Aging Gracefully: Creating a Senior Care Plan for Mom and Dad

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016, the Norton Healthcare Employee Resource Group for Women or NWIRED, hosted an event called, “Aging Gracefully.” This free program sponsored by Premier Caregiver Services and the Norton Healthcare Foundation, discussed the details and conversations involved in creating a senior care plan for mom and dad. With this topic, a panel of speakers addressed the fact that many times it’s the eldest daughter who is responsible for making the decisions for her parent’s long term care. This conversation covered many topics related to senior caregiving and care planning including: developing a care plan, taking away the car keys, learning your parents’ medical history and understanding your parents’ preferred care preferences.

A group of four female panelists, guided by moderator Jackie Hays, helped conduct this discussion. Moderator Jackie Hays is an Emmy award-winning journalist that currently writes and produces health-related stories for Norton Healthcare. The women on the panel presented different areas of expertise and experience on senior home care planning. Merrily Orsini, an elder care professional, brought her extensive knowledge to the panel, along with pharmacist Dr. Mary Kate Probst. The panel also included Misty Clark Vantrease, an attorney with Kentucky ElderLaw PLLC, and  Amy Jo Condo, a daughter that discussed her experiences caring for her 92-year-old mother.

All of the panel participants brought their diverse experience and knowledge to the discussion to provide a 360 degree perspective on senior caregiving and creating a care plan. Mary Jo Condo is  a busy mom and business owner that spoke about the challenging and humorous experiences that coincide with caring for aging parents. These personalized stories from a person who has been through the senior caregiving experience and truly understands helped connect everyone who attended the event. The panelists were on hand to answer any types of questions and to connect participants to resources in the Louisville, Kentucky community.

While many may find the topic of creating a senior care plan for aging parents challenging, this panel showed how beneficial it is to take the time to do it. Starting the conversation isn’t always easy, but with the help of Norton Healthcare, Premier Caregiver Services and these panelists, the 50 attendees left the event with a deeper understanding and more confidence to open up the conversation with their parents and other aging loved ones.

For additional information about senior home care services in Louisville, Kentucky and Eastern, Kentucky, including how to address home accessibility and safety, meal preparation, transportation assistance and much more, give Premier Caregiver Services a call at 877-724-3678. We look forward to hearing from you.