Caring for the Caregiver Conference Slated for Sept. 13
SPRINGFIELD — The first Caring for the Caregiver Conference will be held on Saturday, Sept. 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at LaQuinta Inn and Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. This symposium was established to celebrate and educate caregivers who often neglect themselves as they care for others.
The keynote speaker is elder-care and aging advocate Jacqueline Marcell, and the day promises to bring insight, support, advice, and camaraderie to those who are taking on the important task of caregiving. Marcell will share her experience as a caregiver to her challenging elderly father and ailing mother, who both suffered from Alzheimer’s which went undiagnosed for over a year.
After fighting through an unsympathetic medical system, endless tears, and depleting her parents’ life savings and much of her own, Marcell determined to figure everything out medically, behaviorally, socially, legally, financially, and emotionally. Passion to save others from a similar experience resulted in her bestselling first book, Elder Rage, the Coping with Caregiving radio show, and her current role as an international speaker. The morning will kick off with a continental breakfast.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to frequent a number of tabletop exhibitors, spa treatments, and resources. At noon, participants will assemble for lunch while Marcell facilitates a panel discussion and question-and-answer session featuring Marcia McKenzie, Alzheimer’s Assoc. director of diversity for Western Mass., and attorney Gina Barry of Bacon Wilson, P.C. Tickets cost $35. To reserve a spot, call (413) 886-2325.
