NYSCRC Bids Adieu to Doris Green and Wishes Her All the Best!

The team at NYSCRC wishes to extend our warmest congratulations to Doris Green, who is retiring after 10 years as director of the Coalition. Prior to her work as director, Doris led the Future Care Planning Services Program at Lifespan. Under her guidance, NYSCRC has achieved remarkable milestones, fueled by her dedication and firsthand experience as a caregiver. We extend our heartfelt wishes for Doris as she steps into this exciting new chapter. Her presence will truly be missed!

Meet Elizabeth Weimer, NY Connects/Caregiver Services Coordinator with Oswego County Office for the Aging and Member of the NYSCRC Advisory Committee

Q. Who were you caring for?
A. My father and grandmother.

Q. How long were you caring for them?
A. My father for 26 years, additionally, the last 11 years of his care, my grandmother, at the same time.

Q. What type of condition or illness do they have?
A. My father had a massive stroke which made him become wheelchair bound with complete paralysis on the left side, and my grandmother had Alzheimer's.

Q. What has your caregiving experience taught you about yourself?
A. I am capable of handling any situation that comes at me, I am stronger than I realized, and that I have a passion for helping others.

Q. If you had one piece of advice for those in the throes of caregiving, what would it be?
A. Be kind to yourself, give yourself some grace. We are human, not super heroes, and it is okay to ask for help!

From CEO to Her Mother’s Caregiver

Angela Williams, the former CEO of United Way, embraced a new journey, joining her siblings to navigate the intricate care requirements of their mother. In her conversation with the CEO of AARP, Williams reinforces the idea that nobody undertakes this challenging role in isolation, and that compassionate caregiving forms an essential pillar of the care system. Watch the interview

Virtual Travel Offers a Much-Needed Escape

Virtual travel can provide caregivers with an opportunity to step away from the demands and responsibilities of caregiving even when they cannot physically leave home. It can reduce feelings of isolation and provide caregivers with time to recharge, reflect, and reconnect with themselves. Even a short virtual journey can serve as a reminder that caregivers deserve moments of joy, rest, and exploration, too.

This virtual tour, Journey Along the Nile: Art, History, and Culture, is one of many available through the NYS Office for the Aging’s GetSetUp program. Begin your journey to improved health and wellbeing today!
Simply create an account and see all there is to experience— it’s free!

October is World Blindness Awareness Month

Around 1 to 1.1 million Americans are classified as legally blind, while more than 7 million experience uncorrectable vision loss, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Caring for someone experiencing vision loss can be made easier and more compassionate with various strategies that benefit both their journey and yours. This short video, How to Help Someone with Vision Loss from CareChannel, offers some great advice.

The Caregiver Action Network also has some helpful resources for those caring for someone with vision loss. Learn more here

When the Person Today is Not the Same Person You Married

Terence Tan shares his personal journey of caring for his wife, who has lived with dementia for more than eight years. From the first signs of memory loss and changing behavior to difficult public moments and private heartbreak, he reflects on the realities of loving someone as the condition gradually changes the person he once knew. It is a story of love, loss, courage, and resilience.

Watch Unsung Heroes: Caregiver Terence Tan | Loving Through Dementia from Medical Channel Asia.

“I’ll Be There” Watch Party: October 22 at 7:00 PM
Join Caregiver Action Network and Third Stage Counseling for a free virtual watch party of "I’ll Be There," a heartfelt and often humorous film about a family facing cancer and caregiving challenges. Following the screening, CAN's CEO Marvell Adams Jr. will host a live discussion with experts, actor Ryan Cooper, and screenwriter Cindy McCreery on the film's real-life implications. Free but registration is required. Learn more and register

Guidance On How to Adapt or Modify Your Home 
Recently updated with support from the federal Administration for Community Living, the Home Modification Information Network is a free online resource for individuals, caregivers, professionals, and anyone else seeking information on how to convert or adapt an environment to make performing tasks easier and reduce accidents. It can be something low-cost and simple, like removing hazardous rugs or clutter, or something more complex, like hiring a contractor to install grab bars in a bathtub. Find more information here

Clinical Trials for Alzheimer’s Disease
If you are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, you may have the option to enroll your loved one in a clinical trial. Bristol Myers Squibb is currently recruiting participants in clinical trials throughout the U.S. to investigate alterations in mood and behavior associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Learn more about clinical trials and how to support someone participating in one of them.

Acknowledge What You Give to Others

Recognizing the contributions you make to others is crucial for embracing self-care and achieving balance in your life. Ignoring your role as a caregiver can result in ongoing stress. It's vital to honor your emotions. Feelings of burnout, fatigue, anger, and sorrow are natural responses to persistent stress, not signs of failure. Acknowledging your position can help reshape these emotions positively. Family Caregiver? A Meditation Journey To Find Balance from InsightTimer can help guide you to acknowledgement and wellbeing

NY Connects links individuals to long-term services and supports regardless of payment source/health insurance, whether it be private pay, public or a combination of both. Through the provision of free, comprehensive, objective information and assistance about long-term services and supports, NY Connects empowers individuals and families to identify available services and supports and choose what will best meet their needs at home, in the community, and as necessary, in residential or institutional settings.

To learn more, call: 1-800-342-9871 or visit www.nyconnects.ny.gov 

This publication is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,599,999 with 75 percentage funded by ACL/HHS of $1,200,000 and $399,999 and 25 percentage funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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