Aging Together to hold conference on caring for dementia patients
The Piedmont Dementia Education Committee will hold a virtual two-day conference in October on tips to help care for friends and family suffering from dementia.
The event, to be held via Zoom on Oct. 12-13 between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., will be held with the support of both the Culpeper Wellness Foundation and the Virginia Geriatric Education Center.
Caring for a person who is living with dementia can be a very rewarding job – but it can also be challenging, event organizers said. Regardless if one is a healthcare professional or a family caregiver, the task can be made much less daunting with some helpful strategies.
The conference will host seven program speakers with current subjects including resiliency, overcoming social isolation, Parkinson’s disease, grief and guilt, community resources and optimizing body, mind and spirit, and more.
Keynote speaker Melanie Bunn will speak both days on a positive approach to dementia care. Bunn is a speaker and mentor with Teepa’s Snow’s Positive Approach to Care, a national leader in Alzheimer’s disease care that has previously facilitated conferences in the region.
Bunn is also an experienced advanced practice nurse and nurse educator, conducting more than 200 presentations and training annually to health professionals, community organizations, first responders, families and others.
“We are excited about this virtual event which will include an online exhibition hall,” said Executive Director of Aging Together Ellen Phipps. “It’s an amazing first for us. We’ve successfully done dozens of virtual caregiver programs in response to the pandemic. Now we’re stepping it up a notch with an exhibition-based conference.”
She added, “We want to reach as many people in our region as possible. We know there is still fear about large in-person events. Our goal is to continue our tradition and find a way to make this conference widely available to both professional and family caregivers; and to highlight organizations who may offer services and products that make life less challenging.”
The conference is free to family caregivers. Professional caregivers who wish to attend will be charged $25, which includes two-day access to all programs and the exhibition hall. Continuing education units are also available for $35. The conference programs will be recorded and made available after the event for those who have registered. Aside from the planned Zoom event, there will also be information available online.
The Piedmont Dementia Education Committee is made up of representatives from local agencies and volunteers and includes Capital Caring; Culpeper Baptist Church Adult Day Center; Culpeper Library; First Light Home Care; Harbor at Renaissance; Healthy Steps; and Rappahannock Rapidan Community Services.