By the time you hit middle age and beyond, you’ve gained a wealth of life’s experience. Nothing may have prepared you well, however, to care for a frail parent or spouse, which brings a whole different set of issues from those child-rearing skills you mastered (um, maybe) so many years ago.
It’s why Aging Edge has a special “Being A Caregiver” section offering information and resources, and why Allegheny County’s Area Agency on Aging has scheduled a group of four educational workshops in upcoming weeks on different aspects affecting caregivers.
The four sessions each run from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at the AAA office at 2100 Wharton St. on the South Side, second floor. There is no charge, and participants can choose any number of sessions to attend, but advance registration is required by calling 412-350-4996.
The dates and topics are:
May 4: Caring for the caregiver and assisting with personal care.
May 18: General caregiving skills and positioning and mobility assistance.
May 25: Home safety and caring for someone with dementia.
June 1: Legal and financial issues and healthy eating.
Across the state in Philadelphia, the Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly recently highlighted a different issue: financial abuse of the elderly.
Such abuse often comes at the hands of family members, not strangers. The CARIE group recognized this with an award to Philip Marshall, whose late grandmother, onetime New York socialite Brooke Astor, had tens of millions of dollars stolen from her while she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The thief was her son, Anthony Marshall, who is Philip Marshall’s father. Philip Marshall testified against his father and helped put him in jail.
Philip Marshall now does speaking engagements around the country warning of the potential for such abuse, and his award-winning efforts were described in this Philadelphia Inquirer article.
Gary Rotstein: grotstein@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1255.
First Published: April 26, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
