Geriatric Care Management a Viable Career Option for Private Duty Home Care Industry
Tucson, AZ (PRWEB) March 30, 2010
An estimated 46 million Americans – or one in five adults – provide unpaid care to a loved one valued at a staggering $ 306 billion each year. With experts predicting that healthcare will generate three million new jobs between 2006 and 2016, there is a growing need for professionals capable of coordinating care for the nation’s booming elder population.
Linda Fodrini-Johnson, president of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM), recently spoke about opportunities in geriatric care management at the National Private Duty Association’s (NPDA) 8th Annual Leadership Conference in Philadelphia. Geriatric care management is a field that private duty homecare providers (which include home health aides, companion care and case management) are finding to be an increasingly viable career option.
“With the influx of the Baby Boom population, we’re moving into a new era of healthcare,” said Fodrini-Johnson. “Consumers will need an expert around to help them navigate the maze of public and private sector programs, lighten the burden on caregivers and protect the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.”
Professional geriatric care managers have been educated in various fields of human services — social work, psychology, nursing, gerontology — and trained to assess, plan, coordinate, monitor and provide services for the elderly and their families. Serving as guide and advocate, they assist with all aspects of chronic care, from assessment of an aging parent’s needs to addressing the changing life needs of a family affected by chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer’s Disease or other types of dementia. Private duty home care agencies, on the other hand, provide home care aides, companion care, homemaker services or nursing services in the client’s home or place of residence. The cost for private duty home care is typically covered through long-term care insurance benefits, out-of-pocket, or other types of savings arrangements.
Fodrini-Johnson said private duty homecare agencies could benefit from having a professional geriatric care manager on staff. (More about integrating geriatric care management into the private duty homecare agency.)
“The GCM adds a professional component to any private duty homecare agency and it makes the business more attractive to consumers,” she said. “In addition, professional geriatric care managers can help assess new clients to ensure they’re not a risk. It’s really a win-win and it adds value and diversification to the agency.”
Visit here for more information about elder care careers in the geriatric care management industry or the NAPGCM’s new membership categories.
ABOUT NAPGCM
Based in Tucson, AZ, the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM) was formed in 1985 to advance dignified care for older adults and their families. Geriatric Care Managers are professionals who have extensive training and experience working with older people, people with disabilities and families who need assistance with caregiving issues. They assist older adults who wish to remain in their homes, or can help families in the search for a suitable nursing home placement or extended care if the need occurs. The practice of geriatric care management and the role of care providers have captured a national spotlight, as generations of Baby Boomers age in the United States and abroad. For more information please visit http://www.caremanager.org.
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The Value Of Geriatric Care Management Services
Also known as Geriatric Care, Elder Care or Aging Care Managers, a Geriatric Care Manager Specialist represents a growing trend to help full time, employed family caregivers provide care for loved ones living close by or needing long-distance care. Care managers are also particularly useful in helping caregivers at home find the right services and cope with their burden. Let’s look at a hypothetical example to see how valuable care managers can be.
Mary is caring for her husband at home. Because of diabetes her husband has severe neuropathy in his legs and feet and it is difficult for him to walk. He also has diabetic retinopathy and cannot see very well. Mary has difficulty getting her husband out of bed, bathed and dressed. She relies on her son who lives nearby to help her manage her husband’s care.
On the advice of a friend Mary is told about a care manager, Susan, who helped the friend’s family cope with the care of a loved one. The cost of an initial assessment and care plan from the care manager is 0.00. Mary thinks she has the situation under control and 0.00 for someone from the outside to come in and tell her how to deal with her situation seems ridiculous.
One day Mary is trying to lift her husband and injures her back severely. She is bedridden and cannot care for her husband. Her son, who works full-time, now has two parents to care for. On the advice of the same friend he decides to bring in Susan and pay her fee himself.
