Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome. It is time now for our community connection right here on K one, the one you trust we have. We're friends in from elder Care today. And how we doing, mister Colaw.
I'm doing very well. How about you? Tom brought a friend? I did bring a friend.
Hello, how are you not a stranger to you? Tom?
Joni Hillmore is with us here too as well, My goodness sake. Things are busy and this is gonna be the first time all year that we haven't talked barbecue.
Right, Yes, we're not talking about the barbecue because it went well, tell you what, it was fantastic.
Probably the best weather from a heat or rain perspective in a dozen years.
Not a heater insight, No, it was fantastic.
And no tornado, yeah no.
None of that stuff. Yeah, that was such a great event.
And we're again we're so grateful to our community, the sponsors, the people who bought tickets, who came and participated. It's just it's a wonderful fundraiser for Eldercare, but it's just an awareness event as well. They'll let people know we exist, why we exist, and it's just fantastic. So it's been wonderful.
What's going on right now.
Let me tell you what we're excited for the summer. We've got a lot of good things coming up this summer. So Jonie Elmore is our community outreach liaison and so she's out in the community to liaise to let everybody know about Eldercare and all the things that we have going on. But she's really taken a hold of a caregiver support group that meets every Tuesday and has just built that to such an amazing community that we have.
I'm gonna let Joni talk about that because it's a fantastic support group that meets every Tuesday morning at Eldercare at ten am.
So Jony, Well, I will talk about the support group and then you can talk about the events. Yes, we meet every Tuesday morning at ten o'clock and it is a caregiver support group. Now you know that if somebody is caring for somebody in their family that it is strenuous emotionally and physically, and it strains the person that's in charge of the care because they want to give
such good care to that person that they love. So what we have done is We have built a group that has a wonderful camaraderie that comes and shares openly. What is opened up at Eldercare stays at Eldercare, and nobody shares each other's stuff with anybody else, but we open up. We talk about the challenges of caring for somebody that you love and some of the bumps and scars that you can attain yourself as a caregiver, and the care receiver as well has issues that they're dealing with,
so we just talk it all out. We also talk about different types of issues with the caregiving, such as behavioral expectation and emotions that come with those changes in somebody's life, dealing with medication, dealing with doctors, how to manage all of that, even coming into an opportunity of dealing with your care receiver's personal records because all of a sudden they can't do some of the things that
they used to do. We also talk about cognitive awareness and decline and how to be prepared for it, and so there's many things that go hand in hand, but just the joy of getting it out on the table, getting it off of our shoulders and spreading the love and the joy among each other has really helped our caregivers, and I think it's helped them to be better caregivers for those care receivers because, as I tell them, we do this for love. We love them, That's why we care for them sakes.
Yeah, it's pretty amazing that the caregiver support group that Joni leads for us. When Joni came on board at Elder Care about the same time I did, about seven months ago, it was a monthly support group and it shifted to a weekly support group and has just blossomed and so under the leadership of Jony. And as she said, it's for love the way she just loves those folks each and every week. And you know, I'll bump into folks in the building who just will rave about, Oh,
I love this support group. It means so much to me. It gives me a little bit of respite every week to get away and not have to worry about the care receiver that I'm caring for. And then I'm filled. You know, my cup is full when I leave there and I can carry on. And so it's it's been fantastic. And I talk about respite. So earlier this year, we received a grant through Okay Cares for specifically a respite grant. And we started a second support group that meets on
Thursdays at ten am. It's called Open Door Cafe and it's a Joni is a part of that one as well, but it is a it's a non traditional, unstructured support group. And by that there aren't topics that we're going to deal with each and every week. It's just come and b and we have coffee, and we have tea and the eatery and a saltsman down at the eatery has just graciously donated baked goods to us each and every
week to have at that caregiver support group. And so at Open Door Cafe, you just come for that hour and a half and you can just be there.
You can.
Yes, it's a way for people to just put their toe in the water a little bit. You know, people have consternation about opening up about their emotions and the things that they're going through, and they may not show up at support group because they're not sure that they know the people, that they can trust the people. But if they come to Open Door Cafe, they can dip their toe in the water, meet some people and then they think, well, I might be able to go into
that support group and feel comfortable. So it's a wonderful opportunity.
It's going to be just something to see the level of oh my gosh, I got to do everything. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Then people the level of calm just take over. What's conversation?
Yeah, yes, I'm sorry.
Well, I just wanted to say that one of the things that we face a lot our spouse is trying to care for one other one another and all the changes that go with those relationships. The dynamic shift is overwhelming and we deal a lot with that. How do we deal with that shift in our life when someone has cared for us most of our life. Most of the caregivers, a lot of them are women, but we do have males that come to our group as well. But just that shift in dynamic is overwhelming to people.
So we address that and we try to do it in a comfortable setting.
Wow, it's great.
So a lot of times a caregiver struggles with going to a support group because they don't feel that they can be released from their caregiving duties.
For an hour, hour and a half.
Absolutely open door cafe bring the care receiver with you. That's what that's about.
We want you to enjoy it too.
Yeah, and they can sit there in our east kitchen. They can sit there and participate in snacks and chit chat, or they can go right next door to the room where we have staff from our Daybreak program. We have dementia practitioners there that are they have games, they have activities that are happening for that care receiver, and again all from this wonderful grant we received from Okay Cares. We have activity kits that they can take home with them.
We have self care kits that they.
Can take home with them and then come back the next week and get another one as well. We want this open door cafe to be kind of a gateway to Daybreak because our Daybreak Adult Day Activity Center is by far the most affordable way to care for a loved one who.
Needs care and all the cool kids. It's where all the cool kids are hanging out these days.
