Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition gives caregivers a voice, connects them with resources Balancing a career with caregiving put Amy Brennan in a precarious position. In 2016, the Chicago resident took five months off work with partial pay, through the Family Medical Leave Act. Her mother was in the final stages of cancer, and Brennan needed […]
Keep your loved ones with dementia safe through this holiday’s winter storms. While the snow, wind, and colder temps coming this week are a major inconvenience for most of us, for individuals with dementia, they can be life-threatening. The fact that the winter storm’s arrival coincides with the holidays is creating a quandary for families […]Read More
What advice would you give to someone new to caregiving? “Make sure that you have empathy for the patient that you’re actually taking care of. I think about every single patient that I’m taking care of as my grandmother, my grandfather, my mom or my dad, my sister or my brother. I treat them with […]Read More
Caregiver travel grants offer respite and adventure to those caring for others. At 61 years old, Yolanda Sampan accomplished something that her mother had always dreamed of for her daughter: She earned her U.S. citizenship. Sampan knew in that moment last August that she wanted to return to Washington, D.C., to see the cherry blossoms […]Read More
Experts help families navigate tough situations Betsy Calkins and her siblings recently faced a daunting situation. They noticed their mother, who at the time was in her 90s, was beginning to have challenges living alone in her Mount Prospect home. But with Calkins and two of her siblings living out of state, the responsibility to […]Read More
9 tips to keep your loved one eating well with dementia When you think about side effects of dementia, eating probably isn’t one of the first issues to come to mind. But for a disease that impacts every area of a person’s life, mealtime definitely takes a hit. Over time, dementia may cause changes in […]Read More
No one wants to end up in the hospital. But each year in the United States, adults 65 and older have about 13.2 million hospitalizations, according to a 2021 report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. A sudden hospital visit can be stressful. One of the easiest ways to prepare is to have […]Read More
Winter in Chicago is a challenging time for many people. But for older adults, it is especially fraught with risks from falls, hypothermia, and isolation. Check out these winter safety suggestions from caregiving experts at two local agencies about how to keep your loved ones toasty and safe this winter. Winter safety tip #1: Keep […]Read More
Seek support when caring for a partner with dementia In the basement of Frank Pagura’s Elk Grove Village home is a woodshop, a respite from his role as full-time caregiver to his wife Rosemary, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about five years ago. While Frank, 80, gets lost in the art of woodturning, Rosemary, 81, […]Read More
At age 68, Mary knew the time had come to sell the family’s two-flat on Chicago’s North Side that her grandfather purchased in the 1940s. She grew up with her siblings and parents on the first floor. After her grandparents passed away, Mary moved to their second-floor apartment where she was joined by her partner, […]Read More
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