Powerful tools for caregivers workshop begins Sept. 23
Starting the end of September and running through October, Lee Memorial Health System will be putting on a workshop entitled “Powerful Tools for Caregivers.” Its focus will be on helping family caregivers reduce stress, improve self-confidence, communicate feelings, and increase their ability to make tough decisions.
According to Daniel Musteffe of LMHS, a caregiver is anybody who takes care of a relative or friend. These people are unpaid and the title can even be extended to patients who are in a health care facility. The emphasis is on the support role that a friend or relative of a sick person takes on by being present during times of sickness or injury.
The needs of caregivers often can be lost in the disorder of illness, with the obvious focus being on the patient.
The Powerful Tools for Caregivers workshop is new to Southwest Florida but is held in 30 states across the country. Training on hosting the workshop started in February and, since the opening workshops in March, about 100 caregivers have received training.
According to Musteffe, the real focus of these workshops is “to help caregivers find balance and to learn communication skills during the physically and emotionally trying times of sickness.”
While the patient is obviously having the hardest time, keeping composure and remaining strong for that sick friend or loved one can be quite taxing on caregivers.
Classes consist of six sessions held once a week. Two experienced class leaders conduct the series and many are experienced caregivers themselves who have successfully applied the techniques they teach, officials said.
Interactive lessons, discussions and brainstorming will help participants take the tools they choose and put them into action.
The class is taught around a book, “The Caregivers Handbook,” which was designed specifically for the class. The program was started by a company called Legacy Health, a national company also responsible for the publishing of the “Caregiver Helpbook.”
A donation of $25 is encouraged to receive the book and training but is not required and the book will be given out regardless.
Funding has been provided by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida, Inc.
In Collaboration with Lee Memorial Health System – Older Adult Services and Beacon of Hope, classes will be held at the following locations:
– St. John’s Episcopal Church, 7771 Stringfellow Road, St. James City, from Sept. 23- Oct. 28. Sessions are held every Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
– Community of Christ, 368 Herron Road, North Fort Myers, from Sept. 22- Oct. 27. Sessions are held every Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Call (239) 343-2751 to register. Class size is limited and pre-registration is required.