'Savvy Caregiver Trainings' teach family members to care for loved ones with Alzheimer's at Carson Senior Center

The Alzheimer’s Association Northern California and Northern Nevada Chapter is empowering family caregivers by offering a Savvy Caregiver training.

This six -week course is designed to provide clinical – level training for family caregivers in order to help them (1) improve their knowledge, approach, skills and outlook, (2) gain the confidence to set and achieve caregiving roles and (3) learn strategies to manage stress and make decisions. The training is offered at no cost to caregivers through grant funding from the Administration on Community Living and a partnership with the Neighbor Network of Northern Nevada.

Free Savvy Caregiving training will be offered at the Carson City Senior Center, starting August 23. For information about dates and times, or to register, call 775.254.0329 or email cpmarcos@alz.org. For additional information and resources, call the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900.

“The training acknowledges the myriad of stresses that can be associated with caregiving, and how mediators such as increased knowledge, skills and attitudes, combined with stable resources including financial, family and community support, can lead to decreased caregiver distress and increased rewards, thus achieving the goal of caregiving,” said Niki Rubarth, regional director of the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern Nevada.

For most family caregivers, caregiving itself is a new role and taking care of a person living with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia is specialized work. To do this work successfully, caregivers need special skills, knowledge and a positive attitude that helps them care for themselves. The Savvy Caregiver program helps family caregivers better understand the changes their loved ones are experiencing, and how to best provide individualized care for a family member along their continued decline associated with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Worldwide, more than 55 million people are living with dementia. In the United States, there are more than 6 million Americans who have Alzheimer’s and more than 11 million people providing unpaid care for those living with the disease. In Nevada alone, more than 49,000 people aged 65 and older are currently living with Alzheimer’s and an estimated 84,000 are providing unpaid care for them. The Alzheimer’s Association addresses this crisis by providing education and support to the millions who face dementia every day, while advancing critical research towards methods of treatment, prevention and ultimately, a cure.

Caring for someone living with Alzheimer’s or dementia can take many forms; help with transportation, administering medications, bathing, dressing and feeding. Caregivers are typically family members who are often raising families and pursuing careers while simultaneously providing round-the-clock care. Taking care of their own health can be a challenge for caregivers.

The Alzheimer's Association 2023 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report reveals that Nevada caregivers face significant emotional, physical and health-related challenges as result of caregiving as well, including higher rates of chronic conditions, such as stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer compared to caregivers of people without dementia or non-caregivers. In Nevada, 54.2% of caregivers reported at least one chronic condition. The prevalence of depression is also higher among dementia caregivers when compared to caregivers for other conditions with 31.1% of Nevada’s caregivers reporting depression. Seventy-four percent of dementia caregivers report they are “somewhat concerned" to “very concerned” about maintaining their own health since becoming a caregiver which can already be seen in the 18.9% of Nevadans who reported frequent poor physical health.

George Eglinger is caring for his wife, Bellissima, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease. Eglinger enrolled in the Savvy Caregiver training that took place in June in Reno, Nevada. Eglinger said, “I need ideas, techniques and to learn some ways to help my wife.” His goal was to develop new strategies to address the differing behaviors his wife was displaying now that she was living with Alzheimer’s disease, and to learn about self-care techniques. After he completed the training, he was relieved and spoke highly of the course. He also made new friends with other caregivers in the class and has joined an Alzheimer’s Association dementia caregiver support group so he can in turn help others.

Other caregivers who have taken the course said that the content helped them understand how a person living with the disease functions. It also helped them match their approach to meet their loved one where they were with more self-confidence and a heightened sense of value and self-worth.

“While research continues to focus on ways to stop, slow, prevent or cure Alzheimer’s disease, much of the responsibility for helping people with dementia, preserving their sense of identity, autonomy and quality of life, while avoiding institutional placement, lies with caregivers,” said Rubarth. “Ensuring the health and well-being of caregivers is high on our list of priorities, and giving caregivers the skills and strategies they need and can rely upon to feel a sense of mastery of the caregiver role is just as important.”