Press Release
June 26, 2007
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Kaylyn Kendall Dines
(973) 972-3000
dineskd@umdnj.edu
UMDNJ Offers Free Educational Series for Family Caregivers
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EDISON—Geriatric care experts at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey have developed a free educational series for family caregivers of older adults. A workshop will be held one Wednesday each month for three months at University Behavioral HealthCare, 100 Metroplex Drive (on Plainfield Avenue), Suite 200, in Edison.
The 2007 Caregiver Education Series is sponsored by Educate, Advocate, and Reduce Stress (EARS) for Caregivers, one of the caregiver support programs offered through Comprehensive Services on Aging (COPSA), a department of the UMDNJ-University of Behavioral HealthCare. The purpose of the series is to provide topics that will help family caregivers maximize their effectiveness. The EARS program, which is funded by a grant from the Middlesex County Office on Aging, also offers eligible caregivers ongoing emotional support, guidance, and referrals to community services at no cost.
To RSVP for any of the following workshops, call 1-866-300-3277 or 732-235-8452.
· Join Cyndi Kawabata, a professional organizer and owner of A Home that Works for You, as she provides tips for organizing your home and your daily schedule. If you are feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by household clutter or stacks of paper and files, attend the "Easing the Burden: Dealing with Clutter and Disorganization" session from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, July 18.
· Coping with loneliness, social isolation, and the sense of emotionally losing a close family member because of dementia or other illnesses is the focus of a workshop that will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, August 22. The "Feeling Alone: How Caregivers Can Cope with Loneliness" workshop.
· Bernadette Diaz Pechilio, managing director, Adult Day Services of North Brunswick, will describe the goals, benefits and activities that adult day care programs generally provide. The workshop called "Understanding the Benefits of Adult Day Care," will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, September 26. In addition to discussing the difference between social day care and medical day care facilities, Ms. Pechilio will describe how adult day care impacts the socialization and mental stimulation of physically and mentally impaired adults.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,700 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and a school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.
