Download the National Caregiving Conference Guide
Friday, December 2, Agenda
Chicago Marriott O’Hare, 8535 W. Higgins, Chicago, IL
1 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Pre-Conference Intensives
5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.: VIP Reception
Saturday, December 3, Agenda
Chicago Marriott O’Hare, 8535 W. Higgins, Chicago, IL
7:30 a.m.: Registration, Continental Breakfast, Exhibit Floor Opens
8 a.m. - 8:35 a.m.: MSNBC anchor Richard Lui shares his caregiving story
9 a.m: Opening Remarks from Denise M. Brown
9:05 a.m.: The Yoga of Caregiving with Gael Chiarella Alba
9:20 a.m.: Keynote with Bruce McIntyre, ‘Thrive Anyway!’’
Good days, bad days. Beautiful moments, tragic moments. The landscape of caregiving is rarely either/or, but almost always both/and. With original stories to set off belly laughs as well as easily relatable poignant moments, this talks weaves practical insight into a memorable experience. Based on the book due out this fall, “Thrive Anyway” invites you to: 1. Recognize your tendency towards denial, while embracing your capacity for resilience. 2. Create beautiful moments anyway. 3. Summon and appreciate your small acts of determination. 4. Welcome unexpected blessings, and 5. Receive calm in the paradox of caregiving.
10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.: Concurrent Sessions:
- Family Caregiver Sessions
- Former Family Caregiver Sessions
- Working with Family Caregivers Sessions
- Meet Our Speakers
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Break
Noon: Lunch, Hack-A-Thon Winner, Fashion Show, Improv Show
1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.: Concurrent Sessions:
- Family Caregiver Sessions
- Former Family Caregiver Sessions
- Working with Family Caregivers Sessions
- Meet Our Speakers
3:30 p.m.: Presentation of First Annual National Caregiving Technology and Product Pitch Event winner; Closing Remarks from Denise
3:45 p.m.: Closing Session with Andrew Koch, who will sing an original song and lead us through a song to end our conference.
5 p.m.: Conference Ends
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.: Whine and Wine (Meet for a drink at the hotel bar. Thanks to Vivian Geary from Caring for Family Caregivers for this idea. )
7 p.m.: Dinner at local restaurants with fellow attendees hosted by conference steering committee members. (You choose where you want to eat and with whom. We provide the company and the venue; you pay for your transportation to dinner, your dinner and your drinks. Restaurants will be an easy 10-minute drive from the conference hotel. Thanks so much to Elizabeth Miller from HappyHealthyCaregiver.com for this idea. We’ll share more details in November.)
Breaks for Exhibits
Exhibits remain open all day on Saturday; we have the following breaks for attendees to visit the exhibit floor:
8 a.m. – 9 a.m.
11:30 – 1 p.m. (we’ll have lunch and a fashion and Improv show at Noon)
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday, December 4
Organized sight-seeing and shopping tours.
Registration
Register for our conference via the form at the bottom of this post. After you submit the registration form, wait for the payment form to appear on this page. You must complete payment in order to be registered for our event.
Become an Exhibitor or Sponsor
Support family caregivers and former family caregivers by sponsoring and exhibiting at the First Annual National Caregiving Conference.
Attend for Free
Registration is free for our Saturday conference for family caregivers and former family caregivers who opt to participate in our Care-A-Van and/or What I Wear When I Care Fashion Show contests. Let us know if you’d like to participate in our Care-A-Van and/or What I Wear When I Care Fashion Show contests.
Conference Costs
Check out our National Caregiving Conference agenda.
- Our Friday pre-conference intensives cost between $20 and $50 and are open to family caregivers, former family caregivers and professionals.
- The cost for family caregivers and former family caregivers to attend our Saturday conference is $20.
- The cost for professionals to attend our Saturday conference is $99 through September 21; the cost goes to $110 beginning September 22.
- Add $15 if you’d like CEUs. In order to receive CEUs for Saturday’s conference, you must register at the professional rate for Saturday’s conference.
Registration for our Saturday conference includes a continental breakfast and lunch as well as access to our sessions and exhibitor floor. You’ll pay for your travel expenses, including your hotel stay.
CEUs
We’ve been approved to provide continuing education hours for our Friday pre-conference intensives (4 hours for our four-hour intensive; 2 hours for our two-hour intensives) and for our Saturday conference (6.5 hours). Continuing education hours are provided by the University of Illinois, College of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine in collaboration with the Continuing Education Institute of Illinois.
The professions provided for are:
- Acupuncturist
- Athletic Trainer
- Counselor-Professional/Clinical
- Dental Hygienist
- Dietitian/Nutritionist
- Marriage and Family Counselor
- Nurse (APN, RN, LPN)
- Nursing Home Administrator
- Occupational Therapist
- Psychologist
- Physical Therapist
- Respiratory Therapist
- Social Worker
Hotel Details
Our conference will take place on Friday, December 2, and Saturday, December 3, at the Chicago Marriott O’Hare, conveniently located minutes from O’Hare and a subway ride from downtown Chicago. The hotel offers free shuttle service to and from O’Hare. Daily hotel parking for our conference is $3.
To reserve a guest room for December 2 and/or December 3, please call the Marriott at 773-693-4444. Ask for the National Caregiving Conference special room rate of $119 per night.
Contact
Questions? Ideas? Need more information? Email Denise.
We are so very grateful for the support of the following sponsors of our National Caregiving Conference:
