Caregiver Support Group to meet at VMH; The need for caregiver support

The next Caregiver Support Group meeting will be held Monday, December 16 at 1:30 p.m. in the Meditation Room in the front entrance of Veterans Memorial Hospital. When a person is diagnosed with a chronic illness, a lot of focus and attention is put on how to keep that person as independent and as healthy as possible. When a person loses some of their abilities to care for themselves the burden of care is often assumed by the spouse, a child (or children), or sometimes friends and neighbors. While everyone who becomes a caregiver handles the added responsibility with different skill sets, attitudes and understanding levels, there is no question that there is a very real strain associated with care giving.

Recent studies have estimated that the stress caused just by becoming the caregiver of an adult with a chronic illness or disability will take seven years off of a persons’ life. With more and more Iowans aging, this is a concern in the local community.

Veterans Memorial Hospital offers a caregiver coffee and conversation group that meets monthly at the hospital. This group is facilitated by a licensed social worker from Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A), and is open to all caregivers of elderly or disabled persons.

Make plans to attend this group that meets the third Monday of every month at 1:30 p.m. The next meeting will take place Monday, December 16 at 1:30 p.m. in the Meditation Room located just inside the main entrance of the hospital. Contact Kelly Kuennen at 563-277-6024 with any questions.