Virginia Morris, a nationally recognized authority on eldercare and author of How to Care for Aging Parents, will lead a discussion entitled “Our Parents, Our Selves: The Later Years” on March 19 at 2:00 in Culbreth Theater.
Ms. Morris will discuss how families can effectively engage in the difficult but necessary conversations about legal, financial and medical plans for aging parents and spouses. Her main message is “Plan ahead. If we could simply get people to think about all this sooner, to plan for it even a little bit, we could ease the strains enormously.”
Almost forty-four million Americans attend to the health care needs of a relative or another person.
Morris will set an optimistic yet realistic tone as she guides the audience through the morass of emotions and practical information which should be addressed among family members.
She emphasizes the importance of helping one’s parents retain independence and self respect while taking care of oneself.
Lois Shepherd, author of If That Ever Happens to Me: Making Life and Death Decisions After Terry Schiavo, will moderate this session. Ms. Shepherd is an associate professor in the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Humanities, UVA Health System.
The Institute on Aging organized the session, which will be presented at the Virginia Festival of the Book. The program is sponsored by Genworth Financial and co-hosted by the Senior Center.
This free presentation and discussion takes place from 2:00 – 4:00 at the Culbreth Theater at the University of Virginia. There is no admission fee, but please RSVP at either “uvaging @ virginia.edu” (remove spaces and quotes) or (434) 243-5695 to reserve your space. The theater address is 109 Culbreth Road.
The University of Virginia Institute on Aging: The primary mission of the Institute on Aging is to understand and enhance the aging process throughout the human lifespan. The Institute acts as a catalyst and coordinator for interdisciplinary research, education, and service programs. For further information, please visit the Institute’s website at http://www.virginia.edu/aginginstitute/. A podcast of this event will be available on Institute website soon after her presentation.
