Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 • crisis managementChicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence

I Miss the Scams That Used to Be Easier to Spot
It was probably ten years ago that my husband’s mother was caught up in a telephone scam on her...
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September 26, 2023
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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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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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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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Long COVID’s Long List of Symptoms
The COVID pandemic is not yet done with us in the United States, and the story certainly is different...
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February 7, 2023
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One More BIG Addiction?
If you’re old enough to remember 1969, then you are old enough to remember this bold addition to the...
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December 6, 2022
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Would You Want to Know?
National Geographic has a new documentary series, Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, starring, of course, Chris Hemsworth of Disney’s Marvel...
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November 29, 2022
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Saying “No” May be the Right Answer
Saying “yes” when someone asks you to do something can be like eating candy. It feels right or good...
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November 15, 2022
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What’s Scarier than Halloween?
The short answer to this question is cybersecurity breeches. First, how do you know if that spam in your...
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October 18, 2022
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

In my experience as a geriatric care manager, I field a lot of questions from people who are suddenly faced with caring for an older parent or spouse. For people who become caregivers overnight after a parent has a fall or experiences a significant medical setback of some sort, it can be an overwhelming responsibility. Where does one go to learn how to be a caregiver for an older adult or someone else with special needs? It is easy to tell a person how to become certified as a geriatric care manager (not as easy getting certified) or even a paramedic (again, not as easy getting certified), but how do you become a caregiver right away?

As much as some folks may have a predisposition for being “good with people,” being a caregiver poses some unique challenges and an aspiring caregiver can benefit from some special training. One of the resources I featured last month, Julie Northcutt – President of CaregiverList.com, talked about using summer visits as a time to take stock of the needs of aging family members of other with special needs. She has a new training module that has come to my attention, and I am sharing it with you here, because it may give a lot of you a jump start to caring for older family members or others in your orbits.

In her 10-hour on-line program, CaregiverList.com offers training that meets the requirements of state licensing boards for caregivers, and it also may offer peace of mind. I was impressed with its topical coverage:
- Communicating with Others
- Observation, Reporting and Recording
- Providing Personal Carburetting and Maintaining Good Mobility
- Elimination and Toileting
- Infection Control
- Environmental Hazards and Safety
- Basic First Aid
- Understanding Elder Abuse
At $49 it seems to be a reasonable investment in care for an elder and peace of mind and confidence for the caregiver.

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.
Birthdays are a leading cause of falls that can result in an emergency room visit, and every year this takes a particular toll on those 65 years of age and older. The 65+ year olds represent 2.5 million visits to the ER according to the CDC, and that makes them the most susceptible of any age group. Sadly, one in three of this 2.5 million will be back again within a year of their first visit having fallen again, some within days of the first fall. So, keep your older loved one in the safe confines of home, right? No … researchers report that a substantial percentage of these falls are trips, slips and stumbles right at home, the bathroom and kitchen being particularly dangerous fall hazards. As any physical medicine doctor can tell you, walking is actually controlled falling. We learn this skill at a very early age when we are all thankfully closer to the ground. If this isn’t clear, just watch an infant struggling for that first milestone step…a lot of falls precede the successful step. As we age, we don’t forget how to walk safely, but older adults go through health and physical changes which challenge their agility and some medications are also culprits in this gravitational conspiracy. Here are some tips to help your older loved one to a safer gait:
1. Make a specific appointment and go with them to visit their doctor: be sure to cover their medications for any side effects, talk about any history of falls and explore whether any health conditions may be potential contributors.
2. Encourage a daily regimen that includes more than just walking - perhaps a physical therapy regimen or yoga or strength training, because strength and changing up the training – what some refer to as “muscle confusion” – is good for agility.
3. Outfit the feet: “sensible shoes” may be a dirty word in fashion circles, but help your older loved one to have properly fitted, effective footwear with soles that have traction – avoid high heels, floppy shoes, bunny slippers, etc.
4. Conduct a home safety inspection to declutter, eliminate trip hazards, upgrade poor lighting, and make home more accessible with everyday items within easy reach. Remember, baths and kitchens are particularly hazardous places.
5. Be sure your older loved one’s house is well-lit, and this goes for middle of the night trips to a rest room or early morning risings during this season of short daylight. Encourage a flashlight at bed side.
6. Upgrade home safety with hand rails on all stairs or even longer hallways, non-slip treads on stairs, adaptive toilet seats and grab bars in the bath.
7. There are professionals who can help – physical therapists can help with a “workout and flexibility regimen,” and your local senior ombudsman also can recommend area craftspeople who can make home accommodate your older loved one.
So, when you visit your older loved one during the holidays take along a pad of paper or your smartphone to make a list. This is not the naughty and nice list; it’s the safe and non-safe list! I have a home safety checklist I will be happy to send you if you just email me. 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.
We are less than a week away from Mother's Day, and preparations are in motion, cards are purchased, reservations are made and flowers will be sent. That is what Mother's Day has come to represent for most of us, but there will be some for whom Mother's Day is more an occasion for dread or sadness. That is because Mom is no longer here to celebrate the date. Especially in my work as a certified geriatric care manager, I've talked with caregivers who have lost a mother. I find that there can be a lot of denial or depression as May comes around. It seems easier to ignore the day, or maybe the sad, slippery slope of depression seems unavoidable. That is where I come back to one of my mantras for all caregivers, and that is that the caregiver needs to care for herself or himself. What does caring for the caregiver look like when one is facing an important, but seemingly hollow, holiday? You can begin by letting the mom who lives in your memory remind you of the good times or the kind words or the special places. Mother's Words. If you have a sibling, perhaps start the conversation about what "mom used to say." If she used words of encouragement like, "It is not about what the other kids do; it is about just doing your best." Or maybe mom liked to talk about finding the "silver lining." Mother's Things. Those of us who have lost a mother also probably saved an item or maybe several of the things that delighted mom or that we particularly associate with her. Maybe your mom kept a collection of your pictures or clippings from the school paper? My mom kept a small spiral notebook of jokes so that she could remember and share them with others. Most of them were admittedly a bit corny, but they make me smile even now when I go through the pages of memories on days like Mother's Day or her birthday. Mother's Actions. It can also be special to do some of the things that your mother used to do as a way of "taking a walk with mom." Maybe mom had a favorite park or garden where she liked to go on "her day." May is such a wonderful month for all the new blossoms of spring, and taking that walk can bring back wonderful memories complete with beautiful buds and their wonderful scents. Or some find it really great to go to mom's favorite restaurant and have their own favorite dish or order the chocolate pie that always was mom's guilty pleasure. It really all comes down to making the day special for yourself just as you used to make it special for your mom by caring for the caregiver. Doing that special something for yourself just as you used to do it for your mom can actually make you both feel better about her day. And if you are a mom with kids of your own, it can also be a wonderful way to let them know how to someday manage their own transition of Mother's Day. Charlotte Bishop is a certified 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.
We all hear the phrase used as an excuse for a bit of memory lapse … that it’s just a “senior moment.” It doesn’t seem to be ageist, because in older adult communities the phrase gets tossed around about as frequently as “hello” or “goodbye.” But it’s wrong. This time of COVID places us all at risk for the “Memory Moments,” because they’re not caused by age. Yes, short term recall issues are something to which we all are susceptible, but they are not caused by age. Memory issues like dementia are not caused by age; they have organic causes. There are steps we all can take to stay more mentally sharp no matter our age and despite COVID. During this time of sustained pandemic quarantine – for those of you following the state and local mandates, that is – memory lapses can seem to become more common. Even these “COVID moments” are not inevitable, however, if you keep your mind engaged and active. Here are six tips to help fend off the cognitive impact of COVID 19:
1. Do Something New – We all have heard about “lifelong learning” as it may describe someone who seems always to be pursuing new knowledge, a new language or a new craft. Your brain still has a lot of room to expand what you know, so keep at it.
2. Don’t Cram – Just like the tests when you were back in school, the best learning cannot happen the night before the exam. Spread your learning of a new language or a new musical instrument over a number of sittings and days, and it will more effectively take root.
3. One More Time – The learning takes place over time, and you need to go over the same ground over and over. Repetition is important so that the new language you’re studying becomes like a new habit.
4. More Senses Make More Sense – When you are working a new recipe in the kitchen, you learn by reading, tasting, smelling, touching, etc. With learning a language, you learn by seeing, hearing, writing, saying, and so on. Use as many senses as you can to maximize your cognitive process.
5. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – It’s okay to let your devices or your habits free up your brain to work on the new things you want to learn. Make a written list of your “to do’s.” It will free up the brain space to actually determine how to do what you want to get done.
6. Yes You Can – Don’t ever call it your “senior moment,” because that means you have lost confidence in you. While you are practicing what you wish to learn, practice having confidence in your learning. If you don’t believe in a “senior moment,” you are far less likely to have one.
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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It is no secret that caregiving can be an everyday challenge, especially when managing a full time job and other family responsibilities. As geriatric care managers, we help caregivers and their families through difficult transitions and provide options for tough decisions. We also aim to ensure a high quality of life for both the caregiver and the loved on in need of care. Discover tips about how caregivers can limit stress, boost energy, and stay positive in our latest white paper.

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I attended a medical visit along with one of my clients recently, and he was presented with a document on his rights and responsibilities as a patient. As geriatric care managers and care professionals, we often accompany our clients to a doctor's office visit so that we can help ask the questions a patient may not consider and assure that the patient understands all the provider's explanations. Some organizations these days call them their "patient's bill of rights," and they typically contain all the usual information on how they promise to safeguard a patient's privacy and the confidentiality of their records. This particular document spelled out some of the patient's responsibilities, such as asking questions if they don't understand something. But it also stated that the patient is responsible for taking an active role in their medical treatment and following the instructions offered by the provider. I thought to myself, "You mean like taking the medication that is prescribed for the patient's condition?" Well, it turns out that failure to comply with prescription instruction is a really big problem; in fact, it is referred to by policy folks as American's "other drug problem." Did you know that:
- more than half of 65+ year olds take five or more meds routinely
- about 25% take between 10 and 19 pills each day
- nearly 60% in a recent survey admit that they miss doses
- among those on five or more meds, the percentage missing doses is 63%.
The economic impact of all this non-adherence is estimated to be $100 billion annually. Non-compliance also is the cause for 125,000 deaths in America annually and $290 billion in emergency room visits and other avoidable medical expenditures. Non-compliance also is the root cause for an estimated 23% of nursing home admissions (estimated to cost $31 billion) and 10% of admissions to hospitals (estimated at $15 billion). The cause can be just plain forgetfulness or cognitive shortcomings like dementia or Alzheimer's. Some older adults still choose between food and medicines if they are on limited means. If you are a caregiver to an older loved one, you can help improve their compliance and here’s how:
1. Communication: If an older adult understands the severity of their condition, they are more likely to be compliant; help to ensure the provider explains this.
2. Participation: Patients are more likely to be compliant with a regimen if they are engaged as partners in their own care; empower your older loved one.
3. Pharmacists: It can be easier to order prescriptions by mail, but the engagement with a pharmacist can be very helpful in reinforcing what a provider has said.
4. Support: There are groups of people with like conditions that can meet and support one another's compliant behavior; birds of a flock feather together.
5. Memory Aids: There are more than day of the week pill boxes available; some dispensers are computerized to help track missed doses and avoid over doses.
All of this reinforces medication adherence, but also remember that as a caregiver you should be on the lookout for drug-drug interactions, some of which can make adherence difficult. Tell the provider if you see new behaviors or symptoms as soon as you notice. Charlotte Bishop is founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals and geriatric care managers who are advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@creativecaremanagement.com.