Managing Care Long-Distance

By Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC

I was tired. I was weepy. I was overwhelmed. In addition to my work, I was managing the care of my frail elderly parents in New York City as well as my declining elderly aunt in Chicago. Something had to give!

A social worker suggested I hire a Chicago-based care manager for Aunt Syd. This was before I became a geriatric care manager myself. I had never even heard of such a profession!

I learned that good care managers really do manage care. They identify eldercare resources. They organize and coordinate a care plan. They monitor the hands- on personal care provided by Home health Aides. They keep caregivers informed regarding the medical condition and quality of life of the older adult. Knowing that my Aunt Syd was in the capable hands of someone who would manage her care freed me to focus on my parents’ needs.

I found a directory of Chicago social workers and interviewed three prospective care managers by phone. (These days you can check with the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers at www.caremanager.org).

The first began our conversation by asking who would be paying for her services. The second didn’t return my call for three weeks! The third sounded compassionate and experienced.

So I hopped on a plane to Chicago to interview her. I hired Marion on the spot. She was well qualified: a Master’s level, licensed social worker with broad experience with the elderly.

She did everything for my aunt that I would have done: she screened the aides and then supervised them; she made doctor appointments and took my aunt to them; she saw to it that there was enough good, fresh food in the refrigerator; she purchased and hooked up a TV for the aide; she was by my aunt’s side when she was hospitalized.

Marion was Aunt Syd’s strong, on-site advocate. She was my eyes and ears in Chicago. She kept me informed about every aspect of my aunt’s care through weekly phone contact.  And best of all, I didn’t have to be in two places at once, managing the care of three beloved, frail, elderly people!

Here are some of the questions I asked Marion at the interview:

• How long have you been a care manager?
• What is your background and training?
• How will you keep in touch with me?
• What was your most difficult case? What was your easiest?
• What services will you offer my aunt?
• What is your fee?
• How do you find and screen home health aides?
• Do you have references?

PEARL OF WISDOM:

Trust your gut feelings. There are many well-qualified care managers, but not all will be right for you.

Hospital Stay? Advocate Needed!

By Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC

Imagine a frail old woman alone in a hospital bed. She does not see well. She does not hear well. She does not feel well. She does not know exactly where she is or even why she is there. She is hooked up to beeping monitors. They are taking blood samples for testing. Bright lights are shining in her eyes so she can’t sleep. She is dressed in a thin hospital gown, covered with an even thinner hospital blanket and she is cold.

She is being barraged with questions many of which she is too distraught to answer. Questions come from doctors, from nurses, from residents, and  from the social workers.

“Do you know where you are?”

“Do you know why you are here?”

“Who is our President?” “What year is this?”

“Do you have pain?”  “Where?”

“How long have you had this pain?”

“When did it start?”

“Have you had this pain before?”

“What medications do you take?”

“Do you have any allergies?”

“Do you have family?”

“Should we call them?”

“Where do you live?” “Who will take care of you?”

And the questions go on and on, often repeatedly. The answers are seldom passed on in full to the next department or even to the next person attending to the patient.

The old woman is tired, fearful, and confused. She desperately needs an Advocate who can calm her, support her, give the needed information to the medical staff and maybe even get her a warm blanket!

A Geriatric Care Manager is just such an Advocate. We stay with our clients in the ER. We visit them daily in the hospital. We arrange for aides to sit with them if necessary. We are in at the first step of the discharge plan. All this is done to insure that the hospital stay and after-care are as organized, kind and effective as can be.

PEARL OF WISDOM:

If a loving family member cannot attend to the hospitalized elder, find a seasoned Geriatric Care Manager who can. She will be your eyes and ears, making the hospital stay as smooth as possible.

Joan Blumenfeld is a Geriatric Care Manager based in Fairfield County, Connecticut. For information visit her web site  www.joanblumenfeld.com.  ©2010 Joan Blumenfeld