Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 | Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence

GOOD NEWS FOR CHRONIC CARE
Associate Care Manager Gregory is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA), Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP), and Medicare Counselor, whose work...
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August 6, 2018
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Long-Term Doesn’t Mean Put It Off Until Later
Gregory Peebles is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA), Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP), and trained Medicare Counselor, whose work focuses...
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June 24, 2018
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Medicare Doesn’t Cover WHAT?!
Gregory Peebles is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA), Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) and trained Medicare Counselor, whose work focuses...
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June 18, 2018
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Understanding Medicare as Easy as A, B, D?
Associate Care Manager Gregory Peebles is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA), Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP), and trained Medicare Counselor,...
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June 11, 2018
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Do You Sea a Hero in Yourself?
Associate Care Manager Gregory is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) whose work focuses on...
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June 4, 2018
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What May Flowers Bring
April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, but what does May bring? It brings Mental Health Awareness Month…among...
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May 28, 2018
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Singing is a Breath of Fresh Air for Caregivers
Associate Care Manager Gregory is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) whose work focuses on...
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February 12, 2018
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Five Tips for Winter Because It’s Not Spring Yet
There is a lot of advice that goes around for older loved ones in our orbits when we see...
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January 16, 2018
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Is This Normal?
As we age, our bodies give us feedback we’re not used to. Activities that never required a second thought...
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October 23, 2017
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Insta-Gram: It’s a Date!
Associate Care Manager Gregory Peebles returns with a series on the Internet and aging. Gregory is both a Certified...
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September 23, 2017
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

In many of my postings on family caregivers I have talked about the really hard job of caring for an older adult or someone else with special needs. At the personal level it truly is an enormous responsibility with great demands on a person’s time and their emotional well-being. The most recent report on family caregiving published by AARP, however, really provides a sense of the huge and important work that caregivers are providing for their families in America today. It is required reading for caregivers and their families.

In AARP’s snapshot of caregiving in America, they estimate that as many as 42.1 million people in 2009 were providing some sort of help with activities of daily living to an older adult. That number jumps about 50% when you look at all the people engaged in some sort of caregiving at any point during the year: 61.6 million people. And these individuals are offering their support as unpaid caregivers. If this were an “industry” instead of a voluntary contribution of time and energy, it would be generating an estimated $450 billion a year, an increase of about 20 percent over the prior year.

Family caregiving is the single biggest contribution to an older adult being able to stay in their own home and age in place. Caregivers do everything from transporting the older adult to and from medical appointments to coordinating the services of other medical providers, managing multiple medications and advocating on behalf of their family member. It takes time and weighs heavily on the caregiver who still must balance caregiving potentially against a full-time job, parental responsibilities and a marital partner. Caregivers often don’t get much explicit attention as part of the team or for their tremendous contributions. The AARP article notes that: “…ignoring family needs can place caregivers at risk for negative health consequences that can jeopardize their ability to provide care in the home. Interventions that include an explicit focus on assessing the needs, strengths, values, and preferences of family caregivers are important. Such interventions can be designed to reduce burdens and health risks that can impede a caregiver’s ability to provide care, prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, and prevent or delay institutional care. Strategies to strengthen and sustain caregiving families will enable them to continue as caregivers, and will reduce costs.”

It really comes back to three points I cannot repeat often enough. One, caregivers’ contributions need to be appreciated by the entire family who benefits. Two, the whole family also needs to help in caring for the caregiver. Three, it takes a village for all of the above.

Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Case Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families throughout metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to Charlotte Bishop.
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We hear a lot of news these days about the obesity epidemic, and it is important to appreciate the impact of excess body weight/fat on the heart and the circulatory system. Some also point to the impact that excess weight has on a burgeoning epidemic of Type 2 diabetes, the type that does not require insulin injections to manage blood sugar levels. But some doctors like Dr. Robert Lustig are saying that it is not fat that makes for the increasing rate of diabetes, but it is the consumption of processed sugar like fructose. While Dr. Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist, his advice has a lot to offer older adults also.

It is true that sugar is not really good for us, but it is more important to recognize the differences between good sugar versus "bad sugar." Honey is a natural, or good, sugar and a lot of fruits and some vegetables also contain complex carbohydrates which can be beneficial foods. But beware of thinking orange juice is as good as eating a whole orange, for instance. Most products actually add sugar to the orange juice to make it more appealing, so that they have made a good food into a potentially bad food. Look for the "bad sugars" on the label with names like fructose, diastatic malt, dextran, ethyl maltol, panocha and sorghum syrup.

And being overweight is not inherently the real problem. If you are a caregiver to an overweight older parent or loved one, you may have seen the futility they feel when they exercise but cannot seem to lose weight. Lustig suggests that it may be okay to be fat and fit. That is, it is simply harder for some overweight people to lose pounds, especially if they are older and really do have slower metabolisms. So the real issue is about avoiding the bad sugars.

