Program Title: Becoming a Caregiver

Program Description

As people live longer, “younger” older adults are caring for “older” older adults. Very often, they are still taking care of their children or grandchildren. This program is designed to help the “Sandwich Generation” cope. It gives participants the opportunity to share their concerns and possibly find kindred spirits among the group.

Topics

• The emotional and psychological aspects of caregiving.
• The legal aspects of guardianships.
• Information on nutrition sites
• Long-term care insurance.
• Medicare regulations, i.e., what Medicare will and will not pay for.

Speakers

• Mental health care professionals from the local hospitals.
• Visiting Nurses
• Staff of the Department of Health and Human Services
• MSU Extension Office
• AARP Montana 
• Rocky Mountain ADA Center
• Montana Money Follows the Person (MFP)
• Montana Legal Services Association
• Montana Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC)
• Montana Talkiing Book Library 

• Area Agencies on Aging with web sites:

  • Area I Agency on Aging- Eastern Montana

  • Area II Agency on Aging- Roundup area

  • Area IV Agency on Aging- Helena area

  • Area V Agency on Aging - Butte area

  • Area VI Agency on Aging- Polson area

  • Area VII Agency on Aging- Missoula area

  • Area VIII Agency on Aging- Great Falls

  • Area IX Area Agency on Aging- Kalispell

Basics

Length – Two 1½ hour sessions.
Auditorium-style seating.
Preparation time – 2 hours, plus half hour for second session.

Learn More About Your Topic

Department of Public Health and Human Services Office on Aging Services at
http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/sltc/index.shtml.

Contact your local AARP representative. AARP has numerous pamphlets and resources
on this subject.

Make It Special

Pull a cart full of books on related topics to offer to caregivers for check out at the end of the program

Protecting Older Consumers 

National Library of Medicine Eldercare booklist and other resources

Market It

Distribute flyers to shopping centers, pharmacies, clinics, doctors’ offices, as many places of employment as possible, and schools.

Adapted with permission from the Missouri State Library and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan

Program Title: Cooking Healthy for One or Two

Program Description

Empty nesters may need to rethink the amount of food they prepare after their families have left home, as well as change the way they prepare meals in order to meet their changing health needs. This program will offer ideas on “how to do it.”

Topics

• How to shop for one or
• Safely storing leftover food to avoid
• Foods to prepare that store
• Ways to trim personal recipes to produce lesser amounts of
• Ways to trim fat, salt, and cholesterol from personal

Speakers

• Nutritionist from the County Extension
• Hospital or school
• Home economics teacher from your local school
• Staff nutritionist employed by grocers, assisted living facility or WIC office

Basics

Length – 1½ hours Classroom-style seating. Note: If there is a demonstration, a professional nutritionist will usually bring his or her own cooking equipment. Be sure there are appropriate electrical outlets, tables, and other required items available. Be sure electrical cords are secure.

Preparation time – 2½ hours.

Make It Special

• Each participant can be encouraged to submit a favorite “trimmed down” recipe to the library for inclusion in a booklet compiled by the library. These booklets may be offered for sale to the public to recover costs, or as part of an ongoing free resource
• If there is a demonstration consider offering samples of what was prepared
• Pull a cart full of books on related topics to offer to attendees for check out at the end of the program

Market It

Distribute flyers and information to grocery stores, appliance stores.

Ask utilities to promote this program when they send out monthly bills.

Adapted from the Missouri State Library and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.

Program Title: Good Health for Seniors

Program Description

This series of programs will offer tips on how to take care of both the physical and psychological changes of aging.

Topics

• Lifestyle and health

• Growing old successfully

• Exercise and relaxation

• Staying Sharp and keeping your brain active

• Protecting Older Adults

• Other topics of interest in your surrounding community

Speakers

• Staff of your the local health department, hospital, pharmacy or clinic

• Visiting Nurses

• Staff of the Department of Health and Human Services

• MSU Extension Office

• AARP Montana 

• Rocky Mountain ADA Center

• Montana Money Follows the Person (MFP)

• Montana Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC)

• Montana Legal Services Association

• Montana Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC)

• Montana Senior Corps

Area Agencies on Aging with web sites:

• Area I Agency on Aging- Eastern Montana

• Area II Agency on Aging- Roundup area

• Area IV Agency on Aging- Helena area

• Area V Agency on Aging - Butte area

• Area VI Agency on Aging- Polson area

• Area VII Agency on Aging- Missoula area

• Area VIII Agency on Aging- Great Falls

• Area IX Area Agency on Aging- Kalispell

Basics

Length – Four to five 1-hour sessions. Auditorium-style seating.

Preparation time – 2 hours, plus 30 minutes for each session.

Learn More About your topic

Area Agencies on Aging

Montana State Plan on Aging

State of Montana Aging and Disability Resource Center

MSU Extension Office – Aging in Place

American Society on Aging

Rural Caregivers 

Make It Special

• Healthy snacks as refreshments

• Bring in specialists for blood pressure checks, diabetes, and glaucoma screenings 

• Pull a cart full of books on related topics to offer to attendees for check out at the end of the program

Market It

Distribute flyers and information to supermarkets, doctors’ offices, clinics, and places of employment.

Adapted with permission from the Missouri State Library and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.

Program Title: Long-Term Care

Program Description

A presentation on what to expect and things to be aware of that will help ease the transition to long term care. It also helps individuals to know that there are others in attendance facing similar decisions

Topics

• Problems associated with long-term health care.
• Objective solutions that work.
• Long-term care financing.
• Long-term care insurance.

