A geriatric care manager can bring your loved one the support they need while relieving the caregiving stress in your life! At Care is There, the client families we serve finally can relax and know that a caring team -- led by their Care is There geriatric care manager - is nearby to help their loved one live a great life of independence, vitality, and connection! Read this pertinent article … [Read more...]
Thanking my clients for their…Moxie!
My clients have moxie. I love them for it! Two of my beloved clients died this year but while they lived they did it moxily! One of them raised three kids on her own after her husband was killed suddenly in a freak accident. She picked herself up and did what needed to be done - learned to drive, got a job, and still managed to be there when her son and daughter got off the school bus.  Those … [Read more...]
Be a Caregiving Genius! Ten Easy Tips
Want to be a caregiving genius? Try these ten easy tips! How do I know so much, besides the fact that I'm a geriatric care manager? I like to listen to my clients, and yesterday one of them said to me (and I quote) "You are a genius!" Hey, cut my pay in half and sign me up for one hundred more years of caregiving - those words were music to my ears! Little did I know that what it takes to be … [Read more...]
The Intimacy of Caregiving
I knocked on the door - no answer. I called - no answer. His newspaper was still by the door. I asked if the  neighbors had seen him. No. I was checking in on a new 90-year-old client while his family was away for the weekend. On Saturday everything went as planned - he greeted me warmly at the door. I saw him take his medications and stayed a while to be sure he got breakfast and was … [Read more...]
Helping Senior Citizens Relocate
Do you know a senior citizen who is facing a household move? Change is difficult for anyone, and it can be especially unsettling for senior citizens. Moving one's house means moving one's home. It means giving up familiar surroundings and routines and often means giving up cherished belongings that signify memories, accomplishments, and affection. It may mean leaving a community where your … [Read more...]
Caregiving – How Everyone Can Win
In my work as a geriatric care manager I'm always looking for the win/win/win scenario: the client wins, the caregiver wins, the community wins. I see so many caregivers frustrated because their loved ones won't accept the help they appear to need. But who really wants to "be helped?" We are used to being independent and productive, and many people resent the idea that they need … [Read more...]
Joy with Our Mothers Now
I spoke on Jennifer Till's radio show about how we can miss the joy of "now" with our mothers by relating to them based on past experiences. (Click here to listen to a recording of that episode of "Real Life with Jennfer Till.") Perhaps we had difficult childhood experiences with our mothers that we haven't fully forgotten. It can even be positive memories from the past that distract of from … [Read more...]
Your Mom and I are Having a Slumber Party
 At 1:30am I got a call from the personal emergency response system (PERS) for one of my clients. The message was cryptic and unsettling: "Person number one is not responding! Person number one is not responding!" Hmm. So I called her and she was fine -- bright as could be! I apologized for waking her up. She said - "you know I don't sleep!" I suspected that her PERS pendant -- which … [Read more...]
11 Ways to Stop Caregiver-Related Depression
Don't let depression get you! Care-giving is life-giving and love-giving. Don't let it suck the life and the love out of you! At Care is There, one of our most important jobs is to support caregivers so they don't burn out, get sick, lose their jobs, neglect their families and forget their own sources of joy. That includes you long-distance caregivers, who may worry all the time and have to get … [Read more...]
How a Trip to the Hairdresser Can Change Everything
Today I took a client to the hairdresser. That was a giant victory because this very frail and very proud lady rarely lets anyone do anything for her. Then we had lunch (something she rarely does anymore) and picked up light bulbs for her nightlights and a battery for the radio beside her bed. So what? So EVERYTHING! At the end of this visit, my client held my hand in her arthritically … [Read more...]