frequently experienced by family members and professionals. Sanchez will address some of the reasons behind caregivers’ frustrations, including the “3 Fs of Flipping Out,” which are fatigue, fear and frustration. An “Attitude of Creative Indifference,” a three-step process, will be taught, offering tips on how to cope with people, situations and events that are most upsetting. Sanchez hopes to assist participants in discovering how to identify guilt-trippers in their lives, as well as how to stop feeling remorseful when you have not intentionally inflicted emotional or physical pain upon others.
Also scheduled to speak at the conference is Dr. Visa Srinivasan, Medical Director of Health First Aging Services. “Dr. Visa” plans to address the “Head, Heart and Soul of Caregiving: Discovering your inner strengths during the caregiving journey.” Local community agencies and professionals will have booths set up at a special resource fair, offering participants an opportunity to gather information and make connections with other aging-related resources.
The Health First Caregiving for Seniors Annual Conference includes a complimentary lunch and opportunities to win door prizes. Space is limited, and reservations must be made in advance by calling 321.434.4335. If you need care for your loved one in order to attend the conference, please call SarahCare at 321.676.3460 after registering. The adult day care center is offering respite for your loved one during this event for a nominal fee. Visit sarahcare.com/melbourne to learn more.
The Health First Center for Family Caregivers is a service of the Health First Aging Services. Health First Aging Services is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of older adults living on the Space Coast in Brevard County Florida by increasing the availability of high quality geriatric care services across the care continuum. Our senior care and geriatric services have been helping seniors for over a decade.