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Workshop to address care-for-elderly issues by Chris West Public Relations They loved and cared for you. Now they need your love and care.  The MUSC Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and ElderCaring Inc. have collaborated to bring the “Caring For Your Aging Parents” workshop to MUSC that will address the concerns and questions surrounding care for the elderly.  “Caring for our parents while balancing our own lives can be an extremely overwhelming experience,” said William Eaton, president of ElderCaring Inc. “The workshop is designed to give those interested, direct contact with professionals that can address questions on caring for the elderly.”  The professionals Eaton mentions is a panel of local community professionals that work within the scope of elderly health care, financial issues surrounding care, final wishes and even legal aspects of caregiving. The panel attempts to ensure that individual caregivers are asking the right questions and addressing the right issues associated with care.  “This topic is especially important here in that South Carolina has experienced an influx of seniors moving to the state and it already ranks high among elderly retirees. And on a grander scale, people are living longer, sometimes warranting extended periods of care,” Eaton said. He went on to say that the workshop began by addressing a number of local churches, and grew in popularity and began to address additional questions surrounding the topic. “We just heard more and more of a calling for access to information surrounding this and we wanted to address a venue that would reach a larger audience.” Now collaborating with the MUSC Employee Assistance Program, the two organizations have brought the workshop to MUSC to address the same cares and concerns.  “I met Bill Eaton at a conference on caregiving and loss,” said Pam Rustin, EAP therapist. “After speaking to him, I decided that MUSC would be an appropriate place to host the workshop simply because of the large population of caregivers that we have here on campus and due to the interest expressed regarding the topic.” And Rustin should know, from her personal experience with caring for her own parents. “It did prove to be an overwhelming experience,” Rustin said. “There were lots of issues to address and I found myself doing it on my own.” Aside from the personal sacrifice of caregiving, it may also have profound negative effects in the workplace. “Another reason this workshop is important is because it does address issues of caregiving and its effect on the worker,” Eaton said. “Many areas from the personal aspects of caregiving can find their way into the workplace and result in tardiness, decreased work efficiency, excessive use of company benefits and even time missed at work. Some of the panel topics address the stress and anxiety of caregiving and seek to provide solutions that will ease the effects on the individual and the workplace.” ElderCaring Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to informing, educating and generating awareness of aging persons and their caregivers. For information on ElderCaring Inc., contact Bill Eaton at 971-9673 or by e-mail at bill@williameaton.com. The workshop is free and open to employees, spouses, parents and friends and will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 18 in the Institute of Psychiatry Auditorium. A complimentary lunch will be provided. For registration for the workshop, e-mail Rustin at rustinpd@musc.edu.