FROM THE EDITOR'S PEN
/ The Nashville Star...
/
Editorial List
Last week at the third annual Nashville Fearless
Caregiver Conference, I did what I have done at each
of the previous 103 conferences – I learned from my
fellow caregivers. Since one of the main goals
of the event is to demonstrate the importance of
asking questions as a caregiving tool, each event
takes on a life of its own based upon the questions
asked and answered throughout the day.
Last year in Nashville, there was much wisdom
shared about the issue of our loved ones’ ability to
remain at the
wheel of their automobiles. This year, much of
the conversation during the expert Q and A session
revolved around medication adherence challenges.
And although we had an outstanding panel of
healthcare experts, much of the wisdom shared came
from our audience of family caregivers.
For example, one caregiver had taken our pharmacist
panelist’s (Dr. Shane Reeves’) advice to heart last
year and made sure that she was aware of all the
medications prescribed to her husband by all of his
doctors. She kept up her scrutiny even after
he moved into a long-term care facility and was
surprised to see that his medications were
accidently doubled on the charts.
By remaining aware of his medications and asking
questions of her new facility care partners, she was
able to avert a certain healthcare disaster.
Now, that is a question well-asked.
Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com
