What Is a Senior Care Manager?

According to the Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 report, nearly 1 in 5 Americans are family caregivers. With a growing aging population, the need for caregivers is higher than ever—a role that tends to fall on family members.

Families commonly shared the responsibilities of caring for their senior loved ones when they lived near each other. Today, families seem to live far and wide, putting pressure on a single family member who lives closest to an aging parent to take on the role of caregiver. 

Family caregiving can be challenging, especially when you haven’t been trained to care for the elderly. Thankfully, you don’t have to do it alone. Geriatric care managers can help. But, what is a geriatric care manager? What does a geriatric care manager do? Those questions are what we intend to answer in this blog.

What Is a Geriatric Care Manager?

A geriatric care manager is known by several titles:

• Senior care manager
• Geriatric care specialist
• Elder care specialist
• Elder care professionals

Geriatric care managers are also known as geriatric care consultants. Although their titles vary, their roles do not. They exist to improve seniors’ quality of life and advise families on what’s best for them and their aging loved ones.

These elder care professionals specialize in geriatrics. They assist older adults by assessing their needs, identifying the best care solutions to meet those needs, and coordinating geriatric help. In addition, expert geriatric care managers collaborate with families to develop long- and short-term care plans based on their assessment of an aging loved one.

A geriatric care specialist becomes a family’s resident expert, guiding them through the complexities of elder care. Some even refer to senior care managers as “professional family members.” They are intimately involved with your aging loved one’s care and the decisions surrounding it. Showing no partiality, they are advocates for older adults and advisors to their families.

Now that you have an answer to the question, “What is a geriatric care manager?” let’s turn our attention to what they do.

What Does a Geriatric Care Manager Do?

Elderly care management is the professional term for what geriatric care managers do, but “older adults care management” is a more casual way to say it. Elder care – often referred to as senior care – is an umbrella term for services designed to help older adults live as comfortably and independently as possible. 

Here’s a short list of services that geriatric care managers offer:

• Assess older adults’ needs and well-being in the comfort of their homes
• Recommend the best services and care solutions to meet those needs
• Provide elder care information and resources to family members
• Guide older adults and their families through the intricacies of elder care
• Coordinate and monitor care services and providers
• Support families and seniors during change and transition
• Advise families and their aging loved ones on age-related matters:
  • Healthcare crises
  • Family conflicts
  • Housing and relocation
  • Specialty care
  • Lifecare
  • Decision-making
  • Stress management
  • Processing grief

By no means is this list exhaustive. Ultimately, a geriatric care manager aims to bring peace of mind to older adults and their families during challenging times. So now, let’s talk about how to find a senior care manager.

Geriatric Care Management for Seniors

Caring for an elderly parent can leave family caregivers feeling stressed out and, at worst, burned out. The extra responsibility of caring for your parents and various personal responsibilities can overwhelm family caregivers. 

Whether you’re a family caregiver or looking to replace yourself with a professional in-home caregiver, Stowell Associates has a solution for you. As Southeastern Wisconsin’s premier elderly care management agency, we’ve faithfully provided families with geriatric help for nearly 40 years.

Our geriatric care managers are dedicated to equipping family caregivers with the resources they need to best serve their aging loved ones. If you’re a family caregiver who needs someone to take over that role, we’ve partnered with TheKey, a home care company that offers the professional services of in-home caregivers.

Contact us to learn more about geriatric care management and how it can benefit your family today.