You know, if you participate in Okay Care I'm sorry, in our either of our support groups, or you just come to us specifically through the end of this month, for sure we will be able to allow a day where that care receiver can go to daybreak free of charge because of this grant. And so the grant is really allowing us to to change the narrative and to
reshape what aging looks like in Northeast Oklahoma. And we want to be that organization that really is a model for other organizations within the state and within the region of the United States to redefine aging and what that looks like. And how we have this open door activity center at Eldercare that anyone can come to and we are there to care for you.
Yes, go ahead.
Well, I just wanted to say that one of the big challenges for caregivers is that their care receiver loses their social skills and they want to sit at home in their chair all the time, and that means that the care giver must sit at home in with them all the time, and that's not good for the caregiverstly emotional health. So one of the things that we try to do is create some excitement so that when that care receiver comes up to Eldercare, they want to stay.
They see, oh, they're doing some good things. One of the things that got generated just lately was two gentlemen who didn't want to come to daybreak.
I can see that.
But they found out that there were dominoes there, and now they are in a big dominoes.
There are the dominoes or no money's exchanging, right right.
No, no, But it's it's activities such as that that they see, oh well this might be better than just sitting in my chair, yeah all day long.
Well that flipped a big switch on those two guys, didn't it.
Yeah.
Yeah, they came live that last bubble. Ye See, it's just like that, folks. The littlest things can can just really do this and help you age in place with dignity and sometimes a little bit of fun.
Absolutely, and the atmosphere is beautiful and clean and positive and charming. So they are in a place where they think, well that's not so bad. I think I'll go there again.
Yeah.
You know, we've got a couple of events coming up this month that if you're a caregiver, we really want you to call us because through this grant, the cost of these events would be covered. We would be able to cover your cost for that. So June seventeenth, we have what we call dinner with friends, So it's a dinner at Eldercare from five thirty to seven pm our
own Chef Pam Beamguard. So for those of you who have been associated or know about Eldercare for years, Chef Pam used to cook the dinners every month for golden opportunities and people would line up an hour ahead of time and wait in.
The hallway problem to have they did.
So Chef Pam is going to create a wonderful dinner that evening and then Scott Taylor will be providing music.
Oh he's great.
He is a great folksy storyteller. If you don't if you don't know, you need to come find out.
Oh yeah, you'll be entertained.
Yeah.
So that's again, that's June seventeenth, from five thirty seven. It's twenty five dollars per person all and we want anyone to come.
But if you're a caregiver.
Please please please call us because the cost for you would be covered with this grant.
All right.
And then at the end of June June thirtieth, we have a pottery class that's going to happen. I believe that's from five to six thirty or five thirty seven as well. So it's led by Tammy Schmidt, who is a friend of Jonie's. Jonie's had her come and speak at the caregiver support group.
Yes, actually she was a chaplain had Ascension Hospital, so she knows what she's doing and has worked with a lot of people in situations. So she is going to help us with pottery, starting from the beginning building that pottery and coming all the way up to where you have a finished piece that's beautiful.
Yeah, you'll be able to choose one of four pieces that you can make that evening painted and you know, then just leave the rest up to us and Tammian we'll get it glazed and fired and then you'll be able to come back and get it. That is a thirty five dollars cost to participate in that, But again, if you are a caregiver and you want to participate, call us and because our grant is going to allow that to be covered and the more people we can have through the doors. You know, it's a one door
mini service location or resource for northeast Oklahoma. So we're excited about all those things.
I'm glad you said that that you're a multi resource center and because there are some folks who still believe.
Believe it or not.
Yes, that this is a residential facility.
Now this helps you age in place. That means absolutely at your home with dignity. Right.
We are there to keep you from having to go to the residential facilities.
There you go, you you.
You seem to mention that almost every time we're here, Tom, because we hear it over and over again.
How many residents do you have?
We have zero residents, and we're using the terminology that we are changing the narrative on aging. Yes, we want to change that narrative to allow you to age in home in place with helping with mobility, helping with being active. We are becoming the activity center for aging in northeast Oklahoma.
And that's becoming a bigger demographic.
Absolutely, yes, yes, yes, And tell us where we could find you.
So if you want to find us physically, we're at twelve twenty three Swan Drive. So if you're on Washington Highway seventy five and you turn towards Walmart and go past Taco Bell, just keep going to take the curve and you'll find the Big Green. So we're at twelve twenty three Swan and you can come find us five days a week there.
Uh.
And and if you want to have a tour or just come check it out, just pop in and come see us. You can call us at nine one eight three three six eight five zero zero. We're obviously on Facebook, yes, and.
Follow Facebook for our summer events. We have more that we didn't get to talk about.
Facebook's always generating what events. Yes, and then our.
Website is www dot about Eldercare dot org.
Well, you know, if we were doing all of the event, we've got to have put on roller skates keep up.
With so you need them to get through our building, you know what.
I kept my steps. Yes, it's always fun because I always find something new whenever I go out to visit and check out the new thing by the way. That dinner with friends, it's awesome. It's a friend of mine, Kevin Knowles. I performed one of those about a year ago.
It was packed. You want to talk about.
Some happy faces.
They love it.
There were folks hadn't seen each other in a while, and it was like the old home week. You know, oh hey, there you'd go. And it was really kind of neat, almost like a reunion in something.
We want to do those more and more and that's what we're working towards, is to get back to doing that that. They are so much fun people. It's a lot of joy, a lot of good food and fellowship. So highly recommend and it's.
Early in the evening for those who want to eat and get back home.
That would be me getting in bed at night. I'm all about that.
I want to thank you both for coming in and sharing about Eldercare today. Folks, you have been watching and listening to our community connection