Duke Caregiver Community Event Agenda

Pursuing Health Equity in Dementia: Research, Program, and Policy Considerations
Presenter: Carl Hill, Ph.D., MPH, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Alzheimer’s Association

• Dementia research, caregiving, and policymaking are all connected. Learn about the latest research on different kinds of dementia and gain perspective about how diversity and inclusion are an important part of it all.

Getting to YES: Using Preserved Skills to Assist People Living with Dementia
Presenter: Melanie Bunn, RN, MS, Dementia Training Specialist, Dementia Alliance of North Carolina

• Communicating effectively with someone who has dementia can be challenging. Learn verbal and interpersonal strategies that can help you in these interactions while also building your own resiliency.

Grabbing the Beers
Presenter: Liza Genao, MD, MD, Duke Geriatric Evaluation and Treatment Clinic

• What to do and not to do with medications. We will cover general principles of medications, how to manage them at home, and medications that are not recommended or are recommended with caution for adults 65 and older.  

Healing vs. Curing
Presenter: Cooper Linton, MHSA, MBA, Associate Vice President, Duke HomeCare & Hospice

• How do we balance the realities and limitations of curing and healing? Can they exist while we recognize the limitations of the human condition?

Suddenly Caregiving: A Panel Discussion with Care Partners
Presenters: Natalie Leary; Steve Hodges, Cathy Jones, Debby Greenwood

• Family care partners share the highs and lows he experienced through personal stories of courage, survival, and strength.

Making Mental Health Approachable
Presenters: Sara L. Emory, Senior Director of Behavior Health Service, Chief of Psychiatric Nursing, Duke Health, Christina Strayer, CEO, Animal Assisted Therapy of the Triangle; Anne Johnson, MD Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

• Understand how aging impacts mental health so you can provide the best care. This presentation will discuss the aging process and how it is tied to behavioral health, chronic illness management, and treatment options. You’ll also hear about managing stressors in real-time.

Where Has My Compassion Gone?
Presenter: Vicky Leff, LCSW, Executive Director, Advanced Palliative and Hospice Social Work Certification

• This session will cover the impact of caregiving in a variety of situations. We will provide strategies to mitigate the expectable stress and other challenges associated with caregiving. Participants will leave with take-home ideas to help them manage their caregiving roles.

My Family Member Is in the Hospital: Now What? Guidance for Navigating the Health Care System
Presenter: Pat Kramer, Ed.S, ACM, CCM, CSW Senior Director of Case Management, Utilization Management, and Clinical Social Work, Duke University Health System

• This presentation will provide practical advice on caring for a loved one in the hospital.

Advance Healthcare Planning for North Carolinians: An Update and Refresher
Presenters: Ken Burgess, JD, partner, Poyner Spruill

• Have a plan for your health care choices even when you can’t speak for yourself. Make sure your wishes are known. This session focuses on simplifying the key elements of Advance Care Planning and answering the following questions…. What do the documents mean? Why should I have them? What should I consider as I fill them out? When do I use them and how? 

We're in a Different Place Now: Navigating Conversations with Family and Loved Ones
Presenter: Dr. Christopher Jones, MD, HMDC, Director of Outpatient Palliative Care, Duke Health

• Learn skills that can guide difficult conversations with loved ones, including active listening and vocabulary that can help you share your own feelings effectively.

Laughter Really Is Good Medicine
Presenter: Lisa Levine, CDP, CMDCP, Senior Director of Programs, Dementia Alliance of North Carolina

• Even if it seems odd to laugh for no reason at all, your body can't tell the difference between real and forced laughter. Join this session and give your brain a break. Practice laughter exercises to decrease your caregiver stress and increase your resiliency. 

Intimacy, Sexuality, and Caregiving for Those with Dementia
Presenter: Angela Lucas, MSW, LCSW, Clinical Social Worker/Dementia Expert, VA COACH Program

• People with dementia-related cognitive challenges may experience intimate relationship changes and may have difficulty expressing intimate, close feelings. This may affect their ability to share empathy and compassion. This program will identify common caregiver responses to these changes. Recommendations will include ways for caregivers to reconnect mutually positive intimate expression.

The Male Caregiver: Coming to Grips with the Role Change from Partner to Caregiver"
Presenters: Mike Caldwell and Al Wooton, Family Caregivers

• Hear personal stories of how to prepare for changing roles in life and caring for others. 

Caregiving Through a Doctor's Eyes: The Health Care Triad (Patient-Caregiver-Doctor)
Presenters: Liza Genao, MD, and Yoon Kie Kim, MD, MPH, Duke Geriatric Evaluation and Treatment Clinic, Nicole Clagett, Moderator, Director of Community Development and Caregiver Support Duke HomeCare & Hospice

• Patient-provider-caregiver pearls for communication and working together: We will answer frequently asked questions about how best to communicate with your loved one’s health care provider, and offer a doctor's perspective on how to be a better caregiver.

Expanding Inclusion for LGBTQ+ Older Adults
Presenter: Joe Wheeler, SAGE Central, North Carolina

• This program will examine some of the unique challenges and needs of LGBTQ+ people as we age. We will explore suggestions and resources to help families and colleagues create inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ older adults and will lay the groundwork for caregiver networks to realize their commitment to serving LGBTQ+ older adults.