Community Nurses to host The Longest Loss: Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

Community Nurses is pleased to sponsor the 2015 Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) Living with Grief program: “The Longest Loss: Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia.” The free teleconference program will be held on Wednesday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the Education Center at Penn Highlands Elk in St. Marys.

This program is presented by a panel of experts in the field. Three hours of continuing education will be available through HFA for nurses, social workers, counselors, funeral directors, clergy, and more. The program is also open to anyone in the community interested in learning more about this topic.

When the diagnosis is Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia, grief doesn’t wait for death. Grieving can begin in the doctor’s office when patients and families receive confirmation of illness. Over a span of what may be a decade, multiple losses associated with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia becomes a pervasive part or everyday life for millions of patients, their families and friends. After the death, survivors’ grief may be complicated by the nature of a lengthy disease process that has changed their relationship with the deceased. Through a combination of candid, compelling interviews and live, in-studio discussion, experts will identify how medical and social service professionals can best help patients, families and themselves cope with loss and grief associated with these progressive illnesses.

Call the Community Nurses at 781-4722 to register or to inquire about CE credits. The program is free. Low cost CE credits are available for a fee. Each year HFA presents a nationally recognized distance learning program to more than 125,000 people in 2,000 communities. Community Nurses Hospice is an area host for the Hospice Foundation of America program.