What is Geriatric Care Management?

A Geriatric Care Manager is a health and elderly services specialist who helps families care for older relatives. The Geriatric Care Manager is trained and experienced in any of several fields related to elder care management, including nursing, gerontology, social work, and/or psychology

It involves the process of planning and coordinating the care for elderly and/or disabled to improve their quality of life and to maintain their independence for as long as possible. Geriatric care managers combine a working knowledge of health and psychology, human development, family dynamics, public and private resources and funding sources while advocating for their clients throughout the continuum of care.

A Geriatric Care Manager can 

• Provide an in home professional assessment
• Help find community resources 

• Arrange care services

• Help as a source of information and an advocate for the elderly

Among functions they assist with are

First make an in home assesment this may cover issues such as the elderly persons living arrangements, their health, memory, if they are experiencing depression, have proper cognitive function or seem to be lacking on their memory, determine their everyday activities and the status of their nutritional intake as well as how their finances and related matters are doing. 

They can then provide their report and give recommendations and referrals as needed. Whether they need further medications or more regular take some pills, see a specialist re their memory or anything they observe. 

As the word manager implies the Care manager then works as a manager and provides referrals to appropriate related professionals. 

The Geriatric or Elder Care Manager can than remain on top of things regarding what the elderly parent or relative is doing and help the senior citizen to manage their needs on an occasional basis to spot situations before they become more significant problems.  

They continue to manage the situation and keep things optimal for the elderly individual they are occasionally overseeing. 

With the increase in the elderly population and the boomer population this is an exploding field of the job sector and growing rapidly for the important service. 

University of Florida Geriatric Care Management reports that the Bureau of Labor Statistics show opportunities in geriatrics and long term care are expected to grow by more than 35% - ranking among the most rapidly growing employment areas. The home and community based care sector has grown to approximately four hundred million dollars per year and the provision of services in long term care is estimated to be as much as two billion dollars per year. The University now offers a graduate program in Geriatric Management online and a special masters program given the explosive growth in the field. 

Comments

[Mark S.Yarnold]

This blog is excellent. It has frequent interesting, informative and entertaining posts about the many issues relating to money, probate and the elderly.

[Sharma S. Eldridge, RN, Care Management]

It is heartening to find someone who is not a care manager who clearly understands what we do. As we "baby boomers" try to fulfill our concept of "aging in place", the need for care management services will expand exponentially. We are different from our grand-parents, most of whom, were born, lived and died in the same communities. We are far-flung and scattered and can often find ourselves growing old and dependent among strangers. We are the generation of transition and must invent new adaptive processes throughout our lifespans to compensate for the change in culture and lifestyle. Care Management builds the bridges.