Family sits with a nurse to discuss palliative care options

Five Benefits of Palliative Care

By: Beth Hutchason, MN, ARNP What is palliative care? Okay, let’s start with a very frequent question: How do you pronounce this anyway?  It is pronounced “PAL-ya-tive,” not “PALE-ee-ah-tive.” Congratulations! You are now on your way. Palliative care is a type of care unknown to more than two-thirds of U.S. residents. Worldwide, 40 million people need palliative care each year, and only 14% receive it. … Continue reading Five Benefits of Palliative Care

Male caregiver at kitchen table looking sad and stressed

Caregiver Burnout: Is Your Flame About to Fizzle?

By Wendy Nathan, BSc, CMC As we enter our third year of the COVID pandemic, it’s important to pause for a moment and acknowledge how it has stretched us all emotionally, physically, mentally and financially. Daily life is challenging enough. Toss in an ever-evolving pandemic and the landscape becomes more complex. Family caregivers, you have been hit exceptionally hard. I want to acknowledge that too. … Continue reading Caregiver Burnout: Is Your Flame About to Fizzle?

Five Things I Learned as a Palliative Nurse Practitioner and Family Caregiver

By: Beth Hutchason, MN, ARNP Over the last 14 years doing palliative and hospice care, I found myself in hundreds of conversations with people who have dementia and people who love and care for them. This was mainly in a professional setting as a nurse practitioner, but I also personally had some of these difficult conversations with my family surrounding my dad’s diagnosis with Lewy … Continue reading Five Things I Learned as a Palliative Nurse Practitioner and Family Caregiver

Safety Tips for Dementia Family Caregivers

By: Beth Hutchason, MN, ARNP Beth has been a registered nurse for 33 years and a nurse practitioner for 25 of those years. She spent the past 14 years doing palliative care, a branch of medicine focused on improvement in quality of life and relief of suffering. During these years, she had the opportunity to interact with hundreds of people with dementia and their families. … Continue reading Safety Tips for Dementia Family Caregivers

Progress on the Alzheimer’s State Plan

The Dementia Action Collaborative, a group of public-private partners committed to implementing the state plan, has created a variety of tools and resources to help individuals and families facing memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. Continue reading Progress on the Alzheimer’s State Plan