Planning AHEAD

End-of-life planning is the ultimate gift you can give your loved ones. Join us for a multisession program that gives you the tools and resources to help begin or continue the end-of-life planning process. This type of planning, including advance care planning, is not just for people who are very old or ill. At any age, a medical crisis could leave you unable to communicate your own health care decisions. Plan ahead. Don’t leave a mess, leave a legacy.

This course features a free workbook to help people with the tasks and decisions associated with end-of-life.

Planning AHEAD is a 6-session course (one hour each) that guides participants through the following topics:

• Handling Financial Changes
• Advance Medical & Legal Directives
• Choices in End of Life Care
• Final Wishes
• Understanding Grief

For more information and to register:

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Aging Mastery Programs

The Aging Mastery Program (AMP) is a fun and engaging education and behavior change program for aging well created by the National Council on Aging (NCOA). 
The AMP core curriculum covers 10-11 topics:

• Navigating Longer Lives
• Exercise
• Sleep
• Healthy Eating & Hydration
• Financial Fitness
• Advanced Planning
• Healthy Relationships
• Medication Management
• Community Engagement
• Falls Prevention
• Caregiving (optional)

These classes address topics such as patient/physician communication, memory, home safety, malnutrition, and bucket lists.  Aging Mastery is a comprehensive approach for modest lifestyle changes to empower and cultivate health and longevity. Over the course of the program, participants set goals for positive actions in many aspects of their lives such as exercise, nutrition, finances, advance care planning, community engagement, and healthy relationships.

Program results have shown that older adults in the program participants significantly increased their:

The Aging Mastery Program is offered in a number of counties across Wisconsin, as well as offered virtually. For more information, please contact:

Wise Wisconsin

UW-Madison Division of Extension’s Life Span program presents the Wise Wisconsin Virtual Learning Series. Extension Faculty, staff, and partners from around the state host sessions on topics that will help you increase joy and satisfaction in your life, provide you with new skills and resources, and help you connect with others. 

Check out the recoded, captioned, and posted videos on YouTube:

View the Videos

Caregiver Support

Life Span Educators provide educational programming and resources to caregivers across the state. It is our goal to support family caregivers by providing the tools and resources they need to be successful in their own self-care, provide them opportunity to connect with other caregivers and the knowledge to utilize the community resources they need to be care for their loved one.

For more programs and resources:

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Powerful Tools for Caregivers

Caring for others is very rewarding, but it can also be very stressful.  It is therefore very important to learn how to take care of YOU while caring for another.  The Powerful Tools for Caregivers program is a 6-week, evidence-based program that provides participants with an opportunity to build knowledge and skills that will help caregivers:

• Reduce Stress
• Improve Self-Confidence
• Manage Time, Set Goals, and Solve Problems
• Better Communicate Their Feelings
• Locate Helpful Resources
• Make Tough Decisions

For more information or to find a class:

Visit the Website