By Lindsay Kant, LGSW • Memory Café Coordinator Over the years I’ve worked with people with memory loss and their caregivers, I have seen many struggle with social isolation. Many find they are not able to participate in groups and activities in the same way they used to, and social situati[...]
By Annette Sandler • JFCS Aging Services Director After her doctor told her she can no longer drive because of declining vision and slowing reflexes, Sandy called JFCS Senior Services in distress. “Now I feel like a captive in my own home,” she said. “My daughter is amazing and helps so [...]
By Annette Sandler • JFCS Aging Services Director Do you help your mom grocery shop? Do you help balance your dad’s checkbook? Then you are a family caregiver. A caregiver is an adult who provides unpaid care for the physical and emotional needs of a family member or friend who is [...]
By Karin Onarheim • Senior Services Intake & Care Coordinator Recently, Janet had been going through a difficult time. She was feeling down and disconnected, and was also in need of more support at home. She was referred to JFCS Senior Services and when our staff connected with her, she share[...]
JFCS Senior Services can help mitigate risk of falling for you or a loved one By Annette Sandler • Aging Services Director Falls can drastically change a person’s ability to remain independent and can generate enormous economic and personal costs. A fall for an older adul[...]
By Betsy Snyder • JFCS Senior Services Care Coordinator Happy Advance Care Planning Awareness Month! Despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe it’s important to write down their end-of-life wishes, only 36% of people have actually done so (Kaiser Permanente[...]
The Twin Cities Jewish Community Alzheimer's Task Force presented “Keeping the Spirit Alive”: The Conference for Caregivers and Those Supporting a Loved One with Dementia on April 7 at Beth El Synagogue. The event featured a keynote speech from Dr. Vic Sandler, MD, as well as 10 bre[...]
By Karin Onarheim, LGSW • Senior Services Intake & Care Coordinator I recently received an intake call from “Sam,” a caregiver who had many questions and areas where she needed assistance. Like most caregivers, Sam was focused on her loved one and her needs. Her mother, “Ab[...]
One month after Dr. Vic Sandler’s mother died of lung cancer, his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Sandler understood the disease; he had cared for hundreds of patients with dementia during his over 20 years of geriatric medical practice. But in caring for his beloved father, he en[...]
Two of the largest conferences that JFCS co-sponsors are the Mental Health Education Conference (held each fall) and Conference for Caregivers (held in spring every other year). Sharon Goldetsky, who was recently hired as the JFCS Community Conference Coordinator, is in charge of organizing both the[...]