Fill in the GAPS

New Education for Informal and Professional Caregivers!

Are you providing care for another adult--a friend, family member, or client? Are you in the “sandwich generation,” caring for aging parents and young children? Are the stresses of caregiving taking a toll on you physically, emotionally, spiritually, or financially? Have you or a loved one been recently diagnosed with a serious illness? Do you need to prepare to care for an aging or declining loved one?

If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, our new “Fill in the GAPS” series of hands-on, interactive workshops is for you! Designed to equip caregivers with the tools they need to plan for, understand, and manage the impact of serious illness, the workshops offer practical skills, resources, and networking in a safe, supportive environment.

Workshops are offered in several different locations and at different times around the Denver Metro area: Lakewood, Englewood, Central and South Denver, and Wheat Ridge. A table below the workshop descriptions provides details. 

• Attend any session at no charge!

• To obtain proof of attendance or 2 hours continuing education credit, $35/session

• To earn the Life Quality Institute Palliative Caregiver Certificate: attend all six sessions, complete and score about 75% on content evaluations for each session, and write short (max. 2 pages) reflection on how you will apply your learning. 12 hours continuing education credit, Certificate of completion, $145.

RSVP or registration required for all participants: Email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 303-398-6326.

Who should attend?

• Patients, family members & loved ones

• Nonmedical and medical caregivers

• Hospice & hospital volunteers

• Healthcare providers

• Senior living residents & staff

• Nursing facility staff

• Elder law attorneys & financial planners

• Geriatric care managers & senior advisors

Each interactive Fill in the GAPS workshop includes…  

• Activities designed to provide an inside-out understanding of the topic covered

• Opportunities for you to get your questions answered by expert educators from Life Quality Institute

• Time for discussion and interaction with fellow attendees

• Resources and next steps pertinent to the workshop topic

Workshop Details

Workshop #1: You Don't Have to Suffer: Returning Humanity to Healthcare

Defining what “palliative care” means and showing how this approach can provide the best healthcare

• You will learn how patient- and family-centered care improves communication, alleviates pain and suffering, lowers costs and increases overall satisfaction with treatment

Workshop #2: Goals of Care: Discovering How You Want to be Treated

Identifying how you want your healthcare providers to treat you, medically and personally, in health, during illness, and when your journey ends

• You will learn how to distinguish “goals of care” from “aims of treatment”; how to identify, ask for, and receive the care you want

Workshop #3: Advance Care Planning: Asking for What You Want Now & in the Future

Expressing and documenting your healthcare choices to ensure they are honored

• You will learn the difference between advance directives (Living Will, CPR directive, medical power of attorney), advance care planning and the Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (MOST)—and how to get started with your own personalized plan

Workshop #4: Psychosocial Issues: Caring for Mind, Spirit, Body, and Family

Communicating how I am, how you are, and how we can care for each other and our whole selves

• You will learn why patients and their loved ones suffer more than just physically and how to deal with complex issues affecting individuals and families coping with illness.

Workshop #5: Symptom Management: Responding to Suffering in Serious Illness

Anticipating and dealing with the stages of illness and the dying process

• You will learn practical tools for identifying and soothing discomfort and where to go to get help

Workshop #6: Holding On & Letting Go

Taking care of yourself throughout the journey

• You will learn how to care for yourself, how to deal with the many losses that come along with aging and illness and how to support patients and loved ones at the end of life