The Art and Heart of Dementia Care

August 17th, 2018

7:15am: Check-in, Coffee/tea
7:30-9:40am: Featured Program/Discussion

 

Megan Carnarius, RN, NHA, LMTAuthor, Owner, Memory Care Consulting, LLC.Host: Susan Borutzki

About The Presentation

This talk is about the things we learn in the intimate situations of care for a person with memory loss. The experience can open up an understanding about the wholeness of the spirit’s work even in the most disabling situations. This process is challenging in ways that build character, deepen compassion and open the heart in unexpected and profound ways.

The talk would be about the things we learn in the intimate situations of care for another person. We know the tendency to want to go search on a mountain top for a Guru, when in reality Yoda is sitting in your living room.  Sometimes the purpose of something can be hidden and revelations come after its completion. However, there are other times when the most obvious work we are doing is actually what we are really meant to be doing, with the greatest richness and most opportunities for personal growth. In my experience the call to serve is a karmic one, and the process of doing so tends to be challenging in ways that build character, deepen compassion and open the heart in unexpected and profound ways. There are lessons that are mirrored to us, and ones which cause sudden sparks of epiphany. There are lessons which have taken years and many cycles to work through as well as times of present understanding that are spontaneous and new.

This presentation will draw from over 30 years of professional as well as personal caregiving experience and understanding about the wholeness of the spirit’s work even in the most disabling situations. We will spend some time looking at these possibilities and also some concepts around positive psychology, resilience and using certain aspects of caregiving as a form of meditation and practice.

About the Presenter

Megan Carnarius, RN, NHA, LMT, is a published author and the owner of Memory Care Consulting, LLC.  Megan has over 22 years in direct management of memory care settings in skilled and assisted living, with 33 years in geriatric nursing.  She is a registered nurse (RN), a licensed nursing home administrator (NHA) and licensed massage therapist (LMT).  Megan served on the Alzheimer’s Association education committee, designed award-winning memory care facilities, and served as an adjunct faculty member at Naropa University.  In 2015, she published “A Deeper Perspective on Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias: Practical Tools with Spiritual Insights” (Findhorn Press).  Megan recently launched her consulting practice.  She provides building design & program consulting, care management and caregiving consulting to families and facilities, and lectures and training.

Additional Resources

www.megancarnarius.com

Megan can be reached at: [email protected]

www.memorycareconsulting.com 

Hear Interview with Megan on KGNU Community radio 88/5fm’s web site aired on 8/16/18. Download the file HERE.

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