Lustig also points out that almost all the successful diet books have two suggestions in common. They recommend meals that are high in protein and are high in fiber. In other words, encourage your older parent or loved one to eat fewer processed foods. Lustig goes so far as to suggest that if the food has a label to read, that already is a bad sign as processed foods are so typically light in protein and fiber, but also high in sugar (and salt). He points out that naturally-occurring fructose like that in sugar cane, fruits and some vegetables is "protected" by quantities of fiber. He also jokes that honey - also high in fructose - is protected by bees.

You may wish to go the source: Robert Lustig - Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity and Disease.
Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Case Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to ccbishop@creativecasemanagement.com.
How many times have we all seen the commercial with the plaintive actor on the floor crying, "Help, I've _____ and I can't get up." No one would ignore a plea for help from an older person who has fallen and cannot get up. But a lot of caregivers may be ignoring a similar plea with all of the health threat that a fall can represent. It is just that this fall is in slow motion. And it goes like this: "Help, I am so fatigued that I don't feel like getting up." Tired often does not get enough attention in medical circles, but it is a common symptom reported by people age 65 and older. We tend to discount fatigue, because we cannot accept that a person who has retired and now enjoys six Saturdays and a Sunday every week could not be well-rested. And if you are a caregiver to an older loved one, you may find it a bit challenging to muster the sympathy for your older loved one when you already are stretched across your responsibilities for your children, your partner, your job and... Yet, we should all pay attention to the subjective complaints of fatigue in our older loved ones, because tired can be a symptom of more serious medical conditions and because tired can lead to serious physical decompensation. Let's start with the other medical conditions for which fatigue can be a warning sign. Perhaps the most common clinical condition that presents with fatigue is depression, itself one of the most common comorbidities of aging. Depression often can arise from the hallmark aspects of getting older - loss, diminished physical capacity and social isolation to name a few. Chronic fatigue also can be a symptom of sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and any number of heart conditions. Poor quality sleep may also be indicative of musculoskeletal conditions or pain. If your older loved one is consistently tired, it may be time to accompany them on a visit to their physician for an assessment and a conversation. Sleepiness can also be just one more step along the slippery slope to frailty. Fatigue can be a strong disincentive for your older loved one to be as active physically as they once may have been. Fatigue also puts a damper on appetite which in turn reduces the quality of the fuel the body consumes to run the body's engine which leads to increased tiredness and low motivation for physical activity. And all of this translates into decreased mobility and frailty. Medical professionals refer to frailty as a "pre-disability." So, if the tiredness has gone on for an extended time, begin to look for signs of genuine frailty. No surprise, the signs include exhaustion ("hyper fatigue?"). Frailty also is predicted by weakness in grip and slower walking pace. And by weakness, we mean a quantum reduction in ability to grasp, and by slower we are talking a fraction of former strides. All of these point to diminished physical activity. Think of frailty as one step away from a permanent reliance upon a walker or wheelchair. The next time you are speaking with an older individual who reports being consistently tired, it may be time to wake up and take stock of their overall health. Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@cr eativecaremanagement.com.
Trusted Resources and Links
We have complied a list of resources that Creative Care Management has found to be extremely useful to clients in need of elderly care support. As a part of our services, we are able to connect you directly to resources and trusted colleagues best qualified for your specific situation.

The American Association of Daily Money Managers (AADMM)

The American Association of Daily Money Managers (AADMM)
AADMM is a national membership organization representing individuals and businesses in the growing profession of daily money management. These professionals bring clarity and order to an individual’s daily management of personal bills, budgets and record keeping to senior citizens, the disabled, busy professionals and others. They assist clients with activities such as bill paying, day-to-day banking, budgeting, insurance paperwork, and organizing records and receipts.

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
The American Association of Retired Persons is not strictly for “geriatric” individuals. It is a nonprofit membership organization of individuals 50+ years of age. It is AARP’s mission through information and education, advocacy and service, to enhance quality of life by promoting independence, dignity, and purpose.

Administration on Aging (AOA)

Administration on Aging (AOA)
This is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services that has listings of rights and resources for elders and others with special needs as well as programs for housing, nutrition and volunteer services. And it is searchable in eight languages.

Aging Info Radio

Aging Info Radio
Each week Sue Billings Zawacki interviews expert guests about issues germane both to geriatric care managers and the clients they serve on WJJG-AM 1530. She finds ways to help others get the resources and education needed as we all move forward on our aging journey.

Alzheimer’s Association

Alzheimer’s Association
The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary organization in Alzheimer care, support and research, providing services to those affected by Alzheimer’s; advocating for policy change and research funding toward prevention, treatment and cure.

Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Illinois Chapter

Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Illinois Chapter
The Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Illinois Chapter serves 68 counties with offices in Bloomington, Carbondale, Chicago, Joliet, Rockford, and Springfield.The Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline provides reliable information and support to all those who need assistance. Call us toll-free anytime day or night at 1.800.272.3900.

The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation

The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation
The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation educates people about this devastating disease. The mission of the website is to educate, engage, and create an online community with 24/7 access to information and support.

American Association for Homecare

American Association for Homecare
From home medical equipment to home health services and from rehab technology to respiratory/infusion therapy, AAHomecare is dedicated to quality health care services at home for geriatric and other clients with special needs.

American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society
Cancer is not just a condition of geriatric patients. The American Cancer Society website contains valuable resources including prevention and risk factors, treatment methods, detection guidelines, and patient services that help cancer patients of all ages and their families.

American Health Assistance Foundation

American Health Assistance Foundation
The American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF) is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to finding cures for age-related degenerative diseases. The foundation currently funds research in three primary areas: Alzheimer’s disease, Macular Degeneration, and glaucoma. AHAF provides the public with free information about these diseases, including risk factors, preventive lifestyles, and current treatments and coping strategies. AHAF disseminates this information through their website, print publications, social and traditional media, email, and TV and radio public service announcements. The aim is to educate people about risk factors, the latest research, treatment options, risk reduction through healthy lifestyles, and ways to cope with the effects of these diseases.

Cancer Support Community

Cancer Support Community
Those who visit the site can become a member of their Living Room to join one of our many online support groups, which are facilitated by a licensed counselor. You can also participate in their online discussion boards 24/7 to share about issues that are important to you.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CMS is the federal agency that administers the Medicare program and monitors the Medicaid programs offered by each state. Its website is a tremendous source of health care information as well as how to make use of Medicare or Medicaid.

Chicago Bridge

Chicago Bridge
Chicago Bridge is a grassroots organization of emerging professionals in the field of aging committed to improving programs and services for older adults and caregivers. Their website features articles written by members on emerging topics and innovative programs in aging.

ElderCare Locator

ElderCare Locator
The ElderCare Locator is the first step to finding resources for older adults and caregivers in any U.S. community and a free national service of the U.S. Administration on Aging. The ElderCare locator is administered by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a).

ElderDepot

ElderDepot
This site offers assisted living products for elders and others who may need help with activities of daily living. These include assistive devices for the bed, bath, dining, toileting, dressing, seeing, hearing and physically getting around.

Government for Seniors

Government for Seniors
This is a very customer friendly site with advice and resources for a range is issues that elders or others with special needs will face. It is maintained by the Social Security Administration and offers a special feature which allows you to locate services within your own community like where to get a reverse mortgage, consumer protection from fraud and more.

Gordon Gault P.C. – Area Elder Law Attorneys

Gordon Gault P.C. – Area Elder Law Attorneys
Chicago, Illinois, transactional attorney Gordon F. Gault is a seasoned lawyer who offers clients reasonable fees, a hands-on, personal approach and the knowledge and insight in elder law gained from 33 years of experience.

Illinois Department on Aging

Illinois Department on Aging
This Agency helps elders or others with special needs live independently in their own homes and communities. The agency also serves the families and teach younger people about the realities of aging, so many of their programs have an intergenerational emphasis. They also work with area agencies on aging, community-based service providers and older people themselves.

Merck Manual of Geriatrics

Merck Manual of Geriatrics
This is the source that the professionals consult for the challenges they face as geriatric care managers. It is a searchable online resource with an alphabetical index with health information for seniors, their families and caregivers.

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc., is a nonprofit association which assists lawyers, bar organizations, and others who work with older clients and their families. The website is a resource of information, education, networking, and assistance to those involved with legal services for the elderly and disabled. The NAELA website also has search capabilities to help locate an Elder or Special Needs Law attorney in your area.

National Alliance for Caregiving

National Alliance for Caregiving
NAC is a Bethesda based association of caregiving professional organizations (including the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers) that provides information, support, and national advocacy on behalf of caregivers.

National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers

National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers
The National Association of Geriatric Care Managers is a volunteer nonprofit association with over 2,000 members. Its mission is to advance professional geriatric care management through education, collaboration, and leadership. To the public it provides information as well as a directory of members nation-wide.

National Association of Social Workers

National Association of Social Workers
Not specifically focused on the geriatric segment, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest organization of professional social workers in the world. They strengthen and unify the profession, promote the development of social work practice, and advance sound social policies that benefit elders and others with special needs.

National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform

National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
The mission of the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform is to advocate on behalf of and improve the quality of life of geriatric and other residents in the nation’s nursing homes.

