Event Agenda

The Power of Story: The Person Behind the Disease
Presenters:
Nicole Clagett, Director of Community Engagement, Duke HomeCare & Hospice
Cooper Linton, MHA, MBA, Associate Vice President, Duke HomeCare, Duke Hospice, Duke Home Infusion
Joe Wallace, Photographer, Family Caregiver
Jay Reinstein, Community Member

• It's critical to understand the background, history, story, and culture of a person receiving care. Learn how to better understand these needs and how you can enhance your caregiving skills through the power of stories.

Caregiver Considerations for Individuals with Heart Conditions
Presenters: Dr. Neha Pagidipati, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Specialist, Duke Health, and Stephanie G. Barnes, MSN, AGPCNP-C, CHFN, Clinical Director for Advanced Heart Failure Services, Duke Heart Center, Duke University Hospital 

• Learn strategies on how to support a patient or loved one who deals with a cardiovascular condition, including heart failure. We will also review how you can find resilience as you provide care.

Creating a Meaningful Day: Adjusting Activities as Dementia Progresses    
Presenter: Lisa Levine, Senior Director of Programs, Dementia Alliance of North Carolina

• Understanding what is changing as someone’s dementia progresses is important. But once you know that, how do you help the person find meaning and purpose? Explore ways to engage with a person as their needs increase and their abilities change.

National Alliance on Mental Illness Focus on Family and Friends    
Presenter: Suzanne Mayer, Representative, National Alliance on Mental Illness

• Better understand the diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions and effective communication strategies to talk about them. Learn the importance of self-care and how local and national programs can support you.

Protecting North Carolina's Seniors    
Presenter: Elaine F. Marshall, North Carolina Secretary of State

• Hear how the Secretary of State’s office works to protect seniors from investment fraud, fake charity scams, notary fraud, and dangerous counterfeit prescription drugs. Secretary Marshall will also discuss how the department helps North Carolinians enjoy their golden years on their own terms through the state’s secure, online Registry for Advance Health Care Directives.

Tools, Traps, and Opportunities: Getting It Right When You’re Making Decisions For Someone Else    
Presenters: Mark Costley, Founding Attorney, and Jonathan Williams, Attorney, Clarity Legal Group

• Hear a detailed review of legal documents and practical issues when a caregiver makes health care, financial, or legal decisions for someone else. The presentation covers what tools are needed to serve the interests and protect the dignity of the person in need of support and care, but also how they should be used to protect the caregiver from liability.

Making “Sense” of Therapeutic Horticulture: How Plants Can Help You Thrive    
Presenter: Amy Bruzzichesi, MSW, Social Worker, and Therapeutic Horticulture Facilitator

• Learn about the history and benefits of therapeutic horticulture for improving well-being and health outcomes, and how therapeutic horticulture is much more than “playing in the dirt.” In a demonstration and optional plant-along, participants will learn how to take cuttings from basil plants to create new plants, and how to propagate hens and chicks plants (sempervivum) from a stock plant. 

The Validation Communication Method: Techniques to Try for your own Breakthrough
Presenter: Sandy Strathmeyer, Director of Engagement and Program Services, Sunrise Senior Living

• Enter the emotional world of a disoriented person by using the “Validation Method,” an empathetic method of communication that helps reduce stress and enhance dignity and happiness.

Fast-Forward: Changing Lives and Getting the Conversation Started    
Presenters:
Kate DeBartolo, Senior Director, Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s The Conversation Project
Michael Eric Hurtig, Director, and Producer, Fast-Forward 
Lexi Balmuth, Technical Associate II, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab

• Look into your family's future to maximize choices as everyone ages. Crew members behind the documentary “Fast-Forward” will share clips from the film and discuss some different family stories/dynamics and techniques to help you broach these critical conversations with the people who matter most in your life.

Dementia 101 & Using a Positive Approach to Dementia Care
Presenters:
Daniel Parker, MD, Geriatric Medicine Specialist, Duke Health
Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, Positive Approach® to Care

• An overview of mild cognitive impairment and dementia will guide a conversation about diagnosing and managing these diseases. Learn strategies for interacting with those living with dementia, including how to approach safely, and ways to provide verbal support and responses that reduce distress.

Medicare and Medicaid: Are You Aware Of The Differences?
Presenters:
Stephanie Bias, Program Coordinator, North Carolina Senior Medicare Patrol
Vada Simone Moore, Staff Development Supervisor, Durham County Department of Social Services' Quality Assurance Training Team

• Join this conversation on all things Medicare and Medicaid, including eligibility, enrollment, benefits coverage, financial considerations, fraud, waste, and abuse.

Making “Sense” of Therapeutic Horticulture: How Plants Can Help You Thrive    
Presenter: Amy Bruzzichesi, MSW, Social Worker and Therapeutic Horticulture Facilitator

• Learn about the history and benefits of therapeutic horticulture for improving well-being and health outcomes, and how therapeutic horticulture is much more than “playing in the dirt.” In a demonstration and optional plant-along, participants will learn how to take cuttings from basil plants to create new plants, and how to propagate hens-and-chicks (sempervivum) from a stock plant. 

The Validation Communication Method: Techniques to Try for your own Breakthrough
Presenter: Sandy Strathmeyer, Director of Engagement and Program Services, Sunrise Senior Living

• Enter the emotional world of a disoriented person by using the “Validation Method,” an empathetic method of communication that helps reduce stress and enhance dignity and happiness.

Fast-Forward: Changing Lives and Getting the Conversation Started    
Presenters:
Kate DeBartolo, Senior Director, Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s The Conversation Project
Michael Eric Hurtig, Director and Producer, Fast-Forward 
Lexi Balmuth, Technical Associate II, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab

• Look into your families’ futures to maximize choices as everyone ages. Crew members behind the documentary “Fast-Forward” will share clips from the film and discuss some different family stories/dynamics and techniques to help you broach these critical conversations with the people who matter most in your life.

Dementia 101 and Using a Positive Approach to Dementia Care
Presenters:
Daniel Parker, MD, Geriatric Medicine Specialist, Duke Health
Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, Positive Approach® to Care

• An overview of mild cognitive impairment and dementia will guide a conversation about diagnosing and managing these diseases. Learn strategies for interacting with those living with dementia, including how to approach safely, and ways to provide verbal support and responses that reduce distress.

Medicare and Medicaid: Are You Aware Of The Differences?
Presenters:
Stephanie Bias, Program Coordinator, North Carolina Senior Medicare Patrol
Vada Simone Moore, Staff Development Supervisor, Durham County Department of Social Services' Quality Assurance Training Team

• Join this conversation on all things Medicare and Medicaid, including eligibility, enrollment, benefits coverage, financial considerations, fraud, waste, and abuse.