Caring for Your Older Loved Ones: Geriatric Care Management

Article submitted by Kimberly Hand, MS, CMC-Geriatric Care Management Program North Shore Senior Center.
For more information, she can be reached at 847-784-6040, or visit her website: www.nssc.org.

Older people who live alone may struggle with mounting problems such as declining health and loneliness. Many may need help with their everyday living activities and or need someone to help with health, financial or other issues. Geriatric Care Managers could be a valuable resource for older adults to enable them to enjoy the highest quality of life.

Geriatric Care Managers can help to arrange and monitor a multitude of services. They support an older adult whose family is not available because of distance or other responsibilities and obligations. The older person and the family can be reassured that Geriatric Care Management is helping to maintain the highest quality of life possible in the following ways:

• Develop a care plan that includes an assessment to identify needs, recommendations for appropriate services, and determination of an older person's eligibility for assistance.
• Screen, arrange, and monitor in-home help and other services.
• Review financial, medical and other pertinent issues and suggest referrals to geriatric specialists to avoid future problems and conserve assets.
• Provide crisis interventions to clients of the program, if necessary.
• Act as a liaison to families living far away to assure quality of care and remain alert to potential problems.
• Assist an older person to relocate to other living arrangements such as a private home, a retirement community, an assisted living facility or a nursing home.
• Provide information and advocate for the interests of the older person.
• Provide counseling and support.
• Be on call to help deal with emergency situations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.