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Caregiver conference benefits families in North County

Sixty-one family caregivers attended the Caregiver Coalition of San Diego's conference on "Caring for Yourself and Your Loved Ones" held at Christ the King Church March 23. The free event provided respite care for seven loved ones in the Fireside Room while their caregivers participated in a day filled with educational talks as well as a resource fair in the Fellowship Hall. Guests came from Fallbrook and the surrounding North County communities (Vista, San Marcos and Oceanside).

Carly Bonnell, UCSD research associate and Caregiver Coalition volunteer, coordinated efforts to bring the event to Fallbrook, her hometown. She explained how she came to be involved with the organization in fulling their mission statement, "Improving the quality of life for caregivers, their families and the community."

Bonnell introduced Fallbrook Parkinson's Support Group leader Irene Miller. She shared the story of how Miller and her mother, who she was caring for at the time, attended their first Caregiver Coalition Event in 2012 when it was held in Fallbrook. This began Miller's personal journey in caregiving and continues today with her involvement with various volunteer organizations, including North County Parkinson's Support Group. Bonnell dedicated the day in memory of Miller's mother who recently passed on.

The first speaker, Kindra French of 101 Mobility, spoke about "Creating a Safe Environment". She said one in three adults encounter falls getting in and out of the tub. French suggested some solutions to prevent those falls including grab bars, zero threshold and collapsible rubber threshold showers.

French also talked about how to make entryways and stairs safe by removing clutter and trip hazards, incorporating lighting and also creating fire safety. Testing fire alarms at least once a month and replacing their batteries once a year (and replacing fire alarms every 10 years) are also important. For more safety tips, visit http://www.sandiego.101mobility.com.

Next up, Samantha Sonnich of Aging & Independence Services of San Diego shared information that was available at their resource table and spoke about "Improving Health for You and Your Loved One". One way is to join the Feeling Fit Club to improve endurance, strength, and balance. For more information on classes or to receive a free DVD, call (858) 495-5500 or go to http://www.HeathierLivingSD.org. A guide on fall prevention can be found at http://www.SanDiegoFallPrevention.org.

After a break and visits to the Resource Fair, the caregivers listened to Amy Abrams, MPH/MSW, of Alzheimer's San Diego, speak about "Keeping Your Brain Healthy". Her tips started with managing one's overall health, including controlling type 2 diabetes, lowering high blood pressure levels, maintaining healthy weight, stopping smoking, and monitoring emotional health.

Brain health can be managed by identifying opportunities for improvement in exercise, diet, cognitive stimulation, social engagement, and sleep. Exercise is especially important as it stimulates the growth and survival of new blood vessels and brain cells; 150 minutes of exercise a week are recommended.

Other way to support brain health is to eat dark leafy green vegetables, fruits, fish, legumes, whole grains and olive oil, as in the "Mediterranean Diet". Cold water fish is recommended. In cognitive stimulation, "Use it or Lose It" includes seeking new experiences, doing puzzles, participating in music – both singing and playing an instrument – as ways to aid in creating new neural pathways and retain current level of cognition.

There has also been research indicating that those who are socially engaged and have strong relationships have better brain health. Abrams encouraged the pursuing of new hobbies and interests with people, family, and friends. Increasing one's network of support also includes spiritual activities. Finally, she stressed the importance of quality sleep being essential to memory function. Lack of sleep raises cortisol levels, which can result in the development of Alzheimer's.

For more information, visit Alzheimer's San Diego at http://www.alsd.org and the Center for Disease Control at http://www.cdc.gov/aging/heathybrain.

Lunch was provided for all by Regency Fallbrook, Retirement and Assisted Living Community, along with additional time to explore the Resource Fair before the final speaker of the day, Dr. Brent Mausbach, UC San Diego, Alzheimer's Caregiver Study.

Dr. Mausbach shared his story from graduate school to how he was employed by UCSD to participate and conduct research on how caregiving impacts the emotional and physical well-being of caregivers. The study began over 40 years ago and continues today. For more information, go to http://www.psychiatry.ucsd.edu/research/alzcare or call (858) 534-9479.

The takeaway message from this event was "you may not need the all the information and resources you will be provided today, however, there may come a time when you will need it." The Caregivers Coalition can provide it at their website, http://www.CaregiverCoalitionSD.org or by email to [email protected].

Miller said, "The family of caregivers in Fallbrook and the surrounding area give special thanks to Caregiver Coalition for bringing the event to the community of Fallbrook, to the Foundation for Senior Care for providing transportation and registration support, to NCPSG for site coordination, to Regency Fallbrook for lunch and to At Your Home Family Care for providing onsite respite care."

According to Foundation for Senior Care staff, this was the highest turnout since the event has been offered. Development and outreach officer Theresa Geracitano and care advocate Darlene Weber attended the conference and listened to attendees' stories and they will be following up with 20 of the families to provide needed resources. Their advocacy is always available at no charge. For more information, visit https://foundationforseniorcare.org/.

 

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