Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 • care managementChicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence - Since 1991 | Page 4

Three Words Are the Cure
Some have called it an epidemic. And it’s particularly virulent within the senior population. The epidemic leads to even...
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July 16, 2023
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Not Just Dark Chocolate…
If you’re like me, you may have had moments when you’ve looked at the latest clinical information on the...
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July 10, 2023
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Update on Dementia – part 2
I had left you last week with what may have seemed to be an optimistic note regarding the latest...
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June 26, 2023
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Update on Dementia – part 1
You may have heard the noise about a new drug for treating Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. It would...
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June 6, 2023
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It’s About You
This is personal! Yes, it’s about you! I’d be willing to wager, however, that most of you haven’t thought...
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April 18, 2023
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Follow Your Gut…You’ve Got No Choice
It was back in the sixties and seventies that so many folks embraced the mantra: “You are what you...
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April 11, 2023
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Spring Tips for the Holiday Caregiver
We all know that that Spring in the Midwest isn’t on a straight line from Winter toward Summer, but...
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March 28, 2023
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How (NOT) to Worry, Stress or Be Anxious
It’s not so much whether you’ll have worries, be stressed or feel anxious…it’s how you’ll manage your worries, your...
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March 21, 2023
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Scammer v. 23.1
Call it Ocean’s 65+…instead of Ocean’s 8 or Ocean’s 11…but it doesn’t have a caste of Hollywood stars, and...
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March 7, 2023
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Another Side to the Story
It was just a year ago that Bruce Willis’ family disclosed that the actor would be retiring from acting...
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February 27, 2023
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

It's official. May is National Geriatric Care Manager Month. And that means now is a good time to share some perspective on just what a certified geriatric care manager is. You would think that there is a boilerplate definition or description of what a care manager is, but my experience has taught me that a care manager is different for every family with whom we get involved. Different, because every family's needs are different, but there are a couple points that may shed some light. A geriatric care manager is someone who works both inside and outside the "medical model." That is to say, you would not go to a care manager for your annual physical, a blood draw or one of the other typical things we go to a physician or other provider for. But a geriatric care manager can take all that as information along with a lot of other inputs to assess a client's health along with something many consider to be at least as important, and that is their "quality of life." A geriatric care manager then works with an older adult and their family or caregivers to recommend a plan to optimize quality of life and well-being. I often refer to our job as one in which we are "the option-makers for the decision-makers." This assessment and plan creation can be an ongoing process as a person's needs change with time. What I also find is that we are the people who can go along for the physician visit when caregivers may be working their day job, taking care of their children or simply be too far away to attend to those duties. We are the eyes and ears for the family and caregivers when they cannot be present. In fact, we often have referred to ourselves as "your sister in Chicago" or Evanston, or Naperville or Lake Forest... You get the picture. So, why sister? According to both AARP and the MetLife Mature Market Institute, it usually is the woman who attends to family caregiving needs. For women, the total lost wages owing to time off from work or taking leave for caregiving averages $142,693. What family with caregiving duties would not benefit from having an extra sister on board? And it is important to know that Geriatric Care Managers are certified by the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM), an association formed in 1985 to advance dignified care for older adults and their families. Certified 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 or to access a nationwide directory of professional geriatric care managers, please visit www .caremanager .org 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.
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There is an epidemic going on, and it involves that butterfly shaped gland in the neck call the thyroid. Since 2002 the prevalence has doubled in the US, but this is not because twice as many people have developed hypothyroidism as it is that the professional society that represents endocrinologists established new standards. The new standards for defining hypothyroidism have reduced the TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) range to be .3 to 3.0 from the earlier standard that had been about .5 to 5.0. And this is not just a trivial matter of definitions when what had been about 15 million people with hypothyroidism suddenly becomes about 27 million Americans. This is about one in ten Americans, and the prevalence of hypothyroidism is about twice as high among women over 60 years as it is for their younger counterparts. (Just for what it's worth, this is more people than the number diagnosed as diabetic in America.) Hypothyroidism is important also because there is a big connection between the thyroid gland in your older loved one's neck and their brain and heart. For anyone whose TSH levels are out of range, the impact on the heart would be through the potential for significantly elevated cholesterol levels. It is estimated that this could be as many as 10 million Americans. So, for people whose thyroid condition has not been diagnosed, but they have been put on lipid-lowering agents like the statins, their cure may be even easier. By taking a thyroid supplement, suddenly cholesterol levels may become better managed. Yet, fewer than half the adults with diagnosed elevated cholesterol levels in a recent survey were aware if they had ever been tested for elevated TSH levels. I had mentioned the brain connection, and there are two significant brain manifestations of hypothyroidism. Patients who are out of range on their TSH levels may be depressed or they may display signs of delirium. The former may have led to treatment with antidepressants, treatments that may now prove unnecessary, and the latter may be confused with dementia if the delirium goes unchecked over time. And there are other symptoms of hypothyroidism that you should be looking for if you are a caregiver to an older loved one: • thin, brittle, dry hair or skin • increased sensitivity to cold • fatigue • muscle or joint pains • constipation. You don't need to remember all the signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism, but you should remember to ask your loved one's physicians at the next annual physical what your loved one's TSH level is. If the number is too high or too low, begin advocating for help to avoid the other conditions. Yes, your loved one may take home one new prescription, but they also may get rid of one or more existing prescriptions...and feel a lot better. 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.
