Supporting Family Caregivers

DEMENTIA AFFECTS MORE THAN 6 MILLION AMERICANS. THAT'S ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. AS MORE PEOPLE ARE DIAGNOSED WITH THE DISEASE FAMILY MEMBERS ARE BECOMING THE MAIN CAREGIVERS. WGCU’S CARY BARBOR SHARES A LOCAL RESOURCE TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING WITH A LOVED ONE WITH DEMENTIA. >> WHEN A LOVED ONE IS DIAGNOSED WITH DEMENTIA, A FAMILY MEMBER MAY BE PUT INTO A POSITION THEY NEVER EXPECTED CAREGIVER. IT'S A 24 7 JOB WITH NO TRAINING, NO PAY AND HUGE STAKES AND YOU'RE DOING IT WHILE WATCHING A LOVED ONE MENTALLY SLIP AWAY. BUT NOW THERE'S A LOCAL RESOURCE THAT CAN HELP THE CAREGIVERS JOURNEY. IT WAS FOUNDED BY SUE RYAN OF NAPLES AND NANCY TRIESTE OR OF ATLANTA BECAUSE THEY'VE BOTH BEEN THROUGH THIS JOURNEY, SUE MORE THAN ONCE. AND THEY HAVE USEFUL INFORMATION TO SHARE. THEY BEGAN WITH A PODCAST. WE STARTED THAT IN. >> AUGUST OF 2020 FOR THOSE 2 BRING ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS. PEOPLE HAD WE SPECIFICALLY MADE IT ADVICE AND HOW TO AND WE SPECIFICALLY MADE IT. IT HAS TO BE ACTIONABLE TIPS. SOMEBODY HAS GOT AN ISSUE. THEY COME AND THEY LISTEN AND THEY'RE SHORT PODCAST. WE WANTED THEM TO GET ANSWERS. THINGS I COULD DO WITHIN 25 MINUTES OR LESS. AND THIS ESPECIALLY. TRUE FOR THIS TOPIC. >> WE'RE ALL ON THIS JOURNEY TOGETHER. YES, WE ARE. >> THE PROGRAM IS NOW MUCH MORE THAN A PODCAST. IT'S A ROBUST WEB SITE WITH BLOG POST DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES AND MORE. >> YOU DON'T HAVE TO SUBSCRIBE TO ANYTHING. EVERYTHING IS FREE. THE EVERY PODCAST EPISODE WE HAVE. WE ALSO CREATE A MATCHING BLOG BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE WANT TO READ AND NOT LISTEN. SO WE HAVE THAT EVERY PODCAST EPISODE HAS SHOWN NO. SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE REFER TO IT, PEOPLE CAN KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO GO GET SOMETHING. AND WE NEVER REFER TO SOMETHING THAT WE HAVEN'T EITHER USED OR IF WE'VE GOT AN EXPERT ON THAT, THEY ARE EXPERT IN. SO WE'RE NOT PROMOTING ANYTHING THAT IS SOMETHING THAT SOMEBODY MAKE A GOING TO MAKE A PROFIT OFF OF. >> A GOOD PLACE TO START IS THE NAVIGATING DEMENTIA ROAD MAP WHICH WALKS PEOPLE THROUGH EACH STAGE OF THE DISEASE. IT OUTLINES THINGS THEY MAY WANT TO TAKE CARE OF AT THAT POINT SUCH AS UPDATING THEIR LONG-TERM CARE PLAN AND THEN POINTS THEM TO RESOURCES TO HELP THEM DO THAT. SUCH AS SAMPLE LEGAL DOCUMENTS AND ADVICE FROM AN ELDER CARE EXPERT. >> WE NEVER WANT TO PRESENT ANYTHING. >> THAT THAT WE'RE NOT REALLY KNOWLEDGEABLE IN. AND SO WE BRING THE EXPERT BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS WE DO THAT AND THEY LOVE IT TO THE EXPERTS WHEN WE HAVE THEM ON, WE CREATE A TEMPLET. WE CREATE AN OUTLINE. WE CREATE OKAY. THESE ARE THE TIPS. LET'S LET'S GO THROUGH TOGETHER AND FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE THE MOST. ACTIONABLE TIPS GOING TO BE THE MOST VALUABLE FOR OUR LISTENERS AND WE PREPARE. WE WALK THROUGH IT TOGETHER BEFORE WE DO IT. SO THE EXPERTS WHO COME ON ARE IN THE BEST POSITION TO DO EXACTLY THAT. BE EXPERT. GIVE THE ADVICE ON THAT PARTICULAR TOPIC. RYAN ENTRY STIR ARE ADAMANT THAT THEIR RESOURCES. >> GUIDE CAREGIVERS IN TOO QUICK AND SIMPLE ACTION. >> SAYING THAT MAN SOON. I DO SO WELL TOGETHER. IS THAT WE REALLY PUSH EACH OTHER. IT'S LIKE, OKAY. WELL, WHAT WE DO THIS TOPIC, THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT WAY OF IT'S GOT TO BE MORE IMPACTFUL. IT IF THAT WOULD BE TO FLUFF. I THINK THIS IS A MORE IMPORTANT TOPIC THAN THAT IS RIGHT NOW. LET'S SHELVE IT FOR THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WE REALLY COLLABORATE WELL TO TO BRING OUT THE BEST OF WHAT IT IS TO HAVE IT BE THE MOST IMPACTFUL MESSAGE THEY'VE RECORDED 65 EPISODES SO FAR. >> TOPICS RANGE FROM WHEN YOUR LOVED ONE WANDERS TO CREATING A SUPPORT NETWORK >> THEY HAVE 40,000 SUBSCRIBERS, ANOTHER METRIC THAT WE HAVE. WE LAUNCHED A PODCAST EVERY OTHER TUESDAY MORNING AT 05:00AM EASTERN TIME. AND BY ABOUT 05:00:05AM, EASTERN TIME. WE'VE GOT 500 OR MORE DOWNLOADS. SO WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE WAITING FOR THE NEXT EPISODE. >> RYAN SAYS SHE'S GRATEFUL THAT A LOT OF THE SILENCE AND STIGMA THAT SHE DEALT WITH IN HER 20'S WHEN SHE WAS HELPING HER GRANDMOTHER ARE LETTING UP. >> A LOT OF THE STIGMAS, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW. WE HAVE SOLUTIONS FOR AND OPTIONS FOR TO GIVE PEOPLE PERMISSION TO NAVIGATE THE JOURNEY. MORE IN THE OPEN AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THINGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE. >> THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF ADVICE RYAN HAS FOR CAREGIVERS IS TO ACCEPT HELP. DON'T TRY TO DO IT ALL ON YOUR OWN AND DON'T DO WHAT I DID. >> I JUST KEPT SHAVING OFF A LITTLE BIT OF MY OWN SELF CARE. I CAN DO THIS LATER. I DON'T NEED TO GO TO THE GYM EVERY DAY. I CAN GET THIS DONE. I PROMISE YOU THERE WILL COME A DAY WHEN THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO SHAVE OFF AND YOU WILL REALLY WISH THAT YOU HAD PRIORITIZED SELF CARE. SO FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, MAKE PRIORITIZING YOUR OWN SELF CARE, YOUR OWN SELF EDUCATION. VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. >> THE CAREGIVERS JOURNEY IS AVAILABLE ONLINE, COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE FOR WGCU, I'M CARY BARBOR.