CARIBOU, Maine — Cary Medical Center has received a grant from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services Office of Aging and Disability Services to provide free training to individuals who are caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. The $28,000 in funding will support training programs throughout Aroostook County.
The training program is called The Savvy Caregiver, a university-tested program for family members caring for a loved one with dementia at home. The two-hour sessions take place once a week for six weeks. The course empowers caregivers with the knowledge, skills and frame of mind that are needed to be successful in their demanding role.
Bill Flagg, director of community relations and development at Cary, said that the program is part of an ongoing effort by the hospital to provide support for families coping with Alzheimer’s disease.
“We are very pleased to have the grant funds available to work with families who have a loved one with Alzheimer’s or other dementia,” said Flagg, who will coordinate the project. “We have been offering the Memory Clinic at Cary for some 15 years and have seen hundreds of patients with their families. We have established an Alzheimer’s Disease Support Group, and the Savvy Caregiver program will give us additional tools to help these families.”
Cary will work in partnership with the Aroostook Area Agency on Aging to deliver the Savvy Caregiver program. Sharon Berz, with the Agency, is conducting the training and is very impressed with the evidence-based program.
“Savvy Caregiver has been piloted in a few states and it really has had a positive impact on caregivers,” said Berz, who has been certified as a master trainer. “We are pleased to be working with Cary. I believe people from throughout the County will benefit from our combined efforts.”
The Savvy Caregiver program is designed in two levels. Savvy 1 is the introductory course and provides general information about the care-giving role, teaching special skills and providing useful tools in supporting the individual with Alzheimer’s.
Savvy 2 is taught to caregivers five months after they complete the Savvy 1 program.
Flagg said that the caregivers face tremendous amounts of stress and the Savvy Caregivers is a wonderful program teaching valuable skills.
“The stress that caring for someone with Alzheimer’s places on the family can be enormous,” said Flagg, who co-facilitates Cary’s Alzheimer’s Support Group. “Having had the opportunity to observe Sharon Berz teaching the course, I am confident that those attending will get a great deal from the program. It is our hope that individual caregivers and family members will take the opportunity to attend the training while it is free thanks to the grant we have received.”
The training will be offered in Caribou at the Chan Center at Cary beginning Saturday, April 6, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Class sizes are limited and pre-registration is required. For more information or to register for the program, please call Cary Medical Center at 498-1112.