Frequently Asked Questions: 
       When do the meetings occur and is there a charge?
       Who do I contact for more information?
       What is the schedule of programs for the Tuesday evening meetings?
       Who leads these meetings and what are their qualifications?
       How do I get to Park Ridge Hospital?

Meetings Take Place the Third Tuesday of Every Month from 5:30 to 7:30 February through November in the Duke Room at Park Ridge Hospital.  A light supper is served and there 
is no charge.
Any family member or friend who is caring for an older adult is invited to attend.
Professional caregivers are asked to make a reservation by calling 682-2459.

To receive emails announcing the monthly program, other caregiver events, and a caregiver column, please email Ruth and request 'monthly email.'

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Ruth Price, Coordinator,           ruth [at] rutheprice.com or           all 682-2459 or 681-2203          visit her website      email her directly

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February 19   Fall Prevention, Jeremy Wilde, Mountain Home Care
Caregiver Discussion, Ruth Price, MT-BC

March 18 Creatively Soothing the Stressed Carerecipient, Cecelia Simmons-Smith, TRS, 
Park Ridge HOPE Program,  Caregiver Discussion, Ruth Price, MT-BC
Contact Cecilia at  cs28791 @ bellsouth.net (remove spaces when typing the email address)

April 15 The Dutiful Daughter, Carol McLimans, MA, Family Caregiver Specialist, 
Land-of-Sky Regional Council’s Area Agency on Aging Family Caregiver 
Support Program

May 20 Greenwood Inn Respite Program, Kirsten Mitchell 
  Caregiver Discussion, Ruth Price, MT-BC

June 12 Eighth Annual Caregiver Conference - The Arboretum 
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM - Pre-Registration Is Encouraged/No Charge for non-paid caregivers

June 17  Wandering: Is my loved one at risk?
Pat Hilgendorf, Former Mountain Area Program Assistant, Alzheimer’s Association Western Carolina Chapter

July 15 Tentative Title - Hospice and Palliative Care - How can they help?, 
Debi Moran, LCSW Caregiver Discussion, Ruth Price, MT-BC

August 19  humorous skits by The Autumn Players dealing with Medication Management & Safety.  The skits serve as a lead into a discussion of Medication Safety by Kenesha Smith, PharmD, Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist with Park Ridge Hospital. 

September 16 Program to be determined - Carol McLimans, MA, Family Caregiver Specialist, Land-of-Sky Regional Council’s Area Agency on Aging Family Caregiver Support Program

October 21   Getting Good Care for My Loved One in a Long-Term Care Facility
  Caregiver Discussion, Ruth Price, MT-BC

November 18  Program to be determined
 

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Ruth Price, her Caregiver Consulting Webiste

Ruth Price consults with hospitals, long-term care facilities, and other organizations, specializing in professional and family caregiver wellness, behavior symptoms, and other quality of life issues.  She founded Park Ridge Hospital's HOPE Caregiver Wellness Program in 1996.  Before starting her own consulting business she helped develop Asheville's first adult day program (now known as CarePartners Adult Day Program). 

In 1987 she was involved with the drafting of nursing home reform legislation by Congress and continues to consult with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in writing of the rules to implement that law.  Ruth is a board certified music therapist.  She has presented for numerous local, state, and national organizations including the American Health Care Association, the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

Carol has an MA degree in counseling and psychological services from Saint Marys University of Minnesota, and a BS degree in medical technology from the University of Minnesota. Carol was employed by Land-of-Sky Regional Council in 1997 as their Job Developer and Aging Programs Assistant. She became their first Family Caregiver Specialist in 2001 to develop and oversee their Family Caregiver Support Program, a new program resulting from enactment of the National Family Caregiver Act in 2000. 

As the Family Caregiver Specialist she works with individuals who are caregivers for their disabled or ill loved ones. Carol helps these family caregivers take better care of themselves and their loved ones by providing information about programs and services that can help them and connecting them with support services such as respite and support groups. She also helps them identify training needs and opportunities and supplemental services such as meals on wheels, transportation, emergency response systems and assistive devices they may need.

Carol is certified as a trainer for   “Respecting Choices” advance care planning training, the “Communicating Effectively with Health Care Providers” workshop developed by the National Family Caregivers Association and AARP’s “Powerful Tools of Caregiving” course.

She enjoys the challenge of creating a new program and feels honored to work with caregivers who contribute so much to their loved ones and to society.

During her first career in laboratory medicine she served as a laboratory supervisor and medical technology educator. While pursuing her graduate degree in counseling psychology she served as the Program Director for the Mayo School of Health Related Sciences Medical Laboratory Technician Program. She also served as a client representative for Mayo Medical Laboratories, developed the microbiology laboratory curriculum for Mayo Medical School and served as a microbiology instructor for students in a variety of programs.

After completing the counseling program she served as a program evaluator for the Department of Social Services for Olmsted County of Minnesota and was a crisis line counselor for sexual assault victims. She also served as a volunteer counselor for prisoners with severe and persistent mental illness at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, MN 

Pat Hilgendorf has worked in the area of dementia and caregiving for 17 years.  Before that, she was a caregiver for her own mother who died of Alzheimer’s disease in 1990.  Pat developed an Elder Care Resource & Referral Program for the 4,000 employees of the General Motors plant where she worked and the program went nation-wide in 1996.  Pat has been active with the Alzheimer’s Association for 20 years, the last few years working here in the Asheville office.  At the moment, Pat is taking a sabbatical, before she embarks on the next phase of her career.

 
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Park Ridge Hospital is located just off Interstate 26 at Exit 44, between Hendersonville and Asheville, North Carolina. If you are traveling on I-40, take Exit 46 to I-26 east until you reach Exit 44, the Fletcher exit. Turn south on Highway 25 toward Mountain Home. At the first traffic signal, turn left onto Naples Road and proceed approximately one mile. Park Ridge Hospital is on the right. 

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