Savvy Caregiver
Bonnie Tracy
INTENDED AUDIENCE: State employees/retirees who are family caregivers of people living with dementia in the community.
Credit: 12 hrs.
The following protocol will apply to attendance at this program:
- Sessions are scheduled to run from 12 – 2:00 p.m. This was done so that only 1 hour of the program would be on work time (12 – 1 p.m. being a fairly standard lunch time).
- For the remaining 1 hour the employee can flex this time with their supervisor’ approval spreading the 1 hour over the remaining work week (coming in a bit earlier, staying a bit later) to make up the 40 hour work week.
- For those employees who have a different lunch schedule, the 2 hours of the program is to be flexed with the agreement of your supervisor.
- Programs that are running at times other than those above require either the flexing of their schedule or use of time. As always, with prior approval from their supervisor.
- If an employee is not able to flex their schedule, then vacation, comp time, or personal leave time may be taken, with prior approval of the supervisor.
Are you caring for a family member with dementia?
Savvy Caregiver is a training program for caregivers of people with dementing disorders, like Alzheimer’s disease. This is a 12 hour program, offered in six 2-hour sessions, which provides caregivers with:
- A sense of mastery in the care giving role and how to care for yourself
- Skills to effectively interact with your loved one and manage challenging behaviors
- Knowledge of what dementia is and how it affects personality and behavior
Each session includes training, interactive exercises and discussion. Between sessions, caregivers complete readings and activities. In follow up sessions, feedback is provided on activities and strategies are developed to support successful caregiving.
Participation in this training will include participation in a research project to evaluate the program by completing pre and post surveys.
