Discover family meeting strategies, safe home environments for people with memory loss, Sharon Public Library, Jan. 7&12

Thursday, January 7, 2016, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Strategies for Successful, Supportive Family Meetings

Presented by HESSCO Family Caregiver Specialist Tara Flannigan, LCSW, MSW, and Transitions Coordinator Patricia Gavin

Tuesday, January 12, 2016, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Making Simple Changes throughout the Home for People with Memory Loss

Presented by Linda Einis, OT/ATP

(SHARON, MA) – Family Caregiver Specialist Tara Flannigan, LCSW, MSW, and Transitions Coordinator Patricia Gavin of HESSCO Elder Services return to the Sharon Public Library (SPL), on Thursday, January 7, at 7:00 pm, with the second installment in their three-part, Our Partners in Health series about living with and caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other forms of memory loss. The 90-minute educational program will focus on Strategies for Successful, Supportive Family Meetings, and will examine family dynamics and how they impact family conflict, including:

• How to prepare for and organize a successful family meeting;
• Effective communication and conflict resolution strategies;
• Using a solution-focused approach to achieve goals;
• Utilizing resources for care management;
• Planning for success, including follow-up meetings and goal measurement;
• How to prepare for end-of-life discussions.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

On Tuesday, January 12, at 7:00 – 8:30 pm, occupational therapist Linda Einis, OT/ATP, will examine, Adapting the Home Environment to the Needs of People with Memory Loss. An occupational therapist with more than 30 years of experience working with individuals with disabilities in a wide variety of settings, Einis is also a certified assistive technology specialist and uses technology to help her clients achieve greater independence in their lives. She brings firsthand experience in problem solving and finding ongoing daily living solutions for a parent with dementia living at home. Her 90-minute program will look at ways to make simple changes throughout the home to increase function, safety and quality of life for people with memory loss.

Both programs will be held in the SPL’s Cynthia B. Fox Community Room.

Our Partners in Health is a collaborative comprising the Sharon Public Library in partnership with the Sharon Council on Aging, Epoch Senior Healthcare of Sharon, Hebrew Senior Life, Health & Social Services Consortium, Inc. (HESSCO), Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Orchard Cove, White Oak Cottages, and Your Elder Care Experts. For more information about Our Partners in Health and upcoming OPH programs, contact SPL Library Director Lee Ann Amend at 781.784.1578, ext. 1425, lamend@ocln.org, or visit www.sharonpubliclibrary.org.

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. #HHS-N-276-2011-0001C with the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

ABOUT THE SHARON PUBLIC LIBRARY

A member of the Old Colony Library Network (OCLN) with a collection in a wide range of traditional and digital formats, the Sharon Public Library (SPL) is committed to serving the informational, educational, cultural and recreational needs of all members of the Sharon community by providing access to a professional staff, a state-of-the-art facility and quality materials, programs and service.

-end-