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Selecting a Geriatric Care Manager...

When you don't know where else to turn.

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Geriatric Care Managers are a growing field of professionals that can help long distance care givers and families struggling with the needs to aging relatives, the geriatric care manager can be a godsend.  This emerging breed of specialists can assess a senior's physical, social, and financial needs and stitch together a patchwork of services to address them.

A skilled professional geriatric care manager can:

Assess needs to identify problems and eligibility for assistance
Screen, arrange, and monitor in-home help or other services
Review financial, legal, or medical issues for wise care choices 
Provide telephone support, personal visits and crisis intervention
Coordinate care
Act as a liaison to families at a distance, and local professionals
Assist in establishing parameters to help people determine when it’s time for more services or
move to or from a retirement complex, care home, or nursing home
Providing consumer education and advocacy
Offering counseling and support
Serve as a single access point to community resources for seniors

Care management services are offered in a variety of settings. Many practitioners offer:

Short-term or ongoing assistance
Personalized and compassionate service specifically to meet the client’s wants and needs
Continuity of care management to reduce miscommunications, time, stress, and costs to client
On-going monitoring to prevent costly crises and unnecessary hospitalizations
Accessibility 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Geriatric Care Management Services are billed privately on a fee-for-service basis. Currently Medicare or Medicaid does not cover these services. If you have long term care insurance, check with your policy. Hiring a care manager can sometimes be less expensive than moving a loved one into a long-term care setting. 

Selecting a Geriatric Care Manager -

Interview the care manager you have considered hiring and check references, previous experience, and credentials. Ask about membership in professional care manager associations. Good communication with a qualified care manager will help create a positive experience for all involved.

Commission for Case Manager Certification, accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, provides information about becoming certified as a Case Manager.