I often recommend that my clients or their families hire a geriatric care manager to assist them in the maze of issues that come up during the transitions of aging. The New York Times has an excellent post on their blog, A New Age, about why you would hire a care manager and what they can do for you. Excerpts from the article are below:
fields of human services — social work, psychology, nursing,
gerontology — and trained to assess, plan, coordinate, monitor and
provide services for the elderly and their families. Advocacy for older
adults is a primary function of the care manager.
chemistry. Be sure you get along with and like the individual you are
considering hiring.
A relationship with a professional geriatric care manager can allow the
children of the elderly person to be children, while someone else
manages the situation. When a son or daughter is providing the hands-on
care to the parent, the quality time they have to be there emotionally
for their parent is limited…. The care manager can handle the difficult
interpersonal issues, address the immediate problem, remain connected
once the crisis passes and get back involved as the situation requires
it.
Geriatric care managers are a great addition to the team, and can help clients determine what their care giving needs are, what facilities would be best for them, help with adjusting to new living situations and facilitate family meetings to insure that relationships remain intact even during difficult times.
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