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CARING FOR THE

 ELDERLY

Five Church Pastoral Care Teams Host Workshop on “Caring for the Elderly”

On January 15^th, the pastoral care teams of the five west side United Churches hosted a talk with lunch at Knox United.  Peter Silin, MSW, RSW, CCC has 25 years in the seniors’ social work area, specializing in assisting transitions to care facilities or co-ordinating and managing home care support. 

Peter spoke about ageing as a process.  He outlined the signs of dementia, delirium and depression.  He spoke about caregiver burnout and the importance of accepting help to prevent it.  He spoke about the causes of burnout, namely: unrealistic expectations, culture, grief and loss.  He also described the continuum of care from support in the home to institutional settings and pointed to what is available privately and through the government.  Finally he touched on the documentation necessary to support your care choices.   

52 people attended with representation from the 5 sponsoring churches plus Shaughnessy, St. Stephen’s, Ryerson and St. Mark’s (Anglican), which shares space with Trinity.  People were served a light lunch, had an opportunity to speak with those at their table and were thoroughly entertained by Peter’s informative and often hilarious talk.  The pastoral care workers heard from a number of people that they were unable to attend because they could not leave the loved one for whom they care. 

For an electronic copy of the power point slides (including resource and contact information contact Anne Clark at arbc52@gmail.com or call 604 733-6051.    

What the pastoral care support people from each of the churches heard is there is a need for more information.  With that in mind the 5 church pastoral care teams are looking to bring another workshop forward on the subject of Representation Agreements.  Watch for further announcements.