Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 • caregiversChicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence - Since 1991 | Page 2

Why D is More than a Passing Grade
There is much talk recently about “grade inflation” which rather diminishes the formerly exclusive appeal of a report card...
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January 29, 2024
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The Risk Factors AND Ways to Prevent Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s Disease affects nearly six million people in the United States according to estimates from the CDC, and that...
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January 22, 2024
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How to Get All the New Years You Can
It’s not a magic pill or a quick transformation, but it’s not difficult either. The “it” is greater longevity,...
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January 17, 2024
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It Only Works If It’s YOUR Resolution
How many New Year’s Resolutions have you broken in your life? Be honest. Now ask yourself how many of...
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January 9, 2024
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A Happy – And Well – Holiday for All
It’s the season of holidays. We started with Thanksgiving and then Channukah, and we have yet to tackle Christmas...
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December 19, 2023
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Questions and Answers to Live Well
Many of you have heard me talk about having a Live Well Blueprint as an anchor component to being...
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December 5, 2023
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It’s Never to Late for Hip
We’ve had a nice trend over the recent years, a trend in which hip fractures in America had been...
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November 28, 2023
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Ask the Doctor
Don’t ask just any doctor…and don’t just ask your primary care provider (although they may have some insight)…ask a...
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October 31, 2023
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The New Pandemic That Has a Cure
I’ve been hearing it from my clients, from my friends, from my family and from virtually every channel on...
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October 23, 2023
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It’s Not All in Your Head
Let’s talk about travel…time travel! We all are capable of travel at almost any age. But what you may...
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October 10, 2023
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

