During National Family Caregivers Month, the Ventura Parkinson’s Disease Support Group joins with the Caregiver Action Network and many local and national Caregiver Support organizations who recognize the challenges family caregivers face when their loved ones need Caregiving Around the Clock!
Everyone is welcome to join the Ventura Parkinson’s Disease Support Group on Wednesday, November 8th from 1-3pm at the Lexington Assisted (5440 Ralston, Ventura) as we observe National Family Caregivers month. We hope to help raise awareness of family caregiver issues, celebrate the efforts of and educate family caregivers and also, hopefully increase support for family caregivers.
The value of the services family caregivers provide for “free,” when caring for older adults, is estimated to be as high as $375 billion a year. That is almost twice as much as is actually spent on homecare and nursing home services combined ($158 billion). Higher-hour caregivers are more likely to feel caregiving has had a negative impact on their health. (Stats from National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare. March 2009 & AARP 2015).
A large and growing body of evidence reveals that providing care for a chronically sick person can have harmful physical, mental, and emotional consequences for the caregiver. In 2006, hospitalization of an elderly spouse was found to be associated with an increased risk of caregiver death. Elderly spousal caregivers (aged 66-96) who experience caregiving-related stress have a 63% higher mortality rate than non-caregivers of the same age. (Stats from Family Caregiver Alliance; Schulz, R. & Beach, S. (1999). Caregiving as a risk factor for mortality: The Caregiver Health Effects Study, JAMA, 282: 2215-2219; Christakis, N.A. & Allison, P.D. (2006). Mortality after the hospitalization of a spouse. New England Journal of Medicine, 354: 719-730.)
All area Parkinson’s Support Group members and their Care-Partners/Caregivers and those who are in the Caregiving field who would like to add their information to the ‘resource table’ of handouts, are welcome to join the Ventura Parkinson’s Disease Support Group to learn and discuss the challenges family caregivers face and how to manage them day and night.
Speakers will be Courtney M Darrough, Program Manager of “Caregivers – Volunteers Assisting the Elderly”; Katherine Lamb Mays, Manager, and John Macias, Director, of “Livingston CareGivers”; and Samantha Carnell, MSW Care Coordinator of “Wellness & Caregiver Center of Ventura County”.
Thanks to the generosity of the Lexington Assisted meetings are held every second Wednesday of the month (except December) .There is a drop-off/loading and unloading driveway in the front of the building. Extra parking is graciously available across the street from the Lexington in the Baptist Church parking lot.
Please check in at the front desk for directions to the 3rd floor and sign-in at the meeting. For more information please call Patty at 766-6070 They are an independent and volunteer-organized group not affiliated with or a part of any other organization or group.