National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (formerly NCCNHR)

National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (formerly NCCNHR)
The mission of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care is to represent consumers at the national level for quality long-term care, services and supports.

National Family Caregivers Association

National Family Caregivers Association
The National Family Caregivers Association offers services in the areas of information and education, support and validation, and public awareness and advocacy, toward the goal of minimizing the disparity between a caregiver’s quality of life and that of mainstream Americans.

National Gerontological Nursing Association

National Gerontological Nursing Association
The National Gerontological Nursing Association (NGNA) is dedicated to the clinical care of older adults across diverse care settings. Members include clinicians, educators, and researchers. They are a tremendous source of information on all aspects of aging and the older patient.

National Guardianship Association

National Guardianship Association
The National Guardianship Association provides educational, training, and networking opportunities for guardians of elders and others with special needs; promotes the highest levels of values, standards and ethics; and is dedicated to advancing the nationally recognized standard of excellence.

National Senior Citizens Law Center

National Senior Citizens Law Center
The National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC) advocates nationwide on behalf of the geriatric population and beyond. They reach out to low-income elderly individuals and persons with disabilities providing litigation assistance, research and consulting support, national policy representation, training and manuals, and periodicals.

Retirement Living

Retirement Living
This is a comprehensive website that offers not just information on residential options, but also useful information for senior living and lifestyles. It can also offer listings of services or communities by geography that can help seniors and their adult children make informed decisions.

SeniorNet

SeniorNet
SeniorNet is a nonprofit organization of computer using adults 50 years and older. Their mission is to provide these older adults with computer and internet education to learn new and enhance existing computer skills.

Services for Adults Staying in their Homes

Services for Adults Staying in their Homes
A trusted community nonprofit founded in 1975, Services for Adults Staying in Their Homes (SASI) helps adults who, due to aging, illness or injury, need assistance to be safe and comfortable at home. SASI is licensed by the Illinois Department of Public Health to provide home care as both a Home Services Agency and a Home Services Placement Agency.

Quit Smoking

Quit Smoking
Quitting smoking isn't easy. You know that, everybody knows that. But it's not impossible! At “Quit Smoking Community,” their entire purpose is to help people learn how to quit smoking once and for all.
Associate Care Manager Gregory is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) whose work focuses on helping aging adults and folks with limited independence by providing resources and support to help them discover and lead their best life. Gregory has been a part of CCM, Inc. for over a decade. – Charlotte Caregivers often have incredibly stressful, non-stop lives. That kind of tension builds up over time and needs an outlet if we want to maintain the health and stability needed to continue to do all that’s asked of us. There’s no shortage of advice columns on ways to combat the stress of caregiving, but my problem with most of those methods is that they almost always seem like another obligation to me, and when my time isn’t being spent in the necessities of caregiving, I want my life to be as fun as it can be. Singing, either by oneself, or with a group, is an incredible pressure release-valve for anyone struggling to cope. Singing for comfort is an act as old as humanity. Mothers sing to calm their children. We “whistle in the dark” when we’re feeling spooked. In times of cultural grief, we come together and lend our voices to the songs that mean the most to us. And it helps. Music helps a lot. It’s one of the easiest things to forget that when times are tough, any situation can be transformed by music into deep feeling, or even into play. A wonderful singer herself, Julie Andrews, as Mary Poppins, provided us all with a “life hack” by reminding us what we knew as children: “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and snap! The job’s a game.” Whistling while we work (as it were) is an incredibly useful trick to help caregivers maintain balance, but some find singing helpful enough that they take it another step and join a church choir, or community, barbershop, or symphonic chorus—whichever type of music best suits them. The benefits of singing by oneself are vast, but when we get together to sing, the benefits get boosted even more! I can think of these major benefits without trying too hard:
- Increased oxygenation - You gotta breathe deep to sing. When we’re stressed, deep breathing is one of the first things to go. Singing helps remind our bodies to breathe, re-establishes mood stability, and even releases endorphins.
- Physical coordination – Singing is a total body experience, using virtually every muscle group, and the vibrations act as a massage for the whole body. Singing also keeps the body acting as a unified organism.
- Decreased isolation – Showing up for a group effort of singing, or offering our singing to others, connects us to our communities and lowers the risk of depression. A sense of belonging has an almost immeasurable psychological health benefit.
- Brain Fitness – Besides possibly singing in more languages than English, participating in music helps the brain maintain its plasticity by learning new coordination skills. This staves off cognitive decline and keeps verbal, spatial, and temporal centers in the brain active and connected to each other.
- Longevity – Singing promotes overall mental and physical health which in turn increases life expectancy.
If you’re a caregiver, find your tune, or your group, and you will have found something to hold on to through the tough times. Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. She also is the co-author of How Do I Know You? A Caregiver’s Lifesaver for Dealing with Dementia .