Raise your hand if you haven’t heard enough bad news in 2020. I thought so. We know we are not yet out of this pandemic, but I am not going to talk about any of that today. Instead, let me share the top five good news stories coming out of this past year…news that has been reported, but may not have reached all of you given a plentitude of COVID and related news. This is not my usual focus on elders and the families who support them, but I think good news may be in order. Please let me know which of these you may want to learn more about.
1. Eliminating Cancer: Scientists from Australia reported lab results that perhaps promise a vaccine for a number of blood cancers as well as some malignancies such as breast, ovarian, pancreatic, lung, renal and glioblastoma.
2. Food Insecurity: The Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 went to the World Food Programme for supporting almost 100 million people who have been victims of hunger and malnutrition in nearly 90 countries
3. Artificial Eyesight: A team of scientists from around the world collaborating in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have created a spherical eye with 3D vision capabilities. It is being refined for use in humans as well as possibly in humanoid robots.
4. Cleanup on Plastic: This is a list all countries should be on, but so far, it is Ghana, Vietnam and Indonesia who have committed to cut their plastic waste by 100%, 75% AND 70%, respectively by 2025. They are partners in the Global Plastic Partnership.
5. Water on the Moon: Okay, many of you are familiar with the 1968 Movie based on the book, 2001: A Space Odyssey. There is more water on the moon than has been thought, and that means that a sustainable base for humans on the moon may be within reach. By the by, there are plans to launch a woman and a man to the moon in 2024.
Let’s put 2020 in our rearview mirror and look forward to more good news in 2021. Remember your masks, remember your social distance, remember to wash your hands and look to a better future. 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.
For how many years have women been told they need to take some sort of calcium supplement even before they advance in years to avoid osteoporosis? Okay, it’s a big number, but that’s not the point if you have an older loved one in your life. It’s more than calcium that is needed in a person’s diet to get the benefit of bone density that the calcium is credited with preserving. Calcium intake throughout a person’s life is needed to grow or maintain bone mass. It was the early sailors that understood that a person also needed fruits containing citric acid in order for the body to actually put the calcium to use maintaining serum calcium levels. They didn’t worry about osteoporosis’ they worried about scurvy. So this is another part of the more complicated calcium story and what the body really needs. First of all, food is the preferred way to access calcium, because foods containing calcium also contain other nutrients. Getting your calcium through food also avoids the mega doses of the mineral that can be associated with cardiac risks. In addition to calcium, vitamin D is needed to help the body absorb calcium. Vitamin D has the added benefit of improving muscle performance and balance. It keeps your bones strong and your muscles nimble. And vitamin D is activated by sunshine, so it is not just eating food with sufficient vitamin D and calcium, it is getting out in the sunshine…although there are nutrients that can help the body utilize the vitamin D in the absence of sunshine. Researchers also have shown some benefit of phytoestrogens, some of which are found in soy products, with women. Omega-3 fatty acids that you have heard about in conjunction with Alzheimer’s prevention also confer benefit to the skeleton especially in conjunction with calcium because they contain phytoestrogens. Antioxidants like flavonoids found in some vegetables, wines and fruits offer beneficial bone effects as well. Vitamin B12 and magnesium also are being actively investigated for their bone health benefit. On the flip side, researchers advise against fish products like cod liver oil as they can work against bone health. What is the big takeaway? First, calcium is important, but it works best in conjunction with some of these other vitamins and minerals. And all of this works better in association with diet in general, not as pills or supplements. The best dietary supplements are a range of fruits and vegetables, many of them found in your salads or even dinner wine. And what is the best thing about a balanced meal? The good company that can come with dinner can also improve life for your older loved one who may be more at risk for social isolation than malnutrition. It is rarely just one thing! So invite mom or dad to dinner. 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.
There seems to be a cliché for everything, so we’ll start with this go-to for COVID: “We’re not out of the woods yet.” In fact, our scientists/pathfinders cannot tell us how far we may have to go to truly be “out of the woods.” If the “woods” is the COVID Pandemic, the patch of woods many are now in is the “long COVID woods.” Public health professionals are telling us that approximately one in five individuals who do become infected with COVID will also have the added journey of long COVID…and it’s more common in our older loved ones that younger people who become infected. If you have an older loved one who has been infected with COVID – and hopefully been vaccinated – be on the lookout for lingering symptoms. It gets a bit complicated, because many of the long COVID symptoms are similar to those that older adults with heart disease, lung disease or cognitive impairment may be manifesting already. These include difficulty with memory or conversation, tiredness, muscle and bone pain, shortness of breath or heart racing and more. If you don’t seek out attention from their medical providers, you may not recognize the underlying causes of such symptoms in order to treat them effectively. And here’s is the real catch, there is no real test for “long COVID,” and there really is not much consensus for clinical treatment either. First, seek the advice of their medical provider, but be prepared to ask for a referral to a specialist or in some areas, a referral to a long COVID clinic. There are about 66 health systems across the U.S. that have put together interdisciplinary teams to tackle the complexities of long COVID. Go on-line if you have to get access to those clinicians who can really help. Second, be prepared to ask a lot of questions as you call on clinics or providers. It can help to go to the web site of a “long COVID clinic,” so check out what these clinics say about the condition on-line. The University of Southern California may not be in your backyard, but read what they do so you can be conversant in what to expect and what to ask. Third, get a plan for what can be done at a clinic as well as at home. After a clinician determines that it likely is long COVID, they can help you form a plan around restoring your older loved one to full “pre-COVID health.” Also, Google “activities of daily living” for the list of deficits that may need some work to get fully back from COVID. But go slow. Older adults lose endurance rather quickly with the “deconditioning” that comes from COVID, so it may take some time to get back to “normal.” Start low, go slow. Don’t start with long walks; start with very short walks. Don’t start with pressing weights or even push-ups; start with resistance bands to build back lost muscle mass and tone. A physical therapist may be a great help in developing a training program. Fourth, be a cheerleader, not a coach. Encourage your older loved one to be persistent but also have the patience for the time it will take to fully recover. Cheer their successes. Older adults will simply take longer than they may have a couple decades younger to recover the muscle tone and strength that has been lost. Help them pace themselves and reward themselves for small steps toward goal. Otherwise, you may have a setback on top of long COVID. Remember that social isolation and depression are some of the challenges all older adults face, so help them to find a positive path to physical and mental health. And be patient also…long COVID is called “long” because it can stay around for a lot longer than anyone will want. Charlotte Bishop is a Caregiver Coach, an Aging Life Care Advisor, 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. She also is the co-author of How Do I Know You? A Caregiver’s Lifesaver for Dealing with Dementia.
About one in five adults over the age of 65 will fall in their homes during the course of a year, and for some this will be part of an inevitable decline in their abilities to care for themselves and stay in their homes independently. Because this is Home Safety Month, I wanted to share four geriatric care management perspectives with you that can help you to make home safer from falls, especially if you are a caregiver to an older adult or anyone else with special needs.
1. Gait and Balance. As an elder care manager, I am always assessing the health and well-being of our older clients, but this is not limited to their medical status. As a person grows older, they also become less nimble, their muscles are not as strong and their movement becomes stiffer. If you are a caregiver, you may not notice the subtle changes from day to day in your older loved one, but older adults progress from a walk towards more of a shuffle. The shuffle is what will increase an older adult's fall risk. Their shoes may catch the edge of a threshold or get caught in a worn patch of the carpet. Work with your older loved one to maintain a level of physical activity that helps keep their feet fit.
2. Household Hazards. In other postings, I have talked about the trip risks posed by footstools, worn carpet, slippery scatter rugs, uneven or wet surfaces, stairs, electrical or other cords and similar obstacles on the floor. While you need not become the interior design architect or housekeeper, it is helpful to do a periodic "environmental assessment" to identify and correct risks before they become a shattered hip.
3. Vision Issues. As your loved one grows older their vision inevitably becomes less acute, but sight also can be obscured by cataracts, macular degeneration or astigmatism. In addition to seeing that your older loved one gets their vision tested regularly, you also can help by installing higher wattage bulbs in areas of the house prone to shadows or in the entryways where your loved one may be coming in from a nighttime darkness or from the bright midday light into the darkness of home. Also have lamps within easy reach of bed for nighttime risings.
4. Medication Issues. Many medications have common side effects like dizziness, vertigo or blurred vision. Make certain you have a complete list of medications your loved is taking so that you can ask their health care provider about any side effects. You may have seen labels on drugs that caution against "operating heavy machinery," but there are a lot more side effects that are listed on the package inserts of these medicines. And probe the provider about the potential for interactions among the drugs which can cause their own added balance issues.
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 ccbishop@creativecasemanagement.com.
We’ve all had times when we desperately need our own space…time to ourselves, just ourselves. And it’s good to retreat periodically from the frenetic work pace, the demands of family or just the congestion of living in the 21^st century. But for older adults, being alone can become their way of life with the loss of friends or a life mate, no longer being employed, perhaps unable to move easily about, a lapsed driver’s license…and life becomes very, very small when it is just one. It’s a bigger problem than many people may think. The National Institutes of Health estimate that 28 percent of older adults live alone; that’s nearly 14 million people on their own. Living alone can lead to depression, poor self-care and ultimately an exacerbation of pretty much every other chronic condition that a person can have. A 2010 study found that socially-isolated older adults were 509% more likely to die prematurely. Being alone too much can contribute to other health issues, so much so that some health insurers are developing more comprehensive and holistic models for caring for our older adults. One of the major insurers of Medicare Advantage programs that will offer “enhanced” care, and they have come up with a model that can be imitated by all of us who may be caregivers to and older loved one. We all may look in on mom or dad, make a regular call or accompany our older loved one to their physician office visits, but there is more you can do. Consider:
1. Checking your loved one’s refrigerator for variety of food as well as expired products. Food insecurity is one of the big threats to health and well-being among older adults.
2. Ask about your older loved one’s friendship network, and get specific. Think about how often you make connections – probably daily – and help your loved one to do the same….be creative.
3. Be sensitive particularly to hospital discharges when an older loved one will be lest ambulatory. Help them even get to a “silver slippers” program at a local gym or to respite care so that they not only physically recover, but also socially recover.
4. Use tech. A Miami-based company called Papa connects older adults with local college volunteers that they sometimes refer to as “grandkids on demand.” Check it out to see if a campus near your older loved one can offer that support.
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.
May is National Geriatric Care Manager Month, but I am thinking that most of you probably did not get the memo. You may have been following my blog – especially those with an older parent or loved one – and you know what it means to be a caregiver, but not as many may know what a geriatric care manager (GCM) is. Geriatric care managers are the people who work with caregivers to older parents who want time for their own families and confidence that their mom or dad will be well cared for. We also work with older adults who do not want to be a burden to their families as they navigate health care issues and make decisions about where and how they can live as independently as possible.

