Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 • elderly careChicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence

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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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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Ain’t No Sunshine…
…When She’s Gone.” Or how about, “You are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine?” or “Here Comes the Sun?” or...
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February 21, 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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To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
No, this isn’t a refresher course on Shakespeare and the famous Hamlet soliloquy. (Spoiler Alert – Hamlet was ranting...
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January 2, 2023
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A Viral Trifecta?
To get to the question in the email first, the Spanish flu of 1918 did not get its start...
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December 13, 2022
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Planning for the Holidays is More than a Menu
The latest news reports suggest only about 10 percent of American Adults have received their seasonal booster for COVID. ...
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October 24, 2022
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What’s COVID Going as for Halloween?
It’s been a year and a half since the COVID19 vaccines came on line to address the pandemic when...
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October 11, 2022
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Dementia, Distraction, Delirium and Depression
September is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, so we’re going to be sharing four posts that will help everyone with what...
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September 7, 2022
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Burn Calories to Reduce Dementia Risk
We most often think about exercise as a way to work off the calories that we may have consumed,...
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August 30, 2022
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In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

Nearly a million people in America have a heart attack each year, and for two-thirds of these people it is their first episode. Beyond heart attacks, there are many more individuals who may suffer from some other form of heart disease or may have any of a number of surgical and other interventions involving their hearts. Older adults are more at risk for all "cardiac events," but for those who get a second chance following a cardiac episode, improving heart health should be a priority. Improving heart health is what cardiac rehabilitation is all about.

Who can benefit from cardiac rehab? The simple answer is everyone, but people who have had a cardiac episode may need the support of family and their health care provider to gain the confidence they need to exert themselves and get into better shape. Those who would benefit include anyone who has experienced:

·         a heart attack, or myocardial infarction - this results from one of the blood vessels which feed the heart being so clogged that it starves a portion of the heart muscle;

·         heart conditions such as angina, congestive heart failure (CHF) or coronary artery disease (CAD); or

·         any of the cardiac surgical interventions like heart bypass, percutaneous coronary intervention (balloon angioplasty), stent implants, valve replacements or implanting pacing devices or defibrillators.

            What does cardiac rehab look like? Cardiac rehab can be adapted to patients of any age, and it starts with:
- medical evaluation to determine where to start and how far to take rehabilitation;
- medical monitoring throughout all activities as a patient rebuilds their cardiac fitness and aerobic health;
- counseling on one's condition as well as how to cope with some of the psychological aspects of a cardiac event like depression or anger;
- education on better diet, smoking cessation, stress reduction and simply being "normal."
What are the benefits of cardiac rehab? Very simply put, most people can achieve more than just recover from a cardiac event; they can improve their health to an even higher level. Such as:
- regular physical workouts to improve your heart health as well as the strength and fitness of your entire body;
- cardiac fitness which lifts the spirits with a boost from the endorphins, a byproduct of working out;
- cardiac counseling which helps the heart patient learn more of what they can do to avoid future events.
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.
In the meantime, we invite you to download the below featured FREE white paper - offering both personal and professional advice for those who care for the elderly or people with special needs. Make sure to come back and visit us for more great FREE resources.

Caregiver Counsel on Taking the Old Out of AgingNo one argues that loss, isolation, or medical ailments may represent genuine setbacks as a person ages, but depression is a significant step beyond just feeling down or blue. Learn how to recognize symptoms of depression and how to be happy even at 100 years old.Download

I have been in a discussion lately with some of my peers about how to describe the care management that we do as our calling. In the internet age, most of what defines us all comes down to what you find or where you look on the Web for help. One of my colleagues refers to Care Managers as “the search engine that offers only the best options.” Another of my associates refers to our job description as the “care navigators” who help people with older loved ones find their way. And a third refers to us as “the life and logistics planners for individuals 65 and older....we take care of EVERYTHING so they don't have to.” Okay, we may not be quite there yet. Because most people say they found us after a web search brought them to the Aging Life Care Association, our national society. They have a page where you can then just enter your zip code and find a qualified professional close to you or your loved one. Yet, when I ask people what they were searching for when they came upon the ALCA site, they offer a wide range of needs or issues. And that should come as no real surprise. Our team interviewed three dozen professionals involved in care management for older adults and their families in 2016 and 2017. This is what those professionals reported to us when we asked them to tell us what percentages of the families they serve had what needs:

TYPE OF CASE	%
Alzheimer’s Disease, “Dementia”	66.2
Home Safety	66.2
Medication Questions, Complications	58.2
Acute Medical Crises	50.3
Inadequate Self-Care	48.0
Chronic Medical Condition	46.8
Family Support	45.5
Residential Transition	39.9
Patient Discharge, Home Care	38.6
Financial Challenges	33.7
Other	34.5

We all looked at how things ranked and had to agree that the top issues where we help families pretty much follow this national sample of care manager experience. Notice that this table totals to nearly 530%. Talk about multi-tasking! This says that a typical family with a crisis surrounding their older loved one is trying to handle five or more crises…not just one. Maybe that is why you may want the help of a professional when life begins to change for mom or dad or any other older loved one in your orbit. Maybe that is why you want a care manager to be that search engine that can uncomplicate your life with the best solutions to all of life’s complicated moments.

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.

If you are a caregiver to an older loved one, you may find it a bit overwhelming to keep up with all the medications they take each day, and the times of day they take them. But have you thought about the potential side effects as well? The average older adult living independently is taking more than five prescription medications daily, and those in nursing homes may be taking at least seven prescription medications. We call this “polypharmacy.” We all have at least some sense of the side effects that many of these medications may carry, but what you may not know is that some of these medications have some unhealthy interactions with the other medications.
Recent research in the United States among older adults living independently found interactions between drugs in about 15% of the cases. In another study in Europe that tracked older patients being discharged from hospitals, as many as 70% were on medications with some interactions, and 24% were at risk for serious interactions among the drugs they were taking when they were discharged. What should you look for? Review the medications your older loved one takes looking specifically for these medications: • Statins – the drugs used to lower cholesterol • Proton Pump Inhibitors - the drugs that work against GERD or acid reflux • Antibiotics - the real offenders tend to be sulfa drugs or fluoroquinolones • NSAIDs - these are the pain relievers like Naprosyn, Motrin, etc. • SSRIs - these include the anti-depressants like Prozac, Celexa, Paxil • Calcium-Channel Blockers - like Norvasc • Warfarin – the blood thinner also known as Coumadin. This seems like a short list...no problem. The fact is that statins are the most commonly prescribed drug for older adults. More than half of those over age 55 are prescribed statins to lower their LDL. About one in five older adults in America take PPIs. And you can see with the number of medications your older loved one may take the likelihood of an interaction escalates. And some of these drugs also do not play nice with certain food groups or vitamins. If you see signs of muscle weakness, cramping or difficulty standing or walking, as well as fatigue or confusion, check in with your loved one’s doctor. But if you really want to be proactive take the list of the medications your loved one consumes regularly to your local pharmacist…and don’t forget to add the over the counter medications which can include PPIs or NSAIDs as well as an accurate assessment of alcohol intake. And next time you accompany your loved one to a physician’s office visit and the doctor recommends a new prescription, ask what can be taken from the list! 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.
It has been a tough pandemic for everyone, but it has been especially difficult for residents of nursing homes across the country. Some were relatively safe from the COVID rampage while others were ravaged. Even those that were clinically safe maintained their safety with an elevated isolation that protected their residents from the virus, but not from quarantine-induced depression and isolation from family “on the outside” in nursing homes. Then came the vaccines and everyone is safe once again, right? Not so much. According to data from the Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard, less than one-quarter of nursing homes meet the industry standard of 75%+ of staff fully vaccinated. In fact, the national data show that the average is only just above half of nursing homes reaching goal (56%) by June 20. Thee same data show 78% of residents in nursing homes full vaccinated. The state of Illinois is only marginally better on both fronts, 56.4% and 78.9%, respectively. During the period leading up to June 20, Illinois shows one in seven nursing homes with shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE) and one in five having staffing shortages of nurses and/or aides. That said, the rates of new infections among both residents and staff have decreased to two percent from highs of fiver percent and nine percent, respectively. We continue to see some vaccine hesitancy even following the final and formal approval of the Pfizer COVID vaccine and a push in some circles for booster vaccinations. We also see anti-vaxxers across the country as well. And nursing homes are hit with some of the same issues as other sectors who have workers like aides hesitant to put themselves in harm’s way for hourly wages they find less acceptable. You may have seen the same in hotels, restaurants and travel venues. So, what can you do? • Go to the Dashboard page to be informed of the steps nursing homes are expected to take to protect residents, and at the next visit pay attention. • Ask nursing home management about their protocols for regular testing, especially for unvaccinated staff, and compare to the guidelines you will find on the Dashboard. • If your loved one does not now have a single occupancy room, lobby for that accommodation now. • If you find discrepancies or are in doubt about the guidelines and your loved one’s facility, contact your Illinois AARP representative. 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.
For a pandemic and quarantine that has lasted about 18 weeks, it is safe to say that most of us are really feeling just a bit ready to be done with it, right? One would think that also means that by now, we will have heard it all, seen it all and know it all, right? Sorry to say that the answer is “yes” to the first one and “no” to the second one. Let me share some facts that are part of what I would call the emerging story of COVID-19. Test – We are still faced with limited testing for COVID-19 in most parts of the country. But if you are looking to be tested because you feel symptomatic or are worried that you have been exposed, be prepared for potentially very long waits and know that you likely will have to have authorization signed by your provider. And check with local Public Health officials for free testing sites near you. Model – Some of the evolving opinion on how we need to handle this unprecedented pandemic suggests that an example that can guide us is how we eventually came to manage HIV/AIDS: testing, contact tracing, treatment and changes in behavior. We are hopeful to add to this a vaccine for COVID-19, but without one, the first three are key to bring the numbers down. ZOOM – is a great way to keep in touch while maintaining safe distance, but treat this also like phone calls or home visits when it comes to family. Set loving limits on the time you spend, especially if you already are aware boundary issues with a parent. It’s complicated. Read – We are not plugging a specific retail source here, but consider supporting the local bookstores still remaining who are suffering from no foot traffic or browsers. Go to their web sites. There are also great sources for e-books such as your local public library or a site called Book Bub. Move – More important than ever get your daily step quota in…and more. Set yourself new goals for upper body strengthening or perhaps consider a diet. I heard some good advice from a professional I know recently. Don’t think of it as losing weight, because you will be tempted to quit the diet and go find the weight again later. Think of it as “releasing the weight.” Health – Don’t skip your medical appointments, even if they call it an “elective procedure.” Also contact your provider to see if they offer telemedicine alternatives. You ZOOM family and friend; why not get face time with your provider? Treatment – We are not there yet. Hydroxychloroquine still does not have much support for efficacy, and it can increase QT Prolongation, a heart abnormality that is dangerous. Kaletra, an anti-retroviral used to treat AIDS, shows no efficacy yet and can cause pancreatic inflammation, liver problems and bradycardia in the heart other side effects. Remdesiver offers a better picture with very recent clinical data showing a 62% greater chance of survival than current standard of care treatments. The BCG tuberculosis vaccine also shows some promise in helping COVID patients survive. You. I write often about how important it is for the caregivers to care for themselves. That’s another way of saying “it’s okay to care for you.” Put yourself at the top of each of your “to do lists.” Because – as I have said also – if you do not take care of you, who will? So, please move this one to the top of this list also! 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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elderly care

Spring Tips for the Holiday Caregiver

Another Side to the Story

Ain’t No Sunshine…

Long COVID’s Long List of Symptoms

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

A Viral Trifecta?

Planning for the Holidays is More than a Menu

What’s COVID Going as for Halloween?

Dementia, Distraction, Delirium and Depression

Burn Calories to Reduce Dementia Risk

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