In November 2015, the Pearl River County Hospital and Nursing Home hosted Second Wind Dreams’ Virtual Dementia Tour through the Mississippi Department of Mental Health’s Division of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementia.
The event sparked the idea for the hospital’s newest venture, a Caregivers Support Group.
“We had conversations with people about caring for their loved ones,” RN and Community Outreach employee Jo Lynn Davis said. “It made us realize that there aren’t a lot of resources for caregivers in our community.”
However, this group is not restricted to caregivers of those suffering from Alzheimer’s, but to all people caring person who is unable to be independent, Davis said.
“It could be the caregiver of anyone suffering from a catastrophic illness such as stroke, AIDS, cancer or someone is physically or mentally handicapped,” she said. “It was just an idea we had to reach out to our community. Some of us have been caregivers and know how stressful that can be.”
The first meeting will be held Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. and subsequent meetings will be held the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. in the dining room at the Pearl River County Hospital and Nursing Home, Davis said.
The facilitators of the meetings will be Debbie Wagner and Karen Dearman, who are licensed medical social workers for the hospital and nursing home, respectively.
“It’s very important that they have other caregivers to discuss their issues with,” Davis said. “They will be provided educational and social support and the opportunity to identify problems and learn solutions from other caregivers and social workers,” Davis said. “It also shows them the importance of taking care of themselves.”
For more information about the support group contact Davis at 601-795-4543 at extension *2146 and jolynn.davis@prc-med.com.