Scroll down to view OR select a day. Note that this is a draft agenda subject to change. Since we have the meeting rooms to ourselves, we can adjust schedules, agendas and topics based on what attendees want. When we meet for the first time, we will seek your input into what you want to gain from the conference.
January 13
4 p.m. – Depart Ft. Lauderdale, FL
5:30 p.m. – Private Cocktail Party for Members and Faculty
6:30 p.m. – Dinner with Faculty or On Your Own
January 14
8 a.m. – Arrive Half Moon Cay, the Bahamas
Informal Meetup – Bring your coffee and danish and meet other attendees, caregivers and faculty. Anthony will be on hand to share segments from his video series “Caregiving: From Surviving to Thriving.”
8 a.m. – 3 p.m. – Excursions
Half Moon Cay is Holland America’s private island. Since we will only be here a short while, we want our guests to enjoy the excursions and get familiar with the ship. We’ll see you at….
5:30 p.m. – Meet the Faculty. Informal Q&A.
6:30 p.m. – Dinner with Faculty or On Your Own
January 15
8 a.m. – Informal Meetup
Bring your coffee and danish and meet other attendees, caregivers and faculty. Anthony will be on hand to share segments from his video series “Caregiving: From Surviving to Thriving.”
9:30 a.m. – Opening Program – The Meaning of Life!
Anthony will present a keynote combining stories, song and audience participation that will have you laughing, crying, and reflecting on what is really important in life. Learn eight important life lessons that our elders can teach us about living a full life as we age.
10:45 a.m. – Hit Us with Your Best Shot
Faculty will answer your toughest questions. Throw your best at us. It will help us better understand your most pressing issues and guide our
discussions for the rest of the trip!
11 a.m. – Arrive Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Island; Excursions begin at noon.
6:30 p.m. – Dinner with Faculty or On Your Own
January 16
Our theme today is protecting yourself legally and financially.
8 a.m. – Arrive Amber Cove, Dominican Republic
8 a.m. Informal Meetup
Bring your coffee and danish and meet other attendees, caregivers and faculty. Anthony will be on hand to share segments from his video series “Caregiving: From Surviving to Thriving.”
9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Several excursions available on island.
9:30 a.m. – Dot the I’s and Cross the T’s – Protecting Yourself Legally
Marivel Zialcita is our attorney in residence for this trip. She practices both elder law and estate planning. She will help us understand the things we need to do to protect ourselves and our loved ones while navigating caregiving and long-term care issues. Estate planning, living trusts, probate, VA Aid and Attendance and more.
10:45 a.m. – Retirement Income Planning from an Economists Viewpoint and Why You Can’t Trust the Media with Your Financial Decisions
Mike Seibert has a unique approach to financial planning. There are so many competing interests tying to tell us what to do with our money – from your 401(k) broker to the media to your brother-in-law Phil. Mike is decidedly agnostic and crafts solutions that combine multiple strategies for success. Everyone wants us to climb the savings mountain. But how do you get back down from the mountain, distributing your wealth to make it last? Mike will show us how.
6:30 p.m. – Dinner with Faculty or On Your Own
7:30 p.m. – Music with Anthony
January 17
We are at sea today. Now that we have your financial and legal issues covered, our theme today is aging in place. In order to do so, you need a plan, good health, and the finances to do so.
8 a.m. Informal Meetup
Bring your coffee and danish and meet other attendees, caregivers and faculty. Anthony will be on hand to share segments from his video series “Caregiving: From Surviving to Thriving.”
9:30 a.m. – Aging in Place – Is it Right For You?
Tara is a recognized Geriatric Care Manager and will show you how to design a high quality life at home. Anthony will discuss how to do a home safety check, the services of senior move managers and how to downsize your home to age in place. Our speakers will also discuss how to bring health services to the home as well as other social determinants of care such as nutrition and transportation. We will tap our other experts for tips as well.
10:45 a.m. – Social Security – The Best Annuity. How to Make Sure You’re Getting the Most Out of It.
Mike Seibert will walk us through the ins and outs of social security. When should you start collecting? Can you still work? Taxes. Survivor benefits. Get your questions answered.
1:30 p.m. – Advocating for Your Health
Tara will teach you how to advocate for an elder’s and your health to create great symbiotic care. Anthony will talk about hospital health care and the emerging role of patient advocates. We introduce Robert Bowles who was diagnosed with early onset Lewy Body Dementia at age 64. Six years in, he is a staunch advocate in the fight against the disease. He will talk about the roller coaster ride of living with Lewy Body Dementia.
6:30 p.m. – Dinner with Faculty or On Your Own
January 18
We arrive in Bonaire. We’ll keep the next three days light as we are then at sea for two full days. Our movie screening will start to immerse us in the world of dementia and the heartbreak and hope that it lays upon us.
8 a.m. – Arrive Bonaire, the Netherlands
8 a.m. – Informal Meetup
Bring your coffee and danish and meet other attendees, caregivers and faculty. Anthony will be on hand to share segments from his video series “Caregiving: From Surviving to Thriving.”
