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When it comes to getting care for your elderly loved ones, you’ll want to ensure that the professionals assisting your loved ones know how to care for geriatric patients.
Whether you’re looking for an in-home care manager, caregiver, or both, it’s important that elderly nursing care managers or caregivers know how to treat geriatric patients with respect, dignity, and compassion. In addition, nursing care of elderly parents should involve whole-person care—caring for an elderly adult’s physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
Interested in learning more about what quality geriatric care looks like?
Join us as we dive into the topic of geriatric care for aging loved ones. We’ll look at some key ideas, including:
- What is a geriatric patient?
- How geriatric patients and their family members can benefit from expert help
- Choosing an agency that prioritizes treating elderly patients well
Our goal with this article is to help you understand more about geriatric care management and its value to families with elderly loved ones.
What Is a Geriatric Patient?
A geriatric patient is any elderly adult, often defined as someone who is age 65 or older.
Every individual is different, so some adults may experience more severe complications as they age than others. Others may stay in good health for years and require very little assistance. However, at some point, most elderly adults will need some sort of specialized care as they get older.
Geriatricians are medical professionals who specialize in working with elderly adults. They have a wide range of expertise in treating elderly patients with medical conditions, like:
- Dementia
- Polypharmacy (using multiple drugs to treat a single condition or illness)
- Physical mobility limitations
- Heart disease
- And many more
There are also geriatric care managers—elder care professionals who provide ongoing help and support to family caregivers and their aging loved ones.
In-home elder care solutions in Southeastern Wisconsin
The Benefits of Elderly Nursing Care (Geriatric Care Management)
Geriatricians can provide specialized medical care to elderly adults. However, they often don’t have the time or ability to aid families with the daily issues or decisions that arise when looking after an elderly loved one.
Geriatric care managers, on the other hand, can provide ongoing, hands-on help to families and their elderly loved ones in ways that geriatricians can’t. It can be very beneficial for families to supplement geriatric medical care with an experienced geriatric care manager.
Here are the benefits of geriatric care management for family caregivers and their aging loved ones.
The Benefit for Elderly Adults
Elderly adults have unique care needs, from in-home safety to prevent falls to dementia or chronic illnesses. In order to live as independently as possible and receive the care they need, aging adults need someone who truly knows how to deal with geriatric patients well.
With a geriatric care manager, elderly adults receive a:
- Person-centered care assessment to ensure whole-person care (physical, mental, emotional)
- Personalized, tailored nursing care plan that changes as their needs change
The patient-focused approach to care is one of the greatest benefits of a geriatric care manager.
Additionally, geriatric care managers have expertise in areas of specialty care, like:
- Dementia care
- Creative engagement
- Behavioral health
- Palliative care
- Chronic disease management
Elderly adults benefit from a geriatric care manager because they receive dedicated, personalized care from someone who genuinely knows how to care for geriatric patients.
The Benefit for Family Members
As a family caregiver, you may not know how to care for an elderly adult. There may be financial, medical, or housing decisions you aren’t sure how to navigate.
Wouldn’t it be helpful to talk with someone who knows how to treat geriatric patients and can guide you through the caregiver journey?
Geriatric care managers don’t only aid elderly adults, but also provide assistance to family caregivers looking after aging loved ones. They have experience and resources to help families with:
- Family relationship management
- Healthcare crisis management
- Understanding new medications or diagnoses
- Home safety evaluations
- Legal guardianship of an elderly loved one
- Senior housing and relocation assistance
In addition, care managers can also connect you to in-home caregivers for your loved ones.
Whether you’ve just become your loved one’s caregiver or you’ve been looking after them for a while, a geriatric care manager can help relieve your caregiver burden.
Choosing Professionals Who Know How to Care for Geriatric Patients
You now have an answer to “What is a geriatric patient” and “What are the benefits of elderly nursing care management for aging adults and family caregivers?”
However, you may still be wondering, “How do I choose or find a care manager that will care for my loved one well?”
When it comes to getting nursing care of elderly parents that you can trust, you’ll want to look for care managers who:
- Care for the whole person
- Are certified by the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Management
- Have positive reviews from current/previous clients
- Show patience, compassion, and empathy with clients
- Prioritize you and your loved ones’ needs
- Communicate with you regularly
- Make changes to your loved one’s care plan as needed
It’s often best to do some research into care agencies in your area before choosing one. By reading client reviews and talking to agency staff, you can get a good idea about whether the care managers know how to treat geriatric patients.
If you’re in the Milwaukee, WI area and looking for Care Managers that check all the boxes, then look no further than Stowell Associates.
Stowell Professional Care Managers
At Stowell Associates, we pride ourselves on providing families and their aging loved ones with the best Care Management services available. By treating elderly patients with respect and collaborating with family caregivers, we ensure that every client gets the care they need. Whether your loved one needs help with simple daily tasks or has just been diagnosed with a new medical condition, we know how to deal with geriatric patients in a way that’s honoring, compassionate, and improves their quality of life.
If you’re looking for an in-home caregiver for your loved one, you can contact TheKey. They provide trained, in-person caregivers to assist aging adults as they age in their homes.
Contact us today to learn more about our Care Management services and how they can benefit you and your aging loved ones.
In-home elder care solutions in Southeastern Wisconsin
