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Barbara McVicker
Barbara McVicker, Speaker, Author, Consultant

Speaking

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Stuck in the Middle: Shared Stories and Tips For Caregiving Your Elderly Parents

Barbara McVicker was a caregiver to her parents for 10 years while raising two children and struggling to maintain her career as a high-level development director.  As her numerous responsibilities became too much to manage, she eventually quit her job to care for her parents full-time.

After her parents were gone, Barbara began searching for a way to help others deal with their own overwhelming caregiving circumstances. She interviewed hundreds of caregivers and healthcare professionals, gathering their stories and compiling information and common themes essential for all caregivers. This data, including numerous touching stories, became the basis for her book, Stuck in the Middle, as well as this, her most requested program.

Over 75 million Baby Boomers are "stuck in the middle" of balancing the needs of their children, their careers and their aging parents.  In this presentation, Barbara provides a lifeline for adult children feeling overwhelmed, isolated, and in need of emotional support. Audiences not only gain practical insight, they also laugh and cry together.

Audience

This presentation is ideal for anyone associated with care of the elderly. This includes adult children caregivers, retirement communities, eldercare associations, health/wellness organizations, or anyone interested in the topic.

Format

This presentation is available as a either a keynote presentation or a workshop. Keynote presentations are generally 30-60 minutes; workshops are from 1 hour to half-day in length.

Events

This presentation is applicable to a variety of events, including caregiver conferences, "Lunch & Learn" education programs, association meetings, health/wellness fairs, industry panel discussions, medical staff meetings, spouse programs, eldercare industry sales meetings, as well as product launches.

Customization

Prior to her appearance, Barbara will work with you to tailor the presentation so that it speaks directly to the needs and expectations of your audience.

Balancing Caregiving & Career: The Eldercare Challenge

Are you stressed trying to meet the increasing needs of an older relative or loved one? Do you feel like you're running in place, just moving from one crisis to another?  Are you getting buried in medical, legal and financial paperwork?  Do you keep your worries to yourself and think that your employer would be unsympathetic to you?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you are a caregiver who may be experiencing caregiver stress. And you are not alone. One-third of the U.S. population is caring for an older adult, and two-thirds of these informal caregivers provide this care in addition to working full or part-time. These added responsibilities can have a profound impact on caregivers and on their work.

Barbara McVicker knows firsthand how dealing with a loved one's needs while working can affect your concentration and work productivity. When caring for both her parents while struggling to maintain her career became overwhelming, Barbara eventually quit her job to care for her parents full-time.

In this program, Barbara addresses the top issues that working caregivers and their employers are facing, such as reduced job effectiveness, chronic tardiness or absenteeism, excessive telephone interruptions, and overall stress. Tailored to either caregivers or employers, Barbara shares solutions for employees committed to caregiving their parents while maintaining their careers.

Audience

This presentation is ideal for organizations that want to provide additional support to employees struggling to balance caregiving with career.

Format

This presentation is available as a either a keynote presentation or a workshop. Keynote presentations are generally 30-60 minutes; workshops are from 1 hour to half-day in length.

Events

This presentation is applicable to a variety of events, including employee-focused "Lunch & Learn education programs, caregiver conferences, association meetings, health/wellness fairs, industry panel discussions, as well as spouse programs.

Customization

Prior to her appearance, Barbara will work with you to tailor the presentation so that it speaks directly to the needs and expectations of your audience.

Family Feud: Conflict in Caregiving

If a caregiver is fortunate, she has a network of family members and friends willing to help care for her elderly parent. But for many families, the responsibility falls to one person to step in and become the primary caregiver.

The stress and guilt that occur when caring for aging parents can cause damage to even the closest of families. The caregiver may feel as if he or she is the only one in the world caring for a sick relative. The caregiving role is likely interfering significantly with work and other responsibilities, resulting in the feeling that there are not enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done. Those not directly involved in the daily caregiving process can feel left out, as if their suggestions are not being considered. Add to the mix direct conflict with the aging parent on a daily basis, and the result is a breakdown of family relationships under the constant strain of caregiving pressures.

Barbara McVicker recognizes that these are universal problems. She experienced them herself, within her own family, when she was caregiver to her own parents for 10 years.   In this popular program, Barbara shares solutions that have worked for her and many others – solutions that every family can implement.

Audience

This presentation is ideal for anyone associated with care of the elderly. This includes adult children caregivers, retirement communities, eldercare associations, health/wellness organizations, or anyone interested in the topic.

Format

This presentation is available as a either a keynote presentation or a workshop. Keynote presentations are generally 30-60 minutes; workshops are from 1 hour to half-day in length.

Events

This presentation is applicable to a variety of events, including caregiver conferences, "Lunch & Learn" education programs, association meetings, health/wellness fairs, industry panel discussions, medical staff meetings, and spouse programs.

Customization

Prior to her appearance, Barbara will work with you to tailor the presentation so that it speaks directly to the needs and expectations of your audience.

The best gift we can give our children is to get all of our documents in order NOW.