9 a.m. – Excursions Start
9:30 a.m. – Movie Screening – His Neighbor Phil
“His Neighbor Phil”stars Stephanie Zimbalist who expertly and respectfully portrays Mary, a woman living with Alzheimer’s. When her devoted husband Harvey, played by Daniel Roebuck, discovers that music often makes Mary more lucid, he uses music to create more of the meaningful moments of connection with her that he so desperately longs for. Harvey quickly realizes that the mystery of Mary’s Alzheimer’s disease may not be the only unsolved challenge his family is facing as he learns more and more about Mary’s current relationships and past recollections. Layered performances and realistic portrayals of persons impacted by Alzheimer’s and dementia have earned the film early accolades from both reviews and audience members that identify with the characters they see onscreen. Walter Coffey, president and CEO of Leading Age Georgia will facilitate a discussion. Leading Age Georgia was one of the sponsors of the film. Walter had this to say about it.
“This film spoke to me in so many ways – and I know it will to others as well. It was a real-life story that engaged me in the lives of variety of characters and how their experiences unfold throughout the film. The interactions were really what individuals experience throughout their journeys. As a musician, I appreciated the significance of the musical aspect – knowing how meaningful music is in the lives of all! Can’t wait to share the film and facilitate shared learning dialogues with it!”
6:30 p.m. – Dinner with Faculty or Own Your Own
January 19
We arrive in Curacao. Today we will take a deeper dive into the hard issues family caregivers and their loved ones face. As you go about your day afterwards, we encourage you to think about the issues we cover and discuss them with family and your new friends on board.
7 a.m. – Arrive Bonaire, the Netherlands
8 a.m. – Informal Meetup
Bring your coffee and danish and meet other attendees, caregivers and faculty. Anthony will be on hand to share segments from his video series “Caregiving: From Surviving to Thriving.”
8:30 a.m. – Excursions Start
9:30 a.m. – Tackling the Hard Issues
Our panel of experts will convene to talk about some of the hard issues. Taking away the car keys. Senior sex. When mom or dad remarries. Bullying in senior living. Elder abuse. Scams and frauds. More.
6:30 p.m. – Dinner with Faculty or Own Your Own
January 20
We arrive in Aruba. We will devote the morning to the family caregivers on board. You will leave with strategies for self-care and a renewed energy for your caregiving journey.
7 a.m. – Arrive Aruba
7:30 a.m. – Excursions Start
8 a.m. – Informal Meetup
Bring your coffee and danish and meet other attendees, caregivers and faculty. Anthony will be on hand to share segments from his video series “Caregiving: From Surviving to Thriving.”
9:30 a.m. – Caring for the Caregiver
Tara will speak about self-care techniques for family caregivers, from self-coaching to elder approaches. Anthony will talk about the issue of family caregivers in the workplace, including Millennials, and how you can advocate with your employer to change the corporate culture.
10:30 a.m. – Panel Discussion Caregiver Health and Wellness
6:30 p.m. – Dinner with Faculty or Own Your Own
January 21
We are at sea today. And our focus is primarily on the diagnosis of and the living with dementia, including a discussion on long-term care options.
8 a.m. – Informal Meetup
Bring your coffee and danish and meet other attendees, caregivers and faculty. Anthony will be on hand to share segments from his video series “Caregiving: From Surviving to Thriving.”
9:30 a.m. – Diagnosis Dementia – Now What?
Robert will talk about his diagnosis and share that dementia is not just about memory loss but so much more.
10:30 a.m. – Caring Community Conversation
Walter Coffey will lead both faculty and attendees in a Caring Community Conversation. In early 2016, the Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) launched the Caring Community Conversations initiative to start changing conversations about living with dementia. Caring Community Conversation events are friendly, facilitated conversations designed to change attitudes towards and understanding about living with dementia in positive ways.
1:30 p.m. – The Caregiver Crash Course
Walter will be joined by Robert and David Sprowl, Executive Director of Lutheran Towers, a 203 unit high-rise affordable housing community located in the heart of Midtown Atlanta. They will take a deep-dive into their Caregiver Crash Course™ that includes: “Long-Term Care 101”, “Dementia 101”, and “How to Shop for Long-Term Care.”
6:30 p.m. – Dinner with Faculty or Own Your Own
7:30 p.m. – Music with Anthony
January 22
We are at sea today. As our trip comes to a close we would be remiss if we did not talk about end of life wishes. Yes it’s not easy but planning can make it less stressful. We’ll even have some fun with it.
8 a.m. – Informal Meetup
Bring your coffee and danish and meet other attendees, caregivers and faculty. Anthony will be on hand to share segments from his video series “Caregiving: From Surviving to Thriving.”
9:30 a.m. – How to Prepare for and Talk About End of Life Wishes
Marivel will guide us through a discussion of advance directives and medical power of attorney. Tara will discuss techniques for these tough talks. Anthony will share his reflections on hospice care during the care of both his mom and father-in-law.
10:30 a.m. – The Go Wish Game
Go Wish gives you an easy, even entertaining way to talk about what is most important to you at the end of life. Playing cards help you find words to talk about what is important if you were to be living a life that may be shortened by serious illness. Playing the game with your relatives or best friends can help you learn how you can best comfort your loved ones when they need you most. Each deck has 36 cards. Thirty-five of the cards describe things that people often say are important when they are very sick or dying. The cards describe how people want to be treated, who they want near them, and what matters to them. One card is a “wild card.” You can use this card to stand for something you want that isn’t on any of the other cards.
1:30 p.m. – Hit Us with Your Best Shot Part Deux
This is your last chance to ask faculty your toughest questions. Throw your best at us.
6:30 p.m. – Dinner with Faculty or Own Your Own