Free Alzheimer's summit to focus on stress management for caregivers

McALLEN — Caregivers, social workers and anyone involved with Alzheimer’s patients are invited to a free Alzheimer’s summit this Friday.

Women tend to be the largest population of caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients, and “most of them pass away before the people they are caring for,” said Dan Calderon, public relations lead strategist for WellMed.

That is why helping caregivers cope with stress will be emphasized at the half-day summit, which is co-sponsored by the Rio Grande Valley Alzheimer’s Association and Caregiver SOS by WellMed Charitable Foundation resource center in Edinburg and Harlingen.

The featured speakers will be:

>> James “Dr. Jamie” Huysman, a psychologist and board-certified licensed social worker. He is an official spokesman for the National Association of Social Workers and serves on the NASW committee to establish national protocols for certification and standardization of caregiver practices.

>> Dr. Sharon Lewis, a professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She led the creation of a curriculum called the Stress-Busting Program for Family Caregivers, a nine-week course to help caregivers cope with stress. That curriculum is offered in several Texas communities.

There will be Spanish translation.

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Martha L. Hernández covers health, business and general assignments for The Monitor and El Nuevo Heraldo. She can be reached at mlhernandez@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4846.

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Follow Martha L. Hernández on Twitter: @MonitorMartha

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IF YOU GO
WHAT: Free Alzheimer’s summit
WHERE: Knapp Medical Center, 1401 E. Eighth St., Weslaco
WHEN: Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
COST: Free
CONTACT: 1-800-272-3900, (956) 683-7180, (956) 238-0754