By Emily Cooper, Boulder County Area Agency on Aging
The annual Caregiving Symposium, sponsored by Boulder County Area Agency on Aging (a division of Community Services), is Thursday, May 19, 9:30 – 5 p.m., at the Plaza Convention Center, 1850 Industrial Circle, in Longmont. Designed for the thousands of Boulder County residents who provide care for older relatives, partners and friends, the Caregiving Symposium offers a convenient place to visit with service providers, enhance caregiving skills, learn about eldercare issues, and share with fellow caregivers.
Now in its 11th year, the Caregiving Symposium has become a yearly highlight for family caregivers in Boulder County. One caregiver says of the event, “I attended the Caregiving Symposium last year for the first time, and felt relieved to know that I’m not alone and that there are places for me to turn to when needed. I’m looking forward to this year’s event!” Another emphatically states, “This is a day I will NOT miss!”
The Caregiving Symposium features a resource fair of 100 or more local service providers, a variety of educational handouts, complimentary lunch (for preregistered guests), and fifteen one hour workshops on key caregiving topics including Alzheimer’s/dementia care, financial and legal issues, adaptations for vision loss, respite tips and resources, medication management and review, safety issues, consumer fraud, in home care services, massage for the elderly or ill, spiritual caregiving, creative arts and Alzheimer’s, end-of-life issues, and more.
General admission for the Caregiving Symposium is free, but preregistration by May 12 is required, at 303-441-1685 or www.caregivingsymposium2016.eventbrite.com (see the full agenda there). Walk-in registration—without lunch—is permissible. Caregivers are welcome to attend all or only part of the event. To help them attend, free on-site elder care is offered by reservation. Call 303-441-1543 to learn more.
The 2016 Caregiving Symposium is co-sponsored by Aging Services Foundation of Boulder County, Life Care Center of Longmont, The Peaks at Old Laramie Trail, HomeCare of the Rockies, Hover Senior Community, Allegiance Home Care, 50 Plus Marketplace News, The Peaks Care Center & Frontier Therapy, Via Mobility Services, Meals on Wheels of Boulder, PASCO, Professional Home Health Care / Care Link Adult Day Program, Synergy HomeCare, and Wind-horse Family and ElderCare. Their generosity is appreciated.