Note: For more information, please contact Kevin Sanders, writer/editor, at (740) 593-0896.

ATHENS, Ohio (March 29, 2000) -- If the tables are turned and you find yourself the primary caregiver of your parents, what will you do? How will you handle it? Often adults do not anticipate having to care for their aging parents. But changes in society and increased chronic illness have required that family members, most often working women, take the responsibility of caring for aging parents. How will you juggle the demands of work, home and caring for parents? To address these and other questions, "Caring for Your Aging Parent" will be presented by Joan Lawson Stroh, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM) geriatric social worker, and Mike Turner, executive director of United Seniors of Athens County, at the Athens Public Library Tuesday, April 4, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Stroh will discuss the emotional challenges caregivers face, provide information to aid in better decision making and teach ways to keep communication lines open with the whole family. Turner will discuss local and national resources for caregivers as well as explore Internet resources that have proven valuable for caregivers.

"Since the largest day-to-day effort of caring for the elderly falls on their families," Stroh said, "it is important that families have information about resources that can lighten the stress of care giving."

Family caregivers are often asking where to start and how to handle both their work and home schedules while caring for an aging parent, according to Stroh. "Although modern medicine is keeping people alive longer, they are not always provided with a great quality of life."

"Caring for Your Aging Parent" is part of the "Caring for the Elderly" series, which takes place on Tuesdays, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., in April. The "Caring for the Elderly" series is free of charge, open to the public. This is the second year the series has taken place.

"'I never really thought of taking care of my parents. They were always there to care for me. Where do I start?' 'I have to work all day, what are my options?' are questions that run through the minds of people facing these issues," said Ellen Peterson, OU-COM geriatric education coordinator.

Other topics to be discussed throughout the series, said Peterson, will be the legal questions revolving around elderly care; what family members should expect during the aging process; improving communication between health-care professionals and caregivers; and everyday care, adaptive assistance devices and managing medical problems.

"Caring for the Elderly" is sponsored by OU-COM's Department of Geriatric Medicine/Gerontology, the Western Reserve Geriatric Education Center at OU-COM, Ohio University's WellWorks Program and the Athens Public Library. For more information, contact Peterson at (740) 593-2258.