KCON faculty can offer support to caregivers

Two Kirkhof College of Nursing faculty members with expertise in caring for people with dementia are available to support faculty and staff members who serve as caregivers to someone with a memory problem.

Through a Health and Wellness initiative, professors of nursing Cynthia Beel-Bates and Rebecca Davis can offer help to caregivers about common questions like area resources or signs and symptoms of memory problems.

Davis said a common problem for caregivers is getting a diagnosis for their loved one. "They are unsure if the cognitive changes their loved one is having are due to normal aging changes or to something else, and many doctors do not screen for these problems," Davis said. "Many families do not know who to go to or what to ask for in terms of getting a diagnosis."

Beel-Bates and Davis will give a presentation on memory support during the Health and Wellness Ambassador event on March 1 from 8:45-9:15 a.m. in the Kirkhof Center, Pere Marquette Room. Faculty and staff members can register for the event online at www.gvsu.edu/sprout.

Beel-Bates can be contacted at [email protected] and Davis can be reached at [email protected].