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

Negative Thinking Causes What?
What could be worse than a COVID pandemic? How about the uptick in depression and anxiety that mental health...
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July 7, 2020
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Abuse Thrives in Pandemic
Guest post author Gregory Peebles is a team member at CCM whose work focuses on helping aging adults and...
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June 16, 2020
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Dementia: We’re Not Post-COVID Yet
If you have a family member or loved one with dementia, this pandemic and its restrictions have been exponentially...
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May 26, 2020
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Distance Caregiving Through a Wall
I’ve written numerous times about distance caregiving, and one of the observations I have offered is that distance is...
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May 19, 2020
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Caregiving During COVID: Four Tips for Reengagement
You may recall that I have recommended limiting your news consumption, because it really does add to our stressed...
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May 12, 2020
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Trusted Voices on COVID-19
The news cycle calls the COVID-19 crisis a rapidly developing story. It unfortunately also has been one with a...
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March 17, 2020
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One is Number One Threat to Seniors
We’ve all had times when we desperately need our own space…time to ourselves, just ourselves. And it’s good to...
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March 10, 2020
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Helping Your Older Loved One – AND You – Avoid COVID19
All of us here know how to prepare for a blizzard, people in the South know how to prepare...
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March 3, 2020
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Part 2: Five Important Tips for Caregiving and Self-Care
In my last post, I gave you some tips on distance caregiving that arguably could be called the 30,000...
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February 18, 2020
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Five Things You Need to Know about Coronavirus
Okay, there may be more than five things you want to know about the coronavirus, but these five basics...
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January 28, 2020
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

