-
Martin Siesta
  - Joined on 10-16-2007
- Maplewood NJ
- Posts 15
|
As a planner, I have geritaric care managers useful in assisting clients in identifying, coordinating and advocating for services
Geriatric Care Managers:Increasing numbers of older people are living to advanced ages in the United States. Most older people prefer to remain in their homes as they age, but that may be possible only with the help of family and friends. In many cases, with or without family assistance, other supportive services may be needed. Finding the right long-term care providers and services can be difficult, however. Consumers often do not know exactly what kind of help they need, how to find and arrange for services, and how much they must pay for services. Persons with low incomes may be able to turn to a local government agency or a nonprofit social service agency for help. A different option has become available in recent years for people whose incomes are too high for publicly funded services — private geriatric care management. Typically, a geriatric care manager (GCM) will, for a fee, assess a client's needs, arrange services, and monitor care on an ongoing basis. These Managers can be a great help to financial planners when clients or their families are in need of advise, support or assistance. I have used them often to insure that clients get the services that they need and are entitled to . Geriatric Care Managers are health and human services specialists who help families care for older relatives, while encouraging as much independence as possible. The manager may be trained in any of a number of fields related to long-term care, including, but not limited to, nursing, gerontology, social work, or psychology, with a specialized focus on issues related to aging and elder care. They coordinate assistance from paid service providers and unpaid help from family and friends to enable persons with disabilities to live with as much independence as possible. From assessment of needs to advice on available resources, a well-trained care manager can help individuals to remain as independent as possible, to live in one's home with assistance, or to assess other living arrangements such as supportive housing or assisted living facilities. Geriatric care management can be a valuable option for older persons and their families who can afford such services. Care management generally is defined as a service that assesses an individual's medical and social service needs.Consumers need to exercise caution in contracting for these services. According to an AARP Research paper: “ Many GCMs are licensed nurses or social workers, but these licenses do not necessarily guarantee an ability to address a client's financial or legal questions or provide comprehensive knowledge of all service options. In addition, many geriatric care managers are not members of any licensed profession. In most states, any person can call himself or herself a geriatric care manager and offer services to the public. Consumers can face the possibility of uninformed advice or outright fraud”. Links:AARP Research on Geriatric Care http://www.aarp.org/research/work/employment/aresearch-import-768-DD82.htmlNational Association of Geriatric Care Managers: A professional organization of Geriatric Care managers and local service providers. http://www.caremanager.org/ Alzheimer’s Assistance wonderful site for caregivers of Alzheimer's patients. Beverly Murphy is a rehab counselor who retired to take care of her husband when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She has organized this site with love, good experience, and good attention to detail. This site has plenty of good advice for caregivers on the difficult issues (incontinency), on how to develop a supportive living environment, and lots of good words of emotional support. bigtreemurphy.comThe National Family Caregivers Association educates, supports, empowers and speaks up for the more than 50 million Americans who care for loved ones with a chronic illness or disability or the frailties of old age The NFCA mission is to empower family caregivers to act on behalf of themselves and their loved ones, and to remove barriers to health and well being. http://www.nfcacares.org/about_nfca/
Martin Siesta, CFP (R)
Martin Siesta CFP, ChFC, MSFS
Compass Wealth Management
Maplewood NJ
|
|