Help for
Caregivers

Press Release -- April 10, 2008

Baby Boomers Connect with Experts for Advice on May 14 at Convention Center

Denver, CO. Are you feeling tired and overwhelmed with caring for your mother? Baby boomers all across Colorado are faced with questions about where to turn for help for a parent. But, little things such as picking up medications, quickly become chaotic for families. A stop at the store means Mom might be left alone for too long.

Susie is stressed that her 87-year-old father may be in danger as he sometimes leaves the house and hitchhikes to church, but the police find him instead and call her at work to come down to the police station. Lucky for Susie, her father had her telephone number in his wallet. Although her boss says “he understands”, Susie must take personal leave. The fear of her father being a “missing person” or worse yet, being accused of neglect has haunted her ever since he wandered away from home.

And Sharon is confused about how to file for Medicaid because she has spent all of Mom and Dad’s savings. She can’t care for her mother any longer and knows that she will not be able to afford a nursing home on Mom’s $3000 per month income, but she is overwhelmed about all the jargon and what it means -- Medicaid trusts, functional assessments, Part 1 and 2 of the Medicaid application, case managers, and care managers. Who are all these people and what do they do and why are there so many?

Dawn is only 36 and her 65 year-old-father has been diagnosed with colon cancer with six to eight weeks to live. She does not know the state of his legal affairs and her grief is overwhelming to the point that she cannot even consider the idea of a funeral. Her father wants to talk about his wishes, but she collapses each time he tries to bring up the conversation. The hospital has told her to seek hospice care, but she can’t even remember how to pronounce the word correctly, let alone understand what it means. She feels alone and empty.

If you see yourself in these situations, take a power hour and attend the elder care fair which offers one-stop shopping for baby boomers who are looking to manage a parent’s life, as well as ways to avoid this horribly scary situation for their own retirement. The Salute to Seniors will have more than 130 experts at the Colorado Convention Center on May 14, 2008 from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm to answer questions, present solutions, and increase awareness for baby boomers about problems facing them.

“Dare to Care” is the theme of an educational program led by Judy Totsch, RN, Kaiser Permanente at 9:30 am on the challenges of caregiving.

Gather your friends from work and join the Salute to Seniors sponsored by the Colorado Gerontological Society for help. Individual tickets are $7 for the first ticket and $3.50 for the second ticket. For more information call 303-333-3482 or www.senioranswers.org