Caregiving is not like a switch that we turn on or off, that we are either caregiving for an older loved one or we are not. What I have found in my work as a geriatric care manager working with family caregivers is that there is a line that is crossed at some point. That line distinguishes what I would term the occasional caregiver from the immersed caregiver; a line that distinguishes the younger daughter or son who routinely looks in on mom or dad from one that suddenly is thrust into a role of scheduling and coordinating care for their loved one. Any caregiver can be caught by surprise when they get the call that mother has fallen and fractured a hip, that dad has had a stroke or that their loved one is hospitalized for any of a number of acute conditions than are suddenly life changing events. But for most caregivers, there are not-so-subtle signs that it is time to become more involved. Note that I said more involved with, not more in control of your loved one's life. One of the reasons that even a loving caregiver may not see the signs that they should be stepping up is that their parent wants to still be in control. The fact is that they can always be in control, but they may need more help with some of life's day to day tasks that are becoming a challenge.
1. Look into the Details. I have talked in other postings about activities of daily living as a number of facets of what we all may take for granted until we begin to lose some our abilities to take care of ourselves. For instance, are there bills that have not been paid on time, are there signs that mom or dad has not been preparing regular meals, do you notice that your older loved one is not keeping up their personal hygiene? Is there slippage? Gently ask to help with some errands or to bring in groceries or cook a meal - perhaps their favorite dish? Remember that you are not taking over; you are just helping out.
2. Become Part of the Conversation. Mom or dad might appreciate a ride to their next doctor's visit, and ask if they have any questions the doctor has not addressed. They may or may not have raised the questions, but they did not track with the answers. And you may have some questions about how well they are managing a chronic condition like diabetes, congestive heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Again, you are not usurping control; you are simply participating because you also care.
3. Everybody Has a Role. As you are seeing what else can be done to help your older loved one, remember to listen for what they want to control and what they are happy to relinquish. Find out from the provider what the larger goals are, and then work with your loved one to devise a game plan in which they actively participate. If they are not an active participant, they will not own the goal. You already have made it possible for them to understand the changes in their health; now make it possible for them to participate in their success.
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@creativecaremanagement.com.
Okay, there may be more than five things you want to know about the coronavirus, but these five basics are what applies to coronavirus as well as to all new cases of viral diseases. First, always take special precautions with older loved ones, especially those who may have pre-existing conditions that may weaken their immune systems. Also more vulnerable are those with respiratory conditions that make them particularly susceptible to any airborne virus. Second, coronavirus is a novel strain which means simply that no one will really have any inherent defenses built up like we do for measles or mumps or other well-known bugs for which we can get inoculated or have the benefit of having dealt with them when we were younger. And we have no vaccines as we do for the annual influenza seasons. It also means that we are still learning about how bad it can be ultimately be. Third, in the age of jet travel no one is really more than about 24 hours away from a carrier of a virus. With the condition’s relatively long incubation period, virtually anyone can become a host to the virus that can reach them from anywhere else. The “almost good news” is that Wuhan is in Hubei province, some distance of the other major cities, not really on the main thoroughfares of even Chinese travel. Fourth, the coronavirus does not yet constitute a public health emergency of international concern according to the World Health Organization. But, avoid contact with people who have the disease already as well as animals and animal markets. (None of these are real issues here.) Personal hygiene needs to be stepped up: aggressive handwashing, covering your face if you sneeze or cough, fist bumps over handshakes and the rest of the usual. Fifth, avoid all travel? No, says the CDC, unless you are specifically planning on going to China – that travel should be postponed. Exercise caution, and be vigilant about fellow passengers who may be coughing, etc. But also keep this in context; we have already seen thousands of hospitalizations and numerous deaths from the current flu epidemic. This is still small scale…so far. And keep all of this in perspective … that it is a “developing story.” None of the domestic cases yet have been contracted from a patient here. When that happens, the steps may change. Until then, consider all of the above to be steps to avoid infection of any new viral strain, but also take steps early with any signs in your older loved ones or yourself. If you or someone you love do develop symptoms and are planning a medical visit, phone ahead to tell them what you may suspect. Your providers need to be as prepared as you do. 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.
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Over the years I have devoted a lot of space to talking about what a Geriatric Care Manager (GCM) does. And that is because we as a profession have a long way to go before people know what we do as clearly as they know what a doctor, lawyer or accountant do. In this post, I am going to give two examples of when to call a Geriatric Care Manager, because unfortunately we often get the call later than we could. The call comes after a family crisis instead of before a crisis when we could have been the professionals who help avoid the crisis. Here are two examples of when... The Big Fall. After age 65 approximately one in three older adults will take a fall, not just a stumble or a trip, but a fall where they hit the ground hard. Beyond the age of 80 the chances increase to fifty percent. As geriatric care managers, we certainly can be part of the team who helps your older loved one recover, rehabilitate and get safely back on their feet. Much of that process will be in the hand the medical providers who may repair the broken hip, arm or other bone. And the physical therapists will do a wonderful job of helping to rehabilitate your loved one back to full or nearly full recovery. What a GCM can help with is putting together the lifestyle recovery plan with the family. We assess not just the individual, but also the home in which they live. We help the family to get everything for the recovering loved one that they perhaps used to do for themselves. We also help to make home a safer place for getting about, eliminating further fall hazards and helping everyone to navigate the path to recovery. But, what if the family had called when they first noticed that their loved one's gait had eroded from a stride to a shuffle, and what if the GCM had received the call to come by your loved one's home and help make it safer for getting about and avoid the fall? Dementia. Older adults fear losing their mental capacity more than they fear dying itself. As geriatric care managers we can certainly be called upon to counsel the family in how to manage a crisis once your older loved one has actually wandered away from home and given everyone the big scare. We can give family members by coaching in how to deflect instead of confront a confused older loved one during conversation. And much more. But we can be more effective if we get the call before your loved one has walked aimlessly into the night. We can help the family to make your loved one's home safer against "breaking out" just as you would want security from burglars breaking in. There are also ways to sharpen mental acuity at the first signs of confusion through social engagement and other intellectually challenging therapies. Working toward social engagement in meaningful ways is a high priority. The list is longer than just these two crises to which GCMs respond. How is your older loved one's driving? How safe is home from fires? How safe is your older loved one from scam artists? Is your older loved one getting the best medical care and support for a chronic medical condition? and much more. I would be remiss if I did not also add where you can find a professional Geriatric Care Manager. There are a lot of people who offer services to "help older people," but many lack training or certification. The best place to find a GCM is at the professional association's web site. Click on the button that says: "Find a Care Manager" to locate a professional near you. 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.
One of my geriatric care clients, an 80-year old widow who lives in an independent living center, came to me with what she felt to be an embarrassing story. Since it is about fraud, I offer it now during a season when we all may feel the spirit of giving and we also can be duped by thieves. My client received a telephone call from “her favorite grandson.” At least that is how the caller introduced himself and my client inadvertently gave in to the urge to guess the caller’s name as her eldest of five grandsons. She readily admits she has no favorites, but she gave in to what seemed to be a tease from her grandson, a fully grown young man with a family of his own. Her “grandson” then proceeded to relate a story of a bit of partying with coworkers on a business trip to Canada that resulted in his incarceration. He desperately needed $3,000 for bail. He wished to avoid informing his wife or parents until he could return to relate the unfortunate events in person. My client agreed to this conspiracy and wired the funds. Only later did she discover it was a fraud and reported the caller to the police. Unfortunately, she could not recover the funds, but she did go on local elevision for a news segment to help others avoid her mistake. I am writing today as a geriatric care manager to offer a heightened alert to elders and others with special needs along with those who help care for them. It is not just telephone scams, but also identity theft or fraud of a variety of sorts that prey upon the elderly. It is estimated that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen every year. Be on the alert to:
As you gather over the holidays with family, encourage your older loved ones to check their free annual credit reports as a way to identify suspicious activity. Help make certain your older loved one has current spyware and other internet security software. Make sure your loved one is not leaving important identity or password information lying openly on surfaces where anyone might steal them. Consider a locking mail box if incoming mail is not retrieved soon after it is delivered. And consider the Federal Trade Commission’s website , a useful elder resource on addressing victimization. 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.
One of my clients recommended a web resource recently, and I am so impressed by it that I am passing it on to you. So often in the process of caring for an elder or other person with special needs we come up against medical language that can be difficult for someone who is not a trained professional to grasp. We can always look up a word in the dictionary, for sure, but the specific way words are used when speaking of geriatric and related issues can be rather esoteric. So, when I can across the glossary of terms offered at the Silverado web site, I just had to pass it along. Please check out: Silverado Glossary. You will get a quick grasp of the differences between amyloid and aneurysm or between dementia and delirium. It also offers really helpful suggestions on the early warning signs of Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s and more.

The same site also is a wonderful compilation of other web resources that can be very helpful for the caregiver trying to navigate a new medical condition or other complication for which a little support or explanation would be greatly appreciated. They have another window on their site that offers at least a couple dozen resources that may be just what you need. Please check out: Silverado Web Resources. It has everything from links to Alzheimer’s support groups to veteran’s health benefits and more.

If you find resources like these, please do not hesitate to pass them on to me, and I will share them on the blog site. Also, do not hesitate to send me your questions, and I will do my best to answer them.

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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