Caregivers Corner: Duke Health prioritizes caregiver education
Education for caregivers has traditionally taken a back seat to that for patients. This lack of education coupled with the isolation many caregivers are experiencing during the pandemic has only added to the stress. Caregivers often feel lost and overwhelmed on their caregiving journey.
Caregiver education should be a more robust component of our eldercare system. Education that leads to increased knowledge is necessary for caregiver empowerment in finding access to appropriate resources. Duke Health makes caregiver education a priority and is offering two caregiver education opportunities this fall.
The Duke Caregiver Community Event will take place twice in 2022, each providing unique content and presentations. First is a series of virtual presentations on September 20, 2022, where topics include:
- African-American, Hispanic, Latino, and LGBTQ+ experiences in caregiving
- Challenges of long-distance caregivers
- Physical, occupational, and speech therapy options
- Adult guardianship benefits and misconceptions
- Finding help for mental health care
- Understanding dementia
- Advancements in technology to understand health needs
The in-person conference in Durham, North Carolina on October 28, 2022, includes themes such as:
- The power of story
- Adjusting activities as dementia progresses
- Getting it right when making decisions for someone else
- Differences in Medicare and Medicaid
- The empathetic method of communication
Caregivers are welcome to participate in either or both events.
To register please go to: Duke Caregiver Community Event, dukehealth.org/duke-caregiver-community-event
If you are caregiving for a loved one and would like to get connected with others in our community who are walking the same path, join ABC11's Caregivers Corner moderated by Nicole Clagett. The group has 2000+ people supporting one another and sharing wonderful information and resources daily. More helpful tips about this topic can be found on ABC11's Caregivers Corner section.
