By Lori Lovely
Nancy was beside herself. With two children in college and one in high school, she now had to take on the role of caretaker of her parents. She loved her parents, but Nancy was feeling overwhelmed with the responsibility and didn’t know where to start to find much-needed information.
Does this sound like you or someone you know? As the Baby Boomers age, more people are taking on the role of “caregiver” to their parents. However, there is a lot of good information to help someone get started on the right track.
One helpful tool for information gathering is health fairs such as the Senior Lifestyle Education Showcase. These are large gatherings of health — and lifestyle — related vendors under one roof, where you can talk directly with the professionals to get information and ask questions.
For the second year, the Senior Lifestyle Education Showcase is being held in East Peoria, IL to provide resources to central Illinois seniors in order to assist them in making healthcare and lifestyle decisions. The event will be held Saturday, July 25th, in the grand ballroom of the Par-A-Dice Hotel & Casino from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sponsored by Helping Hands Home Healthcare and Morningside of Washington, the show is designed to showcase information, products, services, and resources that can enable seniors to remain independent and healthy. Vendors will feature products such as safety and mobility aides.
In addition to a variety of health and lifestyle vendors offering information about senior living communities for both independent and assisted living, hospice and skilled nursing facilities, several professionals will be on hand to answer questions about topics such as insurance, Medicare, home health care, funeral care and pre-planning, financial planning, veterans benefits, long-term care insurance, respite care and therapy options.
Several groups will also offer free health screenings.
- Helping Hands Home Healthcare will have a balance clinic open for screenings.
- The Illinois Eye Center will be screening for glaucoma.
- The Unity Point Methodist Wellmobile will offer blood pressure checks and glucose screenings (8-hour fasting required prior to screening).
Free to the public, reservations are not required. The event is wheelchair-accessible.
“This is a fun event,” says Helping Hands’ Agency manager Christa Jones, who suggests bringing friends to enjoy delicious — and free — food while listening to educational speakers and talking with vendors. Door prizes are being given away and every attendee will receive a $10 voucher for the Par A Dice Casino. The first 100 attendees will also receive a “goodie bag,” courtesy of Helping Hands and Morning Side.
“The Senior Lifestyle Education Showcase is bringing necessary products together under one roof for the senior community and baby boomers,” Jones says. “It’s a one-stop shop.”
Jones reports that last year the event hosted 258 attendees. She anticipates a larger attendance this year, including Nancy.
For more information, contact: Christa Jones, agency manager for Helping Hands Home Healthcare; phone 309-657-3929; email cjones@helpinghandshealthcare.org.
Photo credit: P_Wei/iStock