Age is no respecter of persons. Eventually, people reach a point where their age impairs their ability to care for themselves, requiring outside help from others. Oftentimes, these people are elderly parents, and the outside help comes in the form of adult children.
In a perfect world, families share the responsibilities of caring for their elderly loved ones. However, not everyone is able to provide care to their aging parent for any number of reasons:
- You live far away
- You have a bad relationship with your parent
- You have an inflexible job
- You lack time (i.e., your work and family obligations are too demanding)
- Your parent refuses your help
- You’re not financially stable
- You’re physically or emotionally unable
As you can see, there are many reasons why you may choose not to provide direct care for an aging parent, and each is valid. Everyone’s circumstances are different, and there’s no shame in looking for outside care for your elderly loved one.
According to the Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 report, nearly 1 in 5 Americans provide unpaid care to an adult with health or functional needs. Additionally, over 1 in 4 family caregivers have difficulty coordinating care. This blog is directed at family caregivers and adult children who need help caring for their aging parents.
Today, we discuss who geriatric care managers are, give a list of older adults care management services, and explain how these geriatric consultants can help families coordinate elder care.
In-home elder care solutions in Southeastern Wisconsin
Who Are Geriatric Care Managers?
Geriatric care managers are known by many different names. In this blog, we will use the terms interchangeably:
A geriatric care manager is a sort of “professional relative” who helps you and your family identify the needs of a senior loved one and find the best ways to care for them. These experienced professionals work to improve older adults’ quality of life and reduce family stress.
Geriatric consultants first evaluate elderly adults, meaning they perform a multidimensional geriatric assessment of their mental, physical, and psychological health. The insights gained from the assessment allow these elder care specialists to formulate a flexible, personalized care plan for your aging loved one.
The purpose of a geriatric assessment is to identify how well seniors can care for themselves and what additional help they may need to improve their quality of life. Once a geriatric care manager determines the level of care your loved one requires, they work with families to get them the right kind of support.
Next, we’ll list specific geriatric care management services.
Geriatric Care Management Services
To start, let’s talk about the one service that geriatric care managers don’t provide: in-home care. In-home caregivers are the professionals who provide hands-on care to aging adults in their place of residence. Geriatric care managers coordinate the care provided by in-home caregivers, but they themselves don’t assist older adults in their homes.
Here’s a list of geriatric care management services you can expect geriatric consultants to provide:
- Consult with families
- Advocate for seniors
- Assess seniors’ wellbeing
- Coordinate senior care
- Guide decision-making
- Assist with housing and relocation
- Mediate tense family relationships
- Create short- and long-term elder care plans
- Act as a liaison between professional caregivers and family members
Not all benefits of geriatric care management services are visible. For instance, geriatric care managers provide peace of mind to adult children who can’t care for an aging parent but want to ensure they’re in good hands. While children of elderly parents experience a roller coaster of emotions, elder care specialists provide wisdom and direction.
Now, where can you find older adults care management services?
Older Adults Care Management, At Your Service
You don’t need to carry the weight of caregiving alone. At Stowell Associates, our geriatric care managers are ready to help you and your family get the care you need. Whether you’re a family caregiver or an adult child who needs to find in-home care for your elderly parent(s), we can help.
Here at Stowell Associates, our Care Team treats your family like they’re ours. Not only do we support families, but we’ve partnered with TheKey to provide in-home caregiving services as well. By collaborating with families regarding their aging loved ones, we ensure that our elderly clients receive the specialized care they need.
Contact us today to speak with one of our expert geriatric consultants to learn more about older adults care management.
In-home elder care solutions in Southeastern Wisconsin
