Haddonfield residents Grayson and Lori Heberley felt something was missing in the community.
“For myself, I think the caregivers’ burden is growing and a lot of information is misunderstood, which can hurt a lot of people. The caregivers suffer and their loved one suffers,” Grayson said.
To help fill this need, Grayson and Lori are giving a free workshop for caregivers about elder care.
“What we want is to help the caregiver care for the people they love. We want to make it possible. We feel caring for the elderly and caregiver together is a way of keeping people together in the lives of their choice,” Lori said.
The workshop called “A Caregiver’s Workshop: Caring for Your Aging Parents” addresses possible elder care issues and solutions, as well as misinformation. The workshop will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 22 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Grace Church, 19 Kings Highway East.
Grayson and Lori are both well aware and versed in the difficulties elder care can present to caregivers. Grayson is a certified elder law attorney running his own practice in town, and Lori is a geriatric care manager and the owner of South Jersey Geriatric Care, PC. From their experiences, they can provide those who attend with well informed and, oftentimes, much-needed information.
Individuals 85 years and older are one of the fastest growing segments of the population, according to the Family Care Alliance website. Many times, individuals caring for an older loved one fear the elder can no longer live the life they are living without help, but the caregiver doesn’t understand the array of services available, how to access these services, how to fund the sources or even if the senior is capable of accepting the services.
To address the issue, the Heberleys have developed this free community workshop with caregivers in mind. Their goal is to help families create a compassionate and secure plan for their loved one’s future, identify their situation’s unique needs, tap into programs and resources to address those needs, and learn about government benefits that can help with the cost of professional support.
“Developing a care plan for our elderly loved ones is often fraught with anxiety, and sometimes even guilt. Our goal is to clarify some of these issues and get families pointed in the best direction,” Lori said.
Some examples of the things Lori and Grayson feel are often mistaken or some people don’t know about are government benefits for the elderly and veterans and the capabilities of health insurance in regard to ongoing care.
“(Elder care) is not often covered by health insurance. Health insurance is for recovery, not on-going maintenance. Ongoing care is most often paid for out of pocket or through government programs, not health insurance,” Lori said.
The Heberleys feel it is important for people to be informed about elder care, as there is a lot at stake. There are the possibilities of financial and legal burdens, improper care of the elderly and not enough information given to the caregiver.
“You always want to make sure you get the right care from the right source at the right time,” Grayson said.
At the workshop, Lori and Grayson intend to provide all the participants with things they will need such as folders, papers/pamphlets with information and a pad for writing notes. Caregivers should just show up.
“They just need to attend and be armed with questions,” Grayson said.
Appetizers and refreshments will be available.
Those who wish to attend are asked to email sara@southjerseyelderlawyer.com or call (856) 795–1100 to RSVP. You can also RSVP on The Law Offices of Grayson H. Heberley Facebook page. RSVP guarantees seating and allows the Heberleys to best decide how to give information.