And a person does not have to really be a caregiver to seek the services of a geriatric care manager. We also work with professionals who want to get help for their aging clients when they have had a life-changing incident and wish to remain as independent as possible. These are professionals who want to help their clients maintain quality of life when life changes and coordinate the medical and other resources that make that happen.

I sum up what it is to be a geriatric care manager by describing the four activities where I am most involved in helping elders or others with special needs:
1. Resource: GCMs make the home of a loved one who is aging in place more secure. We help show families what services can be brought to an elder’s home and at some point identify what are the best alternatives to home. And quite often with sandwich generation adult children of older adults, we can be there at a doctor’s appointment when they cannot be there.
2. Counselor: GCMs help families to reach consensus about how to best care for mom or dad when there are so many options or in cases where it may seem that there are no good choices. We help caregivers to older adults or even spouses to sort out whether it is just tiredness or if it is depression or old age.
3. Advocate: GCMs help to coordinate the care from multiple medical specialists who may be attending to an older adult and make sure they are all communicating with one another and with the caregiver. We also work to document a clear care plan the helps to preserve the life an older adult really wants, and we are the eyes and ears to look out for what is best for an elder if they are living in a senior community, assisted living or nursing home. We are particularly alert to any signs of abuse or exploitation.
4. Friend: GCMs are also good listeners, because it can be really important that a caregiver have someone with whom they care share how hard it really is to reverse roles with the parent who had raised them from childhood. It helps for me to have been a caregiver, so I can personally and professionally empathize with what it is like.
For more information on geriatric care management visit Care Manager.

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 Charlotte Bishop.