Caregivers invited to community information session

Upcoming caregiver information:

Last winter, 10 Hastings-serving agencies met with a group of Hastings caregivers to talk about how we, as a community, could better support the caregivers among us. Now, we’d like to invite caregivers to meet with us once again and let us know how we are doing; and how we might do more. If you are a caregiver for an older adult, please plan to join us for a light dinner and conversation from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at Tilden Community Center. Please RSVP to 651-480-7670 so we can plan dinner.

If you would like information about advance care directives or help completing one with your loved one, contact Rev. Peter Morlock, advanced care planning chaplain at Regina Medical Center. He can be reached by calling 651-480-4587.

One caregiver’s reflections on caring for older loved ones:

Caring Reflections: The People Who Wait

In hospital waiting rooms, some things are for sure. There are the out-of-date magazines, the column of Styrofoam cups next to the coffee pots, the requisite aquarium and the people who wait.

Some arrive ready to camp out for the day, with bags of snacks and a pillow from home. Others call their offices and work on their laptops. There are family groups, buoying each other up in animated conversation and frequently reporting how much time has passed. There are people alone with their newspaper and their thoughts. There are pacers, clock-watchers, snoozers and fidgeters.

There are usually several in the waiting room crowd who seem to be well-practiced, this being one of many medical events for which they’ve been “on duty.” For others, this is a whole new experience. But there is one more thing for sure about hospital waiting rooms. No matter who they were when they came in, all of the people who wait will be caregivers when they leave. I wish them nothing but the best.

(Editor’s note: Beth’s complete online journal can be found at: http://www.darts1.org/blog/

caring-reflections.)

For a resource guide for service providers who can help in your caregiver journey, please stop by the Hastings Senior Center in the Tilden Community Center, or go online to: http://www.darts1.org/dakota-county-eldercare

-resources.

If you would like to submit a question or concern about your own caregiving experience, and get direct, one-to-one information and advice from a licensed social worker and eldercare advisor, please visit: http://www.darts1.org/on line-caregiving-advisor or call 651-455-1560.

This section of the Star Gazette is a resource for family and friends helping an older adult. We hope you find this section useful, and if you have any comments or suggestions, we would love to hear them. Please contact Colleen Fritsch at DARTS, 651-234-2222.

Tags: events, seniors, entertainment, local