Balance Your Life With “Powerful Tools for Caregivers”

April 14, 2011 - PRLog -- Are you taking care of an aging parent?  Does your spouse need help from you on a daily basis for activities of daily living?  Are you overseeing needs of food, finances & more care for your mom?  Is a serious illness of a loved one requiring care from you?

“Powerful Tools for Caregivers” is an educational series designed to provide you with the tools you need to be the most effective caregiver you can.  Hospice At Home, in partnership with and funded by Area Agency on Aging, is offering this program to help family caregivers reduce stress, improve self-confidence, communicate feelings better, balance their lives, increase their ability to make tough decisions and locate helpful resources.

Classes consist of six 2 ½ hour sessions held twice a week for three weeks. Two certified facilitators, Terri Dotson and Debbie Hayes, conduct the series. Interactive lessons, discussions and brainstorming will help you take the “tools” you choose and put them into action for your life.

Participants will receive a book, The Caregiver Helpbook, developed specifically for the class.  A donation of $25.00 to help defray the cost of the book is suggested, though not required, to attend the class.

The next series of classes will be held at Benton Harbor Senior Center, 225 Colfax Avenue, Benton Harbor, from 12:30 – 3:00pm on Mondays and Thursdays in May. The class dates are May 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, and 19.  

Respite care and transportation are available if necessary. For more information or to register, call 1-800-717-3811. Class size is limited and pre-registration is required.

Hospice at Home, celebrating 30 years serving the community, is the non-profit local hospice focusing on the patient and family regardless of the patients' diagnosis, treatment choices, or ability to pay.  It provides quality care to people adjusting to living with a serious illness, as well as to people facing death, anticipating the death of a loved one, or healing their grief after the death of a loved one.  Hospice at Home places an emphasis on the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of those who need care and those receiving support services in Berrien, Cass, Van Buren, and Allegan Counties. Extending this care, Lory’s Place, a bereavement and education center that builds hope and strength for every grieving family, is available to anyone in Southwest Michigan or Northern Indiana.

Area Agency on Aging is a private, not-for-profit agency serving Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties.  It offers comprehensive and coordinated systems of services to assist older persons, those who care for them, and other vulnerable adults.  Their mission is to help this population maintain independence in their homes and communities for as long as possible.

For more information contact Hospice at Home at 269-429-7100 or 1-800-717-3811 or go to www.hospiceathomecares.org.

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Hospice at Home is your non-profit hospice provider for SW Michigan. Offering comfort, dignity, and compassion to the terminally ill through a holistic, non-curative, approach to care, focused on enhancing the lives of patients for their remaining days.