Are you an adult child with aging parents searching for a “geriatric care manager near me?”
If you are, you’re not alone. With older adults accounting for 16% of the population and expected to rise to over 20% in the coming years, many adult children already do or will find themselves providing care to elderly parents.
As you take on the responsibility of caring for senior parents, you may find yourself in need of help. After all, you may not know what to do for your parents or how to provide the care they need.
There are care management options available to provide hands-on or virtual assistance as you care for your aging loved ones.
Do you know the difference between care management and a care coaching service?
Keep reading to learn about elder care management and how finding a virtual care manager or coach may be the best option for you.
What is Care Management?
Senior care management is a service provided by professional care managers (sometimes called geriatric advisors or aging life care managers). Care managers are usually registered nurses (RNs) or master’s-level social workers trained in elder care. They work with adult children or other family caregivers to create a customized care plan focused on providing expert care for the aging family members.
The services that care managers often provide include:
- Evaluating, arranging, and monitoring in-home personnel and care needs
- Coordinating and participating in medical appointments
- Identifying social services and care programs for the care recipient
- Explaining difficult or complex topics
- Creating short and long-term care plans
- Answering questions and addressing concerns
- Arranging for relief or respite care for family caregivers
Some home care agencies or care management services may be different, so make sure you ask questions and shop around to find the senior care management service that fits your needs.
Why Is Care Management Important?
A care management program can be beneficial for both the family caregivers and their elderly parents. Care managers handle an aging parent’s personal and practical needs so that family members can enjoy more quality time with their loved ones.
With care management, an aging parent will receive quality care at every stage of the aging process. Care managers collaborate with family caregivers to create a personalized care plan. As care managers monitor and adjust the care plan, in-home caregivers provide professional hands-on assistance in the home. Care managers and caregivers work together to give aging parents the expert care they need as they age.
Family members can also benefit from care management. When care managers handle the short- and long-term care needs of aging parents, family caregivers can have peace of mind about their parents’ care. This allows adult children to spend time with aging parents without the worry and stress of caregiving.
But what if you’re a caregiver who doesn’t have access to care management due to lack of accessibility or financial restrictions? Or maybe you want to provide personal care to your elderly parents, but you don’t know how. So what now? Here are some options.
Care Coaching: Your Personal Virtual Care Manager
As we mentioned above, traditional care managers do the caregiving legwork for clients and their families. Having a professional handle an elderly adult’s caregiving responsibilities can be a valuable resource for families who don’t want to or are unable to provide the hands-on care their aging family members need.
However, some family caregivers want to provide care or don’t have access to in-person care management services. For these individuals, it can still be beneficial to have professional help and insight throughout the caregiver journey to ensure quality care.
Enter Stowell Associate’s Care Coaching program.
Care coaching is a virtual care management program that allows for remote access to trained care managers. Through this Care Coaching program, family caregivers will get monthly access to a Stowell Care Coach over the phone.
A Care Coach will act as a virtual geriatric advisor. They’ll talk with you about your parents’ needs, help you outline a monthly care plan, and offer ongoing support throughout the caregiving process so that you’re empowered to provide the care that your loved one deserves.
Here are the top five benefits of the Stowell Care Coaching program for adult children caring for aging parents.
1. Trusted Ongoing Partner
Like some Care Managers, Stowell Care Coaches are master’s-level social workers. They’ll take the time to get to know you and your parents’ needs. Care Coaches will assist in planning and proactively working towards your goals, helping to mitigate problems before they become crises. If a crisis does occur, though, your Care Coach will be ready to walk with you through the resolution process.
2. Ease of Burden
Taking on the role of family caregiver involves caring for yourself and your aging loved one. Your Care Coach will regularly ask a series of questions to gauge your personal stress and help address areas of concern with caregiving.
As a family caregiver, you can become easily stressed or overwhelmed with the burden of care. Stress can come from:
- Confusion over benefits or insurance
- New or unfamiliar diagnoses
- Family conflict
- Personal life stress
Since Stowell Care Coaches are master’s-level social workers, they’re equipped to help you identify personal areas of stress and find ways to relieve this stress. Your Care Coach will understand that in order to provide quality care to your elderly parents, you need to take care of yourself.
3. Help Addressing Concerns
Additionally, Care Coaches know the most common safety concerns or issues caregivers may need to address when caring for elderly adults. When you work with a Care Coach, they’ll help you identify and prioritize top safety concerns like:
- Your parents’ driving ability
- Senior falls
- Medication management
- Financial or other elder abuse
By regularly asking you a series of questions, your Care Coach will gain greater insight into your caregiving situation and the top areas of concern. This will help your Care Coach know what resources and information to provide you with as you navigate caregiving.
4. Enhanced Quality of Life
Guidance from a Care Coach will help you become an effective advocate for your loved ones. When situations like navigating transitions of care or tackling social isolation arise, your Care Coach can help you better understand what to do and how to do it. If you concerned about an elderly parent who may fall prey to neglect or abuse, you can have the confidence to speak up and be their voice, so they get the care they need.
5. Remote Accessibility
Traditional care management often requires in-person, face-to-face interaction—our Care Coaching program breaks down that physical barrier.
One of the most significant benefits of Care Coaching is that it’s accessible to anyone, anywhere. For only $100/month, you’ll receive 75 minutes of one-on-one access to your personal Care Coach over the phone. Regardless of your location, your Care Coach will be readily available to walk you through whatever caregiving situation you find yourself in.
With Care Coaching, you won’t need to search the internet for “geriatric care manager near me” anymore. You’ll always have access to an expert Care Manager no matter where you are.
Connect With an In-person or Virtual Care Manager Today
A senior care management program can provide your elderly parents with the personal and practical support they need as they age. Care managers offer individual care plans, manage in-home caregivers, and work collaboratively with adult children. However, traditional care management is often done in-person and may not be the best service for you at the time.
As a family caregiver, you may want to provide care yourself but need a coach to help you in the caregiving process. Care Coaching is a way for you to connect with a trained elder care professional remotely. A Care Coach will collaborate with you on a monthly basis to provide:
- On-going support and education
- Problem-solving strategies
- Ease of burden and safety concern insight
- Lifestyle improvement for aging loved ones
- Remote accessibility
Stowell Associates is an elder care management and caregiving agency that seeks to provide the highest level of care to family caregivers and their aging loved ones. With 38 years of experience helping clients resolve their care concerns, our Care Team and Care Coaches have the right resources, tools, and knowledge to provide family caregivers peace of mind. Not sure whether Care Management services or a Care Coach relationship is right for your caregiving situation?
Contact us online or give us a call at 414-635-1912 to speak with our Care Advisors today. We’ll take time to understand your situation and advise you on which care service is best for you and your family.
