Learn all about geriatric care managers and how they can help you provide the best care for you and your loved ones.
Whether we want to admit it or not, taking care of a senior loved one can be challenging, particularly when their care needs exceed what you can reasonably manage. But help is out there. A geriatric care manager might just be uniquely positioned to help you handle your or a loved one’s care needs.
The percentage of the US population over 65 has increased to 16% and is expected to climb up to 23% by 2060. The good news is that people are living longer, but that means that people also have more specialized healthcare requirements.
Aging life care calls for a different type of attention because various syndromes and conditions begin to present themselves as you get older. Depending on those conditions, the situation can get complicated fast.
Sometimes, it might be worthwhile to consider hiring a geriatric care manager. So, if you’re not familiar with it, here’s everything you should know about, including benefits and prices.
What exactly is a geriatric care manager’s role?
As we and our loved ones enter our senior years, we usually need support from the people around us to meet our needs. Family members, in particular, tend to take on this responsibility. But, many reasons might make having a good support network complicated.
The most common cause is that family caregivers live too far away to provide us with reliable senior care management. So that’s where geriatric care managers can be considered “professional relatives.” If a family member isn’t able to provide long-term care, geriatric care managers can help give you any services related to elder care.
They’re usually social workers or licensed nurses trained in aging life care, and they advocate for their patient’s needs and organize care plans. If you hire a geriatric care manager, you can count on them to deal with the complexities of the health care system.
It can also be beneficial to have someone you can count on to make decisions from a neutral point of view because family caregivers sometimes have to make difficult and deeply personal decisions.
This helps reduce family members’ pressure and guarantees that geriatric care management is always under control. The primary duties of a geriatric care manager will include:
Developing both short and long-term care plans
-Coordinating elder care between multiple service providers
-Ongoing assessment of senior life care needs
-Helping manage emotional worries, stress, and anxieties
-Helping manage transitional care
-Make home visits and evaluate living conditions
-Hiring additional caregivers as necessary
How can you go about finding a geriatric care manager?
A geriatric care manager doesn’t have to carry a state-level license. But, due to the fact that many of them come from healthcare fields, they choose to be up to date on their credentials. Care managers from social work usually have to have active licensure to be allowed to practice in their state.
So, on the one hand, not having certification or licensure isn’t necessarily a deal breaker. But on the other hand, it’s vital that they can present you with their experience as aging life care professionals. If you’re thinking about hiring a geriatric care manager, here are some things you need to consider:
-Can they provide references? It can be difficult to understand who you work with based on their resume alone. So, speaking to others who know them well is a great way to confirm your first impressions.
-Do they have direct experience managing problems specific to you or your loved one? This is particularly important to cover in severe injury or cognitive decline matters.
-How will they convey information to you? It may seem like a boring question, but being on the same page about communication styles and methods can save everyone a lot of confusion and frustration.
-How are their fees and costs structured? Senior care can be rather pricey. And the worst part is that it’s not generally covered under Medicare or most other insurance plans. So, it’s essential to understand how much things will cost upfront. Geriatric care managers charge by the hour, normally between $75 and $200 per hour.
-Do they have any experience with crisis care management? If you or your loved one is prone to seizures or at high risk for heart attacks or falls, aging life care professionals have to know how to handle these kinds of emergencies. Also, ask them if they have set hours or if they’re available to respond around the clock.
When to seek help with senior care
There are many cases in which families can manage senior care for someone they love. But knowing when you may be taking on more than you can expect to handle can be difficult.
As mentioned above, one of the most prominent challenges is that family members don’t live close enough to the person who needs their care. But other complications can arise that aren’t as straightforward. You should think about hiring a geriatric care manager if:
-You’re having difficulty communicating with service providers. A geriatric care managers will have a better understanding of where other senior care professionals are coming from.
So, if you’ve reached a stalemate in negotiations or aren’t able to get the information you’re looking for, your geriatric care manager is in a position to handle things more effectively.
-You need help with a difficult problem. Many medical conditions can lead to the behaviors that senior care professionals should handle. Matters related to verbal abuse, dementia, or physical violence are among these things.
-You don’t know what to do. Caring for yourself or a loved one can be complicated for reasons beyond health. We always want the best for ourselves and our significant others. But sometimes, there are numerous pathways, and it’s unclear which one will be best.
Geriatric care managers can give their objective point of view to help you and your loved one get the senior care that is right for you.
-Your loved one won’t talk to you about their health. Whether it’s a soured relationship, out of concern for privacy, or an inability to describe what they’re experiencing, older adults sometimes don’t want relatives helping them. A geriatric care manager will give them someone they feel comfortable talking to about their overall health.
The bottom line
When families feel as though it’s time to turn to senior care professionals for care management services, they should learn as much as possible about the responsibilities and roles of the people they bring into the fold.
Geriatric care managers can aid families in navigating the intricacies of senior care and relieve them of the anxiety and stress that often come with this experience.
These care managers are experienced in working with various local and national resources, care providers, and care services to give you or a loved one the highest quality of life possible. This Handbook of Geriatric Care Management from Amazon can also be a good resource for you!
So what are YOUR thoughts? Please feel free to share them with us in the comments section below. But don’t leave yet!
If you found this article helpful, you may want to also check out: Top 8 Most Active Retirement Communities in the US for Fun and Relaxation