Speakers

• Representative of AARP.
• Representative of the Area Agency on Aging (AAA).
• Representative from the State of Montana’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman program

Basics

Length – 1 hour.
Auditorium-style seating.
Preparation time – 2 hours.

Learn More About Your Topic 

DPHHS - Long Term Care

Planning for a nursing home in Montana - a Comprehensive Guide

Medicaid and Long Term Care Costs

Montana Code - Rights of Long Term Care Facility Residents

Make It Special

Library representative can distribute a list of the long-term care facilities with which they partner by providing programming or reading materials for residents. This will assure patrons library service will not have to end.

Pull a cart full of books on related topics to offer to attendees for check out at the end of the program

Market It

Distribute information to assisted living facilities, doctors’ offices, clinics, senior centers, places of employment.

Adapted with permission from the Missouri State Library and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan

Program Title: Taking Care of Your Heart

Program Description

Heart disease is a killer, claiming the lives of millions each year. Even more alarming is the number of Americans walking around with diagnosed heart disease: over 71 million. Taking care of your heart and doing what you can to prevent the onset of heart disease or cardiac arrest is an important part of growing older. Boomers will want to attend this informative and possibly life-saving program.

Topics

• Diet, nutrition and your heart
• Health tools – take advantage of what’s available
• The lowdown on cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other causes of heart disease
• Women and heart disease
• Exercise and fitness
• Smoking and cardiovascular disease

Speakers

• Local cardiologists, nurses, healthcare professionals
• Representative from the American Heart Association
• Local nutritionists and dieticians.
• Local personal trainers.

Basics

Length – One two hour session.
Auditorium-style seating.
Preparation time – 2 hours.

Learn More About your Topic'

The American Heart Association’s Web site 

DPHHS Cardiovascular Program

Social Determinants of Health

Medline Plus

Make It Special

Ask your local hospital, pharmacy, or clinic to come and do blood pressure checks and cholesterol screenings.

If your library hosts a blood pressure kit, talk to attendees about learning how to check it out.

Bring a cart full of books related to the topic for attendees to check out after the presentation.

Market It  

Distribute flyers to local doctor offices, hospitals, health clinics and local gyms. Ask nutritionists, local gyms, and cardiologists to distribute flyers to their patients or to market the program in their newsletter.

Adapted from the Missouri State Library and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.

Program Title: To Your Health! Finding Health and Medical
Information Online

Program Description

As people age and healthcare becomes more complicated, questions about procedures, diseases, and treatment options become more frequent. Yet doctors have less time to spend with patients answering questions and helping with decisions. The internet is
readily available, but finding the answers can be tricky—which sites are reliable? What does good information look like? Where can you go for unbiased information? This program helps participants sort out the options and find what they need.

Topics

• Where to begin research
• How to assess a health or medical information Web site
• When and how to use online communities for information and support
• What kinds of information are and aren’t appropriate for web research

Speakers

Hospital librarian
Local public or academic librarian
Local medical practitioner (in tandem with one of the above)

Basics

This program can be a 2-hour program but can last much longer if participants want to do research afterwards.

Preparation time: 1 – 1½ hours.

Learn More About Your Topic

This collection of resources includes tutorial, presentations, and more you can use to help address health misinformation in your community. 

Addressing Health Misinformation Toolkit

Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial From the National Library of Medicine - This tutorial teaches you how to evaluate the health information you find on the Internet.

Evaluating Health Information: MedlinePlus provides steps on how to tell the difference between good and bad health information.

Health Misinformation: The U.S. Surgeon General identifies Health Misinformation as one of the current priorities of the office.

Know the Science from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health - On this page you'll find tools to help you better understand complex scientific topics that relate to health research so that you can be discerning about what you hear and read and make well-informed decisions about your health. Know the Science features a variety of materials including interactive modules, quizzes, and videos to provide engaging, straightforward content. Available in Spanish!

Library Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation - Guide from San Diego Circuit. Includes videos, printable resources in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese - simplified, Dari, Farsi, Korean, Somali, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, and more. 

Science, Health, and Public Trust - This section of the NIH web site is a place for discussion of ways to improve the quality and usefulness of information for the public about science and health. The overall goal is to share strategies and best practices that might contribute to public understanding of the nature of biomedical research and its role in health.

Six Tips for Spotting Fake Health News - Research Professor Lisa Bero, PhD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus offers tips on spotting fake health news and fraudulent studies.

Spotting Health Misinformation Online - AHIMA Foundation provides tips and information to help you spot and avoid health misinformation.

The Surgeon General’s Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation provides specific guidance and resources for health care providers, educators, librarians, faith leaders, and trusted community members to understand, identify, and stop the spread of health misinformation in their communities. Includes a report, toolkit, resources and more. Available in Spanish. 

Videos on the topic to learn and share with a group

Make It Special

• Prepare and distribute short guides to books in your collection and good Web sites on specific conditions or topics (i.e. dietary supplements, diabetes, travel medicine)
• Team up with a local practitioner to offer free blood pressure checks or other screening.
• Pull a cart full of books on related topics to offer to caregivers for check out at the end of the program
• Order and distribute free FTC Information about safety and protection while looking for information:
  • Have You Heard About... Health Insurance Scams?
  • Health Insurance Scams Bookmark

Market It

Fitness centers/gyms/YMCA, local hospitals, doctors’ offices, churches, health food stores, grocery or drugstores.

Adapted from the Missouri State Library and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.