How can a geriatric care manager help me take care of my elderly father?

Dr K of Harvard Medical School recommends using a geriatric care manager

How can a geriatric care manager help me take care of my elderly father?  Dr. Anthony Komaroff, of Harvard Medical School, answers the question in this article.

Here is an excerpt from Dr. Karamoff’s article:

Caring for an elderly parent takes a lot of time, energy and patience, and it may also cause financial strain. But caregiving also can be wonderfully rewarding. Even if you do find it rewarding and don’t want to stop playing a major role in caring for your parent, you might still feel overwhelmed. If so, a geriatric care manager may be able to help.

Geriatric care managers are jacks-of-all-trades. Their training may include nursing, social work, counseling or gerontology. An experienced manager can round up medical care and necessary services, keep medical personnel on the same page and cut through baffling red tape. He or she can also help navigate family dynamics. Some of the tasks geriatric care managers routinely undertake are:

• Evaluating needs: Determining how independent your parent is in the activities of daily living, such as changing clothes, bathing, getting to the bathroom, making meals, and so forth;
• Connecting people to helpful services, senior housing and long-term care facilities;
• Bringing families together to discuss options supportively;
• Hiring and monitoring home-care personnel;
• Coordinating care between specialists, hospital and home-care staff, and family members;
• Recognizing and finding ways to circumvent financial, medical or legal problems.

For more articles like this, see: Long Distance Caregiving, Aging in Place, Geriatric Care Management, and Care for the Caregiver. Also, visit the Solutions section of the Care is There Geriatric Care Management website.

Are you worried about an elderly parent that lives in Charlottesville, Staunton, or Harrisonburg Virginia? Care is There Geriatric Care Management can help! Have them contact us for a free consultation: 434.326.5323 or info@careisthere.com.

For more information about our services, and to read testimonials from our clients, visit our website. Also, view this short video about our care management services.

Elizabeth Swider, Geriatric Care Manager, Certified Senior Advisor
President, Care is There Geriatric Care Management
Support for independent living and long distance caregiving; assisted living enhancement