631.405.4857 
Asset Protection, Home Care and Caring for the Caregiver to be Discussed by a Panel of Professionals
Are you caring for your mother with Alzheimer’s, a dad with heart disease and osteoporosis or a grandparent who is in constant pain? If you’re among the 65 million Americans who have taken on the role of family caregiver, it is clear that this act of kindness is also accompanied by tremendous stress and insecurity. The majority of caregivers are over 50, hold full-time jobs and spend at least 20 hours a week as a caregiver. Many are also taking care of their own children at the same time.
To provide family caregivers with solutions and strategies for this demanding role, Cona Elder Law and the Center for Intergenerational Policy and Practice at Dowling College are sponsoring a Caregiver Conference. It will be held on Tuesday, April 20th from 6 PM - 8:30 PM at the Rudolph Campus, Idle Hour Blvd., Oakdale – Fortunoff Hall Ballroom. A light dinner will be served. Registration is required by contacting Moriah Farrell at 631.390.5000 or moriah.farrell@conalaw.com.
At the event, Cona Elder Law will present an award and gift to the Caregiver of the Year. The winner will be selected from essay entries submitted to Cona Elder Law. Participants are asked to submit an essay (between 500-750 words) and may either nominate themselves or someone who they feel is deserving of this honor. The essay should describe the needs of the senior and give specific examples of the extraordinary things the caregiver has done to help an elderly loved one.
All essay entries are due by April 16, 2010. Entries may be submitted via e-mail to elder@conalaw.com or may be mailed to: Cona Elder Law, 445 Broad Hollow Road, Suite 19, Melville, NY 11747. Submissions should include: your name and telephone number, and name of proposed Caregiver of the Year, and their address, phone number and e-mail address.
“Caregivers really need to know how to navigate the system on many different levels if they want to minimize their stress and have a proper plan in place,” says Jennifer Cona, Esq., managing partner at Cona Elder Law, a Melville based elder law and estate planning firm. “By understanding more about the services that are available for medical care, home care, caring for the caregiver as well as asset protection strategies, the caregiver can take the necessary steps and time to make the right decisions for themselves and their loved ones before a crisis occurs.”
“Caregivers are frequently members of the sandwich generation caught between obligations to both younger and older family members. This conference is relevant to needs of multi-generation families,” according to Dr. Susanne Bleiberg Seperson, Director of the Center at Dowling.
The topics to be presented include:
- Preserving Your Assets: Advance Planning & Crisis Management
- Asset Protection Trusts
- Advance Directives
- Crisis Planning with Promissory Notes
- Keeping Your Loved One at Home: Breaking Through the Home Care Myths
- What is Home Care?
- How to Choose an Agency
- What to Expect with an Aide in the Home
- Paying for Home Care: Demystifying Medicaid Eligibility
- How Do You Qualify for Medicaid?
- What Does Medicaid Cover?
- Strategies for Preserving Your Income and Your Home
- Caring for the Caregiver: Finding A Balance
- Time Management
- Taking Care of Yourself
- Coping with Caregiver Guilt
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Jennifer B. Cona, elder law attorney, is the managing partner of the law firm Cona Elder Law PLLC. As director of the firm’s Elder Law department, Ms. Cona practices exclusively in the field of Elder Law and Trusts and Estates, including representing elderly clients and their families in connection with Medicaid planning, preservation of assets, estate planning, estate litigation, probate and administration of estates, disability planning and guardianships.
Denise Tripodi is the Administrator of Personal Touch Homecare’s Suffolk County region. In this capacity, she is responsible for the operations of the agency throughout Suffolk County. Ms. Tripodi is also a Certified Geriatric Care Manager. She serves on the board of New York State Community Health Care Services and is an active member of many geriatric and health organizations.
Melissa Negrin-Wiener, elder law attorney, is a partner in the law firm Cona Elder Law PLLC. She manages the Government Benefits Department while concentrating her practice in the areas of Medicaid eligibility planning, asset protection planning, disability matters, guardianships and estate planning. Ms. Negrin-Wiener supervises the preparation of Medicaid Applications for nursing home care, home care and community benefits.
Dawn Friedland-Perez is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, holds a Masters of Social Work and has over a decade of experience in long term care, supportive counseling, training and development. Prior to starting her own company, Wisdom of the Aged, which offers counseling and advocacy to seniors and their families, Ms. Friedland-Perez worked as a director, social worker and discharge planner in several long term care facilities. She is certified in Geriatric Care Management.
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Genser Dubow Genser Dubow & Cona is recognized as a leading elder law and estate planning firm on Long Island. The firm provides a full range of services and has been featured in many publications including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsday, L.I. Business News, Kiplinger’s, Reader's Digest and many others. Cona Elder Law attorneys are frequent contributors to Newsday’s Act II “Ask the Expert” column and have appeared as guests on WNBC-TV, CNN-fn, News 12, News 55, Channel 21 "Act II With Newsday" and many radio stations including WOR, WCBS AM and WFAN.
The mission of the Center for Intergenerational Policy and Practice at Dowling College is to raise public awareness of the inter-relatedness of the needs of all generational groups through education, advocacy, and practice in order to enhance the quality of life for all generations. Dr. Susanne Bleiberg Seperson is the Director of the Center, which was founded in 2008. For more information, contact her at: bleibers@dowling.edu.
