Pamela D. Wilson, MS, BS/BA, NCG, CSA is a caregiving expert, advocate, and speaker offering support to family caregivers and professional caregivers and author of The Caregiving Trap: Solutions for Life’s Unexpected Changes. As the result of the aging population and increase in need for family caregivers—nearly 4 in 10 Americans are caring for a loved one—it is critical that family caregivers are knowledgeable about options, plan for care, and advocate for care needs. The increase in diagnoses of chronic disease, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease strains the ability of family members— many who became caregivers as the result of an unexpected crisis— to provide daily support, navigate the care system, and to plan for future needs.

10:00am Family Discussions About Care and What Matters. This session discusses family relationships, why caregiving is so exhausting and individual caregiver experience.

11:00am Break / Visit the Vendors

11:15am Making Difficult Decisions About Ongoing Medical Care and Daily Needs. This session discusses managing chronic diseases and ongoing care needs, managing daily care and how to hire and manage in-home caregivers.

12:15pm Complimentary Lunch / Visit the Vendors

1:00pm Making Difficult Decisions: When Is it Time to Move to a Care Community? This session discusses how to evaluate care communities, adapting your changing role as a caregiver and advocate, and how to navigate care relationships.

2:00pm Break / Visit the Vendors

2:15pm Caregiver Self-Care and Planning: Tips to Manage When It All Seems Impossible. This session discusses caregiver-patient-family emotions, tips to re-balance caregiving tasks and manage relationships.

3:30pm Questions & Answers.