Alzheimer's Care

Thursday 11 July 2013

How Can a Geriatric Care Manager Bring Value to My Family?


Finally… your loved one is safely living in a care setting you carefully selected.  You are comfortable that all of your loved one’s needs are being met, which is quite a relief for the entire family.  Unfortunately your work is not over!  Staff and management changes at a facility, along with changes in your loved one’s needs, can often turn things upside down with little or no warning.

What will you do?  Will you be able to take time off work to accompany your loved one to his/her doctor’s appointment?  What if an emergency arises while you’re on vacation?

A Geriatric Care Manager (GCM) can assist you in many ways, working toward the common goal of providing for the overall care needs of your loved one.  A GCM is a professional who specializes in assisting older adults and their families with care arrangements.  GCMs have advanced degrees in nursing, social work and/or gerontology.

GCMs have extensive knowledge about the costs, quality, and availability of services in their community.  The GCM works with the client (older or incapacitated adult) and the family to provide services that are tailored to the needs of the client and family.  The GCM objectively views the decisions she or he must make, always keeping the best interests and needs of the client first.  The services provided by the GCM can include the following:


  • Coordinate medical care and offer referrals to appropriate specialists
  • Review current medication
  • Coordinate and monitor facility and living support services
  • Ongoing or as-needed monitoring of the client
  • Act as emergency contact, coordinate needs and monitor client while family out of town or unavailable
  • Develop a Plan of Care that identifies problems, eligibility for assistance, and need for services
  • Crisis prevention and intervention
  • Act as a liaison to families, ensuring that all is well and alerting families to problems which may arise
  • Act as an advocate for the client
  • Short-term or on-going assistance for long-distance caregivers
  • Twenty-four hour on-call availability for emergency situations
  • Process medical and insurance benefits
  • Assist with financial management, bill/claim payment, and portfolio account reconciliation
  • Review legal issues and offer referrals to attorneys whose practice is focused in Elder Law as needed to avoid future problems and preserve assets
  • Continuity of care to reduce miscommunications, time, stress, and costs to clients


Because your needs are specific to your situation, we invite you to contact Desert care Management at no charge to determine if Geriatric Care Management is the solution for you.

Additional information can be found at: www.desertcaremanagement.com

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