EldercareABCblog.com Connects Caregivers in Collaborative Community

(SANEPR.com) June 12, 2009 -- CLEVELAND, OH, June 10, 2009 – Of the 30 million Americans currently providing care to an elderly parent or relative, most are Baby Boomers. Although their circumstances differ, they usually have something in common: a lack of support and no time to look for it.

Stephen Joyce knows the feeling. The author of the Amazon bestseller, Teaching an Anthill to Fetch: Developing Collaborative Intelligence @ Work, Joyce and his wife, Sandra, spent 10 years caring for his parents in Ireland before returning to North America. He has taken the learning gained from that experience and fused it with his expertise in building communities based on collaboration to launch a new online community for caregivers at EldercareABCblog.com.

“We created the blog as the one place where caregivers can be heard and contribute to their own emotional and psychological well-being and that of their fellow community members,” Stephen explained. “The support of an extended social network can be so powerful. Tapping into the collective wisdom of a group of people who are caring for aging parents and are facing similar challenges is the purpose of this blog. The group acts as an ‘extended mind’ made up of many people with many years of life experience.”

Described as a “community for caregivers, designed and informed by caregivers,” the new blog features insightful and informative blog posts – like The Truth about Elderly Dating, Caregiving to the World’s Worst Patient and Five Ways to Stay Sane While Caregiving – as well as a library of articles and resources on eldercare, teleclasses around current caregiver issues, interviews with experts and authors, special community events and product reviews.

Regular contributors include:
• Mary Nix, a passionate advocate for senior citizens and former feature writer and online manager for the award-winning Home Education Magazine;
• Janice Wallace, “The Eldercare Coach” and the owner and founder of Caring for Caregivers;
• Mary Jane Stern, a Medicare specialist and certified Internet marketing professional;
• Christy Cuellar-Wentz, a counselor, coach and co-founder of Mommy-Muse.com.



A recent AARP study estimated that family caregivers provided the equivalent of $375 billion worth of care in 2007 -- more than the cost of paid home care and nursing homes combined. Visitors to the site can now download a free e-book on eldercare finances, with valuable research and guidance on how to manage care costs.

For more information, visit Eldercareabcblog.com.

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AboutEldercareABCblog.com
EldercareABCblog.com is a robust online community for caregivers, designed and informed by caregivers who provide information and support on all aspects of eldercare. The site was founded by Stephen and Sandra Joyce, co-founders of EldercareABC.com, an online information resource for those caring for elderly parents, relatives and other seniors. EldercareABC.com – the “ABC” stands for “About Being Connected” – was launched following a 10-year odyssey spent caring for Stephen’s parents in Ireland. Stephen Joyce is the author of the Amazon bestseller, Teaching an Anthill to Fetch: Developing Collaborative Intelligence @ Work. Sandra Joyce is the founder of Zenergy PD Inc., a training and professional development consultancy, and Mighty Small Books (MSB), the publishing arm of Zenergy PD Inc.