I am a caregiver. Sometimes I am filled with joy because of all I can do for my grandmother. Especially since she is the most gracious, kind, loving woman I have ever met. Sometimes I am filled with guilt, knowing I could and should be doing more to help her live an active, healthy life. If only I had more time. More resources. More knowledge.
It was these latter thoughts that propelled me to make the one hour drive in the middle of a very busy week to downtown San Diego. I had been invited to a 'fireside chat' with Jennie Chin Hansen, CEO of the American Geriatrics Society and former AARP President, hosted by Independa's Chief Medical Officer and retired Kaiser Geriatrician, Dr. Richard Della Penna. He had invited his friends, colleagues and neighbors to learn from Jennie's extensive background and knowledge.
The drive at 5:30 p.m. in rush hour traffic was, awful. The list of "to do's" that swirled in my head during the drive was, overwhelming. The value of small, intimate gatherings to discuss real issues with experts and other people in the same situation was, priceless.
There were caregivers (such as myself) and there were neighbors that were choosing to age in their homes and who ranged in age from 72 to 95. There were professionals who helped care for seniors or care for caregivers. There were colleagues (again, like myself) who are working in the senior industry, trying to make a difference in how people can age in the place of their choice, safely and with dignity.
Jennie's style was frank, open and engaging. Her knowledge was extremely helpful and directly applicable to my grandmother's situation. It was as if she had customized her talk just for me. And even better was the follow on conversations that happened after Jennie's prepared remarks. And even better still, was the one on one connections I made with other people in attendance, such as Roberto from Southern Caregiver Resource Center (who knew there was such a thing!) and Dr. Steinberg who gave me specific advice to follow up on.
The top three things I learned:
- You must keep your mind and body engaged in 'exercise' as you age. There is evidence that physical exercise helps increase brain matter & that mental exercise is as important as physical.
- Staying socially connected is crucial to healthy living, no matter the age, but certainly critically important as we age.
- There are resources to help, including organizations like my new friend's Roberto's or geriatricians. But one resource that definitely needs more notoriety is the website created by the Foundation of the American Geriatrics Society. After spending some time on this site, I could not believe the amount of information contained on it. And even better, they have made a tremendous effort to distill technical and scientific information into a format and language that is easier to comprehend for most of us.
Have you discovered any new resources that you have found to be invaluable? If so, please share as we're building out a resource section on our website that we hope will be helpful and time saving for everyone.
