Long-term care workshops set

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URBANA — Helping individuals and families to plan effectively for long-term care is the goal of a series of University of Illinois Extension workshops to be held in October and November.         “Long-Term Care: Talking, Deciding, Taking Action” will be offered at five locations throughout the state.

“When people have time to plan for long-term care needs thoughtfully and consider alternatives for financing, housing, and managing family dynamics, they increase their accessibility to options and make better choices,” said Paul McNamara, University of Illinois Extension health and consumer economics specialist.

A competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is underwriting the program developed by McNamara and Kathy Sweedler, Amy Griswold, Molly Hofer, Kathy Reuter and Cammy Seguin, all Extension educators.

The workshop series has four broad objectives:

• Increasing awareness of the wide range of housing options available for older adults;

• Encouraging caregivers to take care of themselves so they can continue to provide caregiving services;

• Providing family members with strategies and tools to manage emotions and communication challenges that arise when a family member needs long-term care services; and

• Helping people assess their financing options for long-term care.

Target groups include professionals who work in the area of long-term care as well as consumers.

“One theme that runs through all the topics we cover is communication,” explained McNamara. “People need to talk about these problems before they become critical. Sometimes that can be difficult but putting it off only makes it worse.”

Each workshop begins with registration from 8:30 to 9 a.m. and concludes at 2:45 p.m. All locations except Arthur will include four topics.

Dates and locations are as follows:

Oct. 21: Murphysboro, Jackson County Extension office

Oct. 22: Vandalia, First United Methodist Church

Oct. 28: Oregon, Ogle County Farm Bureau

Oct. 29: Galesburg, Knox County Agri Center

Nov. 12: Arthur, Arthur Community Building.

Those interested in attending one of the workshops should contact the local Extension office for further information.

You can also contact Kathy Sweedler at (217) 333-4901, or sweedler@ uiuc.edu.