Free Family Caregiver Workshop to be held Feb. 23

By Ben Boulden

The workshop will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the South Arkansas Center on Aging located at 106 West Main, Suite 310 in El Dorado. For more information or to register, please call 870-881-8969, or visit www.uamscaregiving.org.

The workshop will present an overview of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and provide caregiving tips that maintain respect, dignity and quality of life for the person living with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Information will also be presented on nutrition, behavior, communication techniques and activities.

This workshop is sponsored by the Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative (AGEC) at UAMS, which is funded by a Health Resources and Services Administration’s Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program grant. The AGEC improves the quality of care for older adults through education by offering programs for health professionals, first responders, family caregivers and direct care workers.

The UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging serves the needs of an aging generation with the highest standards of research and care. It was established through a 1997 gift of $28.8 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and expanded through a 2009 foundation gift of $33.4 million. Within the institute is the Arkansas Aging Initiative (AAI), created from part of Arkansas’ share of the Master Tobacco Settlement to improve the health of older Arkansans through interdisciplinary clinical care and innovative education programs, and to influence state and national health policy. The AAI created seven Centers on Aging throughout the state to provide senior adults access to quality care within a 60-mile drive from their homes. These centers offer the Schmieding Home Caregiver Training Program so older adults might have more opportunities to remain at home.