Susan does a thorough assessment of the family’s needs. She arranges for Mary’s doctor to order Medicare home care during Mary’s recovery. Therapists come in and help Mary with exercises and advice on lifting. Susan advertises for and finds a private individual who is willing to live in the home for a period of time to help Mary with her recovery and watch over her husband. Susan makes sure the new caregiver is reliable and honest and that taxes are paid for the employment.
Susan enlists the support of the local area agency on aging and makes sure all services available are provided for the family. Susan also calls a meeting with Mary’s family and explains to them the care needs and how they need to commit to help with those needs. Susan makes arrangements to purchase medical equipment for lifting, moving and easier use of the bathroom facilities. Medicare will pay much of this cost.
Susan suggests using a geriatric care Physician she works closely with to help Mary in the care of her husband. The geriatrician meets with Mary and her husband and spends a great deal of time explaining the proper treatment and care of elderly with diabetes. He rearranges medications and puts Mary’s husband on a new insulin regimen to better control his blood sugar. The geriatric Physician feels that Mary’s husband has a chance of improving his health with proper treatment. If her husband adheres to the care plan, he may end up having a better quality of life for his remaining years.
With the help of the care manager, Mary’s life and future has been significantly improved.
Dan Fisher RN, BSN
www.adhomehealthsolutions.com
Connecticut Care Planning Council Advisory Board
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Geriatric Care Management – Helping the Sandwich Generation Care for Mom
Geriatric care managers (GCM) are professionals, typically registered nurses or social workers, who specialize in aging issues. They offer their knowledge of elder issues and the local community to compassionately help families quickly pinpoint problems, prioritize needs, and offer solutions. GCMs provide assistance in finding resources, making decisions, and managing stress. GCMs also offer family mediation, communication with physicians and other medical providers, and crisis management. Geriatric care managers usually have great knowledge of the local elder care community and can steer families towards the best resources. They save time and money for the family.
In Susan’s case, the GCM was able to take a huge burden from her shoulders. After the initial screening, the GCM met with Susan and made a plan that included daily in-home help, regular visits from the GCM for ongoing assessment, medication management, practical suggestions to deal with the memory loss(including proactive safety measures), and regular detailed communication with Susan. The GCM was able to candidly point out areas in which Grace needed help, and Grace slowly began to trust the GCM. Susan also hired the GCM to accompany her mother to doctor’s visits and medical appointments so that her mother would have an educated advocate to ask questions and express concerns to the medical providers. Trust was built between Grace and the GCM, and at the appropriate time the geriatric care manager persuaded Grace that she needed to choose either a live-in caregiver or an assisted living. After exploring the options thoroughly with Susan and her care manager, Grace was able to choose and accept a live in caregiver. Grace was able to stay home with this help, living an active and happy life. Susan was able to focus on her children, assured that her mom was receiving great care. Susan and Grace both noticed that their time together was less stressful because the GCM was taking care of details that had earlier caused friction between them.
I would recommend the National Assosication of Geriatric Care Managers website to learn more about caring for your aging loved one, and for help in finding a reputable geriatric care manager. You should look for care managers who are credentialed and have local references with whom you can speak. It is also beneficial if the care manager has been active in the local senior community so that she has extensive knowledge of the local resources, as the resources will vary from city to city. Don’t be afraid to check with the credentialing agencies to make sure the geriatric care manager is in good standing and current with their membership and license.
http://www.choicesinseniorcare.com
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Wausau, Wisc. (Vocus) July 22, 2009
My InnerView, the leading provider of senior care quality improvement tools and solutions, and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, today announced the creation of the My SeniorCare Edvantage Program, an online health management certificate that balances the realities of running a senior care business with the needs and preferences of those that matter most–the customers and residents served.
The goal of My SeniorCare Edvantage is to help individuals develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills needed to better serve residents, manage current operations, and capitalize on future opportunities. Individuals pursuing licensure as a nursing home administrator, individuals seeking professional development to advance their education and individuals interested in a job transition to the long-term care field will find course-content tailored to their learning objectives.
“This collaboration brings together two leaders–one in quality improvement in the senior care sector and the other in higher-education and distance learning,” said Neil Gulsvig, president, My InnerView. “Our goal is to deliver a program that brings high quality, cost effective education to senior care professionals so that individuals and organizations as a whole can better serve residents and their families.”
The certificate consists of 11 NAB-approved courses that cover topics such as person-focused care, evidence-based quality, data management, finance, human resources, marketing, laws and regulations and leadership. Courses are taught online, can be taken individually, and have no on-campus requirement. Courses will be taught primarily by UW-Eau Claire faculty, with consultation through My InnerView leadership and staff.
“Students earning the My SeniorCare Edvantage certificate can expect to learn best practices for operating senior care organizations, strategies in developing quality assurance processes and ways to proactively plan for dynamic changes in the senior care profession,” said Douglas Olson, PhD, director of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Center for Health Administration and Aging Services Excellence. “Our goal is to raise the level of management proficiency and bench strength of senior care organizations so that ultimately, professionals, and organizations as a whole, can better serve residents.”
The first My SeniorCare courses will be offered fall 2009. Students can register for courses on the program’s website at www.myseniorcareedvantage.com Additional registration information is available from Cynthia Hofacker, My SeniorCare Edvantage program coordinator, at (715) 836-2488.
For additional information, contact Elizabeth Knight at (715) 848-2713.
About My InnerView: By maintaining the senior care profession’s largest database of customer and workforce satisfaction metrics, My InnerView is able to provide leaders in assisted living, senior housing, and skilled nursing professions with the information to properly align their operational practices to improve performance and business outcomes. My InnerView provides quality improvement resources to more than 8,000 senior care providers across the nation and is the leading provider of satisfaction assessment surveys and actionable reports to the senior care profession.
About UW-Eau Claire Center for Health Administration and Aging Services Excellence: The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Center for Health Administration and Aging Services Excellence (CHAASE) serves the ever-changing health care needs of the upper Midwest. Established in 2000, CHAASE is a unique partnership that combines the energy of academia, provider organizations and professional associations. CHAASE provides financial and program support to the UW-Eau Claire health care administration program, one of seven NAB-accredited undergraduate health care administration programs in the United States.
Contact: Elizabeth Knight
Phone: 715-848-2713
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Madrid, Spain (PRWEB) July 20, 2006
DementiaGuide Inc., a Halifax, Nova Scotia based company, is showcasing its website and web based symptom identification and tracking application, SymptomGuide™, during the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders being held from July 15th to 20th in Madrid. Nearly 5000 researchers, 2000 oral and poster presentations and exhibitors are gathered for the conference.
Dr. Kenneth Rockwood, President and CEO, said, “Over a decade of research and conversation with patients and their caregivers has been the foundation for http://www.DementiaGuide.ca and SymptomGuide ™ which aim to offer an easy to use resource about all aspects of dementia.” Rockwood, a geriatrician and researcher, continued, “SymptomGuide™ is the result of extensive development and design to meet our goal – comprehensive, current information about dementia, its symptoms, stages, treatments and an easy to use method of capturing an individual’s information and experience in a manner that could be stored and used by their caregivers and health professionals to track progress.”
“Timeless Medical Systems is very pleased to have been selected to partner with DementiaGuide to develop and implement the SymptomGuide™ web application,” stated John Rowe, VP of Sales and Marketing. “Translating Dr. Rockwood’s extensive research into an intuitive web based environment has been an exciting challenge for our team, and we are proud to have contributed to this innovation in the field of geriatric medicine.”
Like many diseases, although much is known about dementia, each individual may have symptoms that are unique to them in their severity, when they occur and how they respond to treatment. SymptomGuide ™ will give people a sense of empowerment at a time when they need it most. SymptomGuide™, currently in beta testing, is an innovative tool for persons with dementia and their caregivers to select and track symptoms over time. They will be able to create reports to assist them in describing how they are coping, and share this with their physicians and other family members. SymptomGuide™ will be launching publicly in October 2006.
About DementiaGuide Inc.
DementiaGuide Inc. is dedicated to improving the lives of people living with dementia. From its beginnings in February 2000, the individuals who make up DementiaGuide Inc. have worked diligently in research and development to create the convenient SymptomGuide™ tool, which provides simple and comprehensive management of symptoms. The federally incorporated, Halifax-based company is continually striving to provide information, support and quality services for those living with dementia, and those who care for them.
For more information about DementiaGuide Inc. please visit http://www.dementiaguide.ca.
About Timeless Medical Systems
Timeless Medical Systems develops advanced software applications, hardware and information technology systems for Healthcare Professionals. Timeless Medical Systems’ products include wireless handheld patient record and tracking for NICUs/PICUs, statistical information gathering, reporting and management applications for Cancer Registrars and Oncology Departments, blood product inventory management and tracking systems for Blood Labs/Banks, comprehensive laboratory information management systems (LIS/LIMS) for all laboratory disciplines, sophisticated database systems and management tools, electronic health records (EHR/EMR) solutions, and data security, back-up and integrity systems.
For more information about Timeless Medical Systems, its products or services, please call 902-892-2035 or visit http://www.TimelessMedical.com.
Media Inquiries:
DementiaGuide Inc.
Kathryn Garden, General Manager
Phone: 902-421-5710
Timeless Medical Systems
John Rowe, VP of Sales and Marketing
Phone: 902-892-2035, Ext. 7007
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Albuquerque, NM (PRWEB) April 14, 2010
With a 75-million strong Baby Boomer population reaching retirement age, private geriatric care management has become a valuable option for consumers trying to care for aging loved ones as well as professionals looking to enter the booming field. That topic – and other issues impacting the caregivers of seniors and people with disabilities – will take center stage at the upcoming National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM) 26th annual conference.
The 2010 NAPGCM Annual Conference Conference]– which runs April 15-17 at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque – will bring together the industry’s top experts in an effort to network, share knowledge and analyze existing and new trends in the area of aging, caregiving and special needs. Conference attendees will be able to brush up on various topics, from the business-related benefits of social networking to emerging trends in dementia care and best hiring practice tips. Other sessions include an introduction to care management for professionals interesting in joining the industry, tips on retooling a practice to meet the needs of an increasingly multicultural society and an in-depth look at compulsive hoarding, a clinical disorder that is highly overlooked and misunderstood in our communities. And in the wake of the recent passage of health care reform, another topic of discussion will be the impact of the legislation on the senior population.
NAPGCM representatives will also discuss association changes and accomplishments. To evolve industry standards and improve profession-recognized qualifications, the association recently introduced new membership categories and certification changes. In addition, NAPGCM – which now has more than 1,000 certified members – strengthened ties with other aging organizations and increased member benefits, which include access to business and marketing resources, educational opportunities, discounted prices to conferences and events and the potential for national leadership positions. (Read more about geriatric care management certification.)
“We are committed to setting higher standards of care,” said NAPGCM President Linda Fodrini-Johnson, a fellow certified geriatric care manager based in San Francisco – Oakland, CA. “These changes will ultimately help improve services provided to the older adult and their families, which is important to both consumers and geriatric care practitioners interested in advancing their career.”
For more information on the NAPGCM conference or for information on joining NAPGCM, visit www.caremanager.org.
ABOUT NAPGCM
Based in Tucson, AZ, the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM) was formed in 1985 to advance dignified care for older adults and their families. Geriatric Care Managers are professionals who have extensive training and experience working with older people, people with disabilities and families who need assistance with caregiving issues. They assist older adults who wish to remain in their homes, or can help families in the search for a suitable nursing home placement or extended care if the need occurs. The practice of geriatric care management and the role of care providers have captured a national spotlight, as generations of Baby Boomers age in the United States and abroad. (Get a closer look at Baby Boomers, long distance caregiving, elder care and other geriatric care topics on video.)
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