Free Training Offered Sept. 24 to Respite Caregivers Statewide
| LITTLE ROCK – Volunteer respite caregivers, family caregivers, and community- and faith-based groups are invited to attend free respite care training Sept. 24 at locations in eight Arkansas cities.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Schmieding Caregiver Training Program instructors will provide the training. Attendees will learn how to provide respite care, which is temporary care for a child or adult with special health care needs that is provided to give time off or relief to a long-term caregiver.
The training classes will be from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Schmieding Center for Senior Education in Springdale; the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging in Little Rock; Schmieding-Northeast Center on Aging in Jonesboro; South Central Center on Aging in Pine Bluff; Texarkana Regional Center on Aging in Texarkana; Oaklawn Center on Aging in Hot Springs; South Arkansas Center on Aging in El Dorado; and West Central Center on Aging in Fort Smith.
For more information, call The Choices in Living Resource Center at (866) 801-3435. For a registration form, go to www.choicesinliving.ar.gov/alrc.html.
Although the training is free, seating is limited, so please register early. Local sponsors will provide lunch. The respite caregiving classes are organized through a partnership of the Arkansas Lifespan Respite Coalition, the Arkansas Department of Human Services and the UAMS Schmieding Caregiver Training Program.
The one-day class will cover such topics as introducing the caregiver to the care recipient, overcoming obstacles of communication, using good health and safety practices, creating a positive environment to handle ordinary and challenging situations, understanding types of equipment, planning and adapting activities, protecting confidentiality and learning coping skills.
The Schmieding Caregiver Training Program is part of the Arkansas Aging Initiative at the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It provides education and skills training to family members and paid caregivers caring for older adults in the home, allowing older adults to have choices about how they are cared for.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###