Caregiver forum event Monday to help link people, services
When Denise Donelli’s mother became sick earlier this year, Donelli faced an overwhelming task.
For the Grove City woman, life became an exercise in deciphering medical jargon and navigating the ins and outs of Medicare.
A caregiver event at the Atrium Monday will bring together community organizations to ease the burden and answer the questions that sometimes plague caregivers, like Donelli.
“Being a caregiver is not an easy task,” said Julia Toth, a customer liaison with the Visiting Nurses Association and one of the organizers of the event. “It can be daunting at times.”
The forum will begin at 4 p.m. with representatives from the Area Agency on Aging, Butler Rehabilitation Centers, Butler Hospital System Primary Care Resource Center, Heritage Elder Law, LIFE Butler County, PA Link and the VNA of Western Pennsylvania on hand to point caregivers to the right county services.
At 5:30 p.m., a panel comprised of Linda Strachan, interim hospice director for the VNA and licensed social worker; Dorothy Staab, VNA nurse; Tim Sechler, elder law attorney; and a funeral home representative will answer questions.
Janice Rodgers, enrollment manager for LIFE Butler County, said the panel discussion will allow caregivers to narrow their search and find the resources that will best meet their particular needs.
“It is important that people feel supported in their role as caregivers and that they have information to help them,” said Elizabeth Friedman, senior manager for the Center for Community Resources and PA Link. “This forum is a good opportunity for a caregiver to take a break and learn something as well.”
Donelli rises at 5 a.m. most mornings, driving the more than 20-mile trip to spend time at her parents’ Butler home preparing meals and looking after her mother. Her brother takes over in the evenings, she said, after working a full day.
That is the reality for most caregivers.
“Caregivers face the challenge of finding time to accomplish everything,” Rodgers said.
She said many caregivers are still raising their children or holding down a full-time job when they are called upon to help care for an elderly relative.
“Trying to care for everyone often leaves the caregiver emotionally and physically depleted,” Rodgers said. “Finding services that can provide help and support is essential for the optimal health of all.”
For Donelli that meant VNA hospice care.
She said it helped translate the medical diagnoses and a team of nurses and others help care for her mother and her family.
“It made a big, big difference in my mom,” she said.
Toth said many caregivers can’t find the time to do the research required to find any resources. She hopes the caregiver forum will help.
“We know caregiving isn’t easy,” Toth said. “Everyone can use help.”
Toth said the event is not limited to current caregivers. People who know they will be in a caregiver position in the future are welcome as well.
“We will turn no one away at the door,” Toth said.