Associate Care Manager Gregory Peebles is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA), Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP), and trained Medicare Counselor, 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 This is the first installment in a three-part series to help clear up some common misconceptions about Medicare. Medicare isn’t intentionally confusing, but with all the cross-talk surrounding Medicare, even if understanding it isn’t as intuitive as “1,2,3”, it’s at least as easy as “A, B, D.” As a care manager, I know first-hand that there are lots of people with the wrong idea that Medicare is a cheap, single-payer, universal care package for US citizens who have retired from the work force. There is a fantasy at work in the minds of many Americans that once they have “paid their dues” and transition into retirement that their medical concerns will be easier to manage, and that all care is covered. Unfortunately, folks who have enrolled in a Medicare plan and those helping to coordinate their care already know that this is only partially true. While Medicare, our government-subsidized health insurance program for adults 65 or older, is somewhat simpler to manage because it is a single-payer service, it has changed significantly since its implementation. But the real shock to many is that coverage was never meant to be universal. Medical providers who agree to take Medicare “assignments” agree to maximum prices able to be charged for services. This does keep costs down, and Medicare pays 80% of those contracted prices; however, service receivers are expected to pay the remaining 20% of costs, not including prescription drugs. When the source of payments is a fixed income, that income gets spent very quickly on covering the “gap” that Medicare does not pay. So, while Medicare may be inexpensive in comparison, it is still rarely easily afforded by those who use it. What Medicare was designed to be is a program to help offset medical costs for aging adults. It was consequently split into two broad categories – Medicare Parts A and B – which correspond to two primary methods of treatment. Part D, added later, supplemented Original Medicare as the trend for prescriptions for aging adults increased.
- Part A – [Original Medicare] Covers in-patient stays (including hospital stays, or stays in rehab facilities, etc.)
- Part B – [Original Medicare] Covers physician visits (including PCP visits, or referrals)
- Part D – [Addenddum under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003] Covers select prescription drugs.
These broad categories do cover the bulk of what we would call internal medicine, yet there are surprising omissions in coverage, which we’ll talk about next time. Another consideration for those about to transition to Medicare is that the program is not one-size-fits-all; rather, it can be individualized (within limits) to the patient’s needs. Much like traditional insurance, if the selected plan is not optimal for the patient, parts of the plan can be modified during open-enrollment periods. We’ll talk about this, too, when we fill in another “gap” and talk about Medicare Part C. 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.
It was probably ten years ago that my husband’s mother was caught up in a telephone scam on her land line at a time when she was unable to verify the number calling her. The voice started out innocently enough identifying itself as “her favorite grandson.” Never mind the fact that she actually had five grandsons. The voice needed bail money to be released on charges of driving on an expired license, and the voice didn’t want grandma telling his mom and dad. Well, we found out about the scheme only after Grandma had wired money to her alleged grandson from a local chain store. And then there are those emails or texts that could be spotted for their not so clear English, strange looking logos from a person’s bank of account or other more obvious tells. Well, hold onto your phones, because with Artificial Intelligence (AI) the voices just became clones, and the English has been cleaned up. Now, the person will actually sound exactly like your grandson, and the money can be wired or simply sent via Zelle. So, how do you protect yourself and your money from “perfect strangers” versus what once were very imperfect imposters. The security companies are documenting the effectiveness of voice scams. McAfee reports that some software voice-clones require only about three seconds of recorded voices to create a fabricated voice that is 85% true to the original voice. Having your voice in any kind of on-line post is a lot like telling everyone where you keep the backup key to your front door. (It’s in the planter by the front door.) You don’t have to be smarter than the AI to avoid being scammed. You just need to confirm who is or is not on the call.
- Our family has a “safe word” that all the kids know so that they can either provide it if asked or ask for it if they are approached. It can be your first puppy’s name…
- Call another family member who can identify where the caller is or simply hang up and call back directly on the caller’s line.
- If the call is for bail money, follow-through with a separate call to the local police department…don’t use a number they may try to provide you.
- If the call is from your bank, PayPal, your security company or the IRS, just hang up and call them directly.
- Don’t click on any links in any written solicitation you may receive.
Here are a couple help lines that you can access here, or if you’ve been paying attention, you will go to their web sites to retrieve the hotlines yourself:
- Identity Theft Resource Center hotline: 888.400.5530
- AARP Fraud Watch Network hotline: 877.908.3360.
Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, Geriatric Care Manager and founder of, 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.