Millions of Americans take care of a friend or family member with a serious health condition, or are being expected to care for aging family members. Being a caregiver can be a labor of love, but it can also be stressful. Learn how you can be an effective caregiver while also taking care of yourself. Caregivers are defined as those who take part in assisting others with respect to limitations they may have due to disability, illness, aging, or mental health conditions. Caregivers can be either paid or unpaid. They can also be either professionally trained or a friend or family member. Family caregivers are those who provide part- or full-time support to a family member or friend. They may care for an aging parent, a child, a sibling, or a spouse.
If you care for anyone in your life and you check on them regularly, you could be considered a family caregiver even if you don’t self-identify as such. One of the most popular caregiver definitions comes from Mrs. Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady and wife of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who summed it up the best when she said: “There are only four kinds of people in the world: Those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who need caregivers.” Fee: $35 includes lunch.
Click here to register for this retreat (requires credit card) or email olpretreat@chmiowa.org
Leader Chris Pries
Chris is a Nurse Practitioner and retired clinical director at the Vera French Community Mental Health Center. She has been a consultant to community agencies and school systems since 1975 and has participated in initiatives in the community and the State of Iowa including the Scott County Child Welfare Decategorization Planning Committee and the Robert Wood Johnson Health Decategorization Committee. She has consulted with the Scott County Juvenile Court Services, the TAPP Program (Davenport Community Schools), HEAD Start, Mississippi Bend Area Educational Agency and was one of the lead authors on a Protocol for Intervention in Schools Following a Sudden Death. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Iowa School of Nursing, and has co-authored a chapter on Cognitive Disorders in Psychiatric Nursing; Biological and Behavioral Concepts edited by Deborah Antar-Otong MS, RN CS.
