What Can a Geriatric Care Manager Do for You

Geriatric Care Managers are guides for the aging journey. These nurses, social workers, and other allied health professionals are experienced in elder care and have a special skill set to help you and your family understand the various challenges of aging.

I like to compare having a Geriatric Care Manager to having a guide to help you through an unfamiliar country. Your guide knows the best way to get where you’re going and the safest, quickest way to get there.

Geriatric Care Managers are navigators for the health care system. If you have a nurse care manager as a guide, they are medical professionals who are uniquely equipped to lead you and your loved one in the best path forward. There is growing emphasis on coordination of care during “transitions” from one level of care to another, whether that be within one health system or across multiple delivery systems. When your loved one is transferred from the hospital to the skilled nursing facility and then back home, for instance, having the continuity of one person overseeing the entire process is invaluable.

Geriatric Care Managers are advocates representing your loved one’s needs to the people in their communities, helping secure needed services and vital support. Frail elders facing multiple chronic illnesses are very vulnerable, and need experienced and skillful intervention in order to be well-supported and protected in all areas of their lives.

Geriatric Care Managers offer professional support to family members far away. We can be at your loved one’s side at home, in the emergency rooms, treatment centers and hospitals. Wherever care is delivered, your care manager will make sure your loved one’s medical history is known, medications and allergies are communicated to doctors/nurses and that all providers have family contact information, as well as advanced directives.

Geriatric Care Managers are expert communicators who will keep you informed of your loved one’s health status by regular phone calls/emails in real time so that you can maintain the connection that is so important.

Whether you hire a Geriatric Care Manager for a short period of time to manage a crisis or engage them on an ongoing basis to manage daily care, I am sure you will find that Geriatric Care Managers provide a great value for a relatively small investment relative to the costs of standard “long-term care.”

If you or your loved one would like help along the aging journey, Grace Care Management is here to support you. Give us a call at (760) 789-9177 for a free consultation.