Top 3 Ways A Geriatric Care Manager Can Help You
With 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 years old every day, taking care of our loved ones has become even more pressing than ever. Many individuals have come to a point where their elderly relatives are unable to safely care for themselves or require higher levels of caregiving. To provide the best decisions for this stage of life or to prepare for this stage, it’s more important than ever to start researching how a geriatric care manager can help.
What exactly is a geriatric care manager? Well, researching whether or not you need a geriatric care manager begins with understanding what a care manager does and how he or she can help your family.
The Role of A Care Manager
Geriatric care managers are elder care advocates that will help guide your family in making the best decisions about elder care, financial considerations, elder law, healthcare options, and more.
The Aging Life Care Association lists the main roles of a care manager as one who assesses and monitors, plans and problem-solves, educates and advocates, and coaches family caregivers.
Typically care managers are educated in different realms of aging life care, and use their specialized knowledge of elder care to assess an individual to determine a carefully crafted plan that is tailored to the wants and needs of that individual. They coordinate and manage different elder care services, and use their resources to be able to continue to provide the best solutions to different elder issues.
Here’s three ways a care manager can help you:
#1 By Using Their Knowledge and Resources
While you may be trying to stay up to date with the latest information on how to affordably tackle long-term care, or how to determine the best setting for your parents, you could be spinning your wheels. It can be really difficult to feel secure in your decisions if you don’t have the best knowledge regarding elder care like a geriatric care manager does. They can answer questions that you and your family members may be confused about with ease.
Care managers have resources and referrals beyond your reach that could include contacts at assisted living facilities, best elder law attorneys in your area, and recommendations for medical professionals.
#2 By Giving You Your Time Back
You may feel like you can’t balance out your own family and work challenges with the challenges you may face with caring for your elderly loved ones. You shouldn’t feel guilty about needing help. Remind yourself that your loved ones deserve special time, and one way to give them that proper attention is by recruiting the help of a geriatric care manager.
They will work with you to update your loved one’s plan, as well as oversee every execution of that plan so you can spend your time enjoying family instead of worrying about how handle everything.
#3 By Helping to Avoid Conflict
Disagreements among family members are inevitable, especially when it comes to medical and care decisions. Families frequently disagree about where a parent should receive carte. A great neutralizer for those conflicts is a care manager who will work to objectively provide the best answers for questions and concerns based on research and extensive knowledge rather than through emotion.
A care manager is a professional with large amounts of elder care knowledge that will become an advocate for your elderly loved one to ensure they are happy and comfortable. Simultaneously, they will provide a support system for you and your family when it comes to elder care issues that may be foreign to you.