How Geriatric Care Management Services Can Help Families and Seniors

Family care providers realize that navigating the journey of looking for appropriate elderly care resources for a senior can seem like attempting to traverse the ocean in a rowboat – blindfolded, and blindsided by the buffeting swells and winds. The likelihood of making it safely and securely to your destination is fairly slim without the recommended tools, and an expert to guide you in the best way to use them.

That’s where a geriatric care manager (also referred to as an aging life care professional) can step up and save the day. Geriatric care managers are specialists in the various complexities of the aging process, available resources, resolution of issues related to family dynamics, and much more.

Finding the right geriatric care manager can be a game-changer in ensuring high-quality care for your senior loved one — but knowing where to start is essential. Begin by evaluating professionals who are certified through the Aging Life Care Association (ALCA) or who hold relevant credentials in nursing, social work, gerontology, or counseling. It’s also important to assess their experience with similar cases and ask about the scope of services they provide. To make this process easier, we’ve created a helpful resource outlining what you need to know when hiring a geriatric care manager — from questions to ask during the interview to what credentials to look for. With the right support, families can confidently navigate elder care decisions with clarity and peace of mind.

Readily available for short-term consultations up through and including full-time help and support, there are a few key instances when geriatric care management services are invaluable:

• Long distance separates you and your senior loved one. Residing in Washington while your aging parents are in California, even with today’s technology, makes it tough to make certain they are thoroughly taken care of and safe. A geriatric care manager can provide supervision of care, frequent visitations, and assistance with decision-making.
• A challenging behavioral issue is at play. When a senior loved one is challenged by Alzheimer’s disease or any other diagnosis that involves behavioral concerns, a geriatric care manager may be an integral part of the older adult’s elderly care team, providing details on appropriate specialists and helping to find a remedy to alleviating troubling behaviors, such as aggression, wandering, or sundowning.
• The senior will not open up about health conditions. Older adults frequently want to prevent their adult children from worry, and as a result, withhold important health information – but are often open to speaking with a professional geriatric care manager about their worries.
• There are living condition concerns. For instance, if a senior loved one lives in an assisted living community that will not allow you to hire a private caregiver when additional help becomes necessary, a geriatric care manager will have in-depth information on both the community itself and your state’s relevant laws and can help mediate a resolution.
• You are just at a loss. Choosing the most beneficial care solution for a senior loved one can be complicated, plus it’s common for members of the family to feel unsure in regards to what the best solution will be. Geriatric care management services can provide you with what your options are, and what the benefits and disadvantages may be for each option.

If you are interested in finding a geriatric care manager to help improve care for a senior loved one, connect with CareWorks Health Services, a top providers of home care services in Newport Beach at (949) 859-4700. For a full list of all of the communities where we provide care, please visit our Service Area page.