Did you know that November is National Family Caregiver Month? In honor of this, we asked Carolyn Pointer Neil to speak. She is the founder and CEO of Elder Advocates right here in Knoxville! She is also the Administrator at Asbury Place Maryville.
Carolyn is a Registered Nurse (RN) and Licensed Nursing Home Administrator (NHA) with 28 years of experience in leading health care teams and organizations. Carolyn is from Norris, Tennessee. She has an extensive background in healthcare administration as well. To say the least, she has an abundance of experience in helping people take care of their loved ones.
Carolyn began the talk with a powerful statement, “1 in 4 Americans become a caregiver and 65% of these people are women who are working or juggling other things.” The strain on caregivers can be intense because when you are caring for a loved one, sometimes you forget to take care of yourself.
Carolyn believes there are four key steps which make the transition to becoming a caregiver much smoother. A discussion needs to take place sooner rather than later…
- Review your support system – your family, your neighbors, your church family, etc. (Who might help you help your loved ones? Doing it alone will be hard.)
- Review your legal documents –Powers of Attorney, Living Will, Last Will and Testament, etc. (Are they up-to-date; have they been executed?)
- Review your insurance with a long-term perspective – Don’t choose insurance based solely on the monthly premium price (Do you have proper coverage?)
- Review your professional services – Doctors, financial advisors, counselors, pharmacist, etc. (Do you have knowledgeable, reliable professionals you can go to with important questions/concerns?)
We loved hearing from Carolyn! She gave great insight on the caregiving reality that many people face. If you missed this meeting, be sure to check our events tab at the beginning of each month to see what the next one will be about! We will not have one in December.
For more information on Elder Advocates and the resources they offer, you could visit the website: http://www.yourelderadvocates.com/
Elder Advocates and Asbury Place Maryville are not affiliated with TVAMP.
Be sure to check our “Events” tab regularly to see what we have planned for the next one! Seating for these meetings will be limited but if you miss the cut off, call us and we can put you on the list for the next one or let you know if someone cancels. When we have a corresponding handout, we will be sure to share it here in case you missed the meeting.