A&FRC Eldercare class helps families cope Published July 2, 2014 By Ryan Stark Nucleus staff writer KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Many families -- Airmen, civilians and others -- have to confront the difficult and sometimes heartbreaking realities of caring for elderly family members. Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, moving into assisted living or nursing care and many other situations that arise as part of the aging process offer difficult choices. To help families prepare for such issues, the Airman and Family Readiness Center held "Elder Care 101" on June 18, offering information on a number of topics related to caring for the elderly. Cindy Brown, a social worker with Home Instead Senior Care who led the event, said that planning for these circumstances should start early and be initiated by elderly family members themselves. "We talk about encouraging seniors to make advanced directives, put legal considerations in place and why those activities are vital," she said. "As we know some of these conversations are so difficult to have with our loved ones, we brainstorm about ways to approach these topics." Such legal considerations should include the elderly family member appointing someone to whom they can give power of attorney to make both financial and medical decisions, she said. Brown also recommends setting up advanced directives for a person's wishes on subjects such as life support and artificial nutrition once incapacitated. She added, "My favorite soap box saying is that successful aging requires education about the aging process and how it might apply to an individual. Planning and forethought gives everyone more choices -- now and in the future." Brown also said that people in the military community tend to face one specific challenge in caring for elderly family members. "The idea for the workshop came about from a realization that the population on base would naturally have a significant issue with long-distance caregiving given the age demographics and the mobility of those serving our military," she said. Brown said she has given these on-base workshops for 17 years, but the demand has never diminished. The Airman and Family Readiness Center is planning on holding similar workshops with Brown once per quarter. For more information, call 846-0741.