Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 • senior careChicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence - Since 1991 | Page 5

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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Happiness is a Long-Term Investment
If I were to ask you to make a New Year’s Resolution for your own happiness, what would your...
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January 17, 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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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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Doing Your Homework on Medicare Coverage
If you or an older loved one are at that age in the magical transition – otherwise known as...
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November 8, 2022
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Planning for the Holidays is More than a Menu
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October 24, 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

We have heard forever that carbohydrates are a major source of added (and unwanted) body fat, but dementia? So, when I came across this research, I thought to myself that well, there always is a New Year's resolution about dropping weight by decreasing sweets and grains, but if a person also can reduce the long term risk of dementia, why not get on board? Well, it turns out that a doctor named Perlmutter has been documenting a wide range of medical literature that shows a link between blood glucose levels and risk for dementia. It seems that as early as 2005, researchers were finding a link between blood glucose levels and brain atrophy and cognitive decline. I won't get into all the technicalities, but it seems to follow a path back to increased body inflammation and free radicals and "oxidative stress." Okay, I said I would not get into technicalities. But you see a lot of the familiar language on real problems on the loose in one's bloodstream. And this is not in the radical fringe of medical journals. As recently as last summer, researchers reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that continuous elevated blood sugar levels as measured by HbA1C were associated with higher risks for dementia. Reading between the lines, diabetics whose long term sugar levels are not in good control are not just at risk for diabetic retinopathy and other vascular compromise, but their brain function also may suffer. All of that said, researchers do not show a direct causal relationship between elevated blood sugar levels and dementia. So, let's retrace some of the steps. Increased carb consumption does lead to elevated blood glucose levels. People with elevated blood sugar levels also have been shown to have elevated heart event risk as well as immune issues. And we encourage people to lower their carb intake to improve heart health and immune system health. The author of the most recent research also points out that there are no experimental trials that show using seat belts reduces casualties, yet we accept that we ought to buckle up. So, at the end of the day, you need to draw your own conclusions. And maybe unlike the seat belt analogy, we can say that we all should practice moderation in our carbohydrate consumption. And that is not something you would see driving safety advocates offering. "Use seat belts in moderation?" So here are some medical citations for those who want to see the research. For your brain's sake, read what you will and draw your own conclusions:
1. Enzinger C, Fazekas F, Matthews PM, et al. Risk factors for progression of brain atrophy in aging. Neurology. 2005;64:1704-1711.
2. Crane PK, Walker R, Hubbard RA, et al. Glucose levels and risk of dementia. N Engl J Med. 2013;369:540-548.
3. Erickson KI, Voss MW, Prakash RS, et al. Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108:3017-3022.
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.
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.
At CCM, home and safety are as important to us as to you, so it’s no surprise that it’s a frequent topic in our discussions. I have asked Gregory Peebles to talk about home safety from the vantage point of his experience. Gregory is both a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) whose work focuses on helping older adults and those who are less independent by providing resources and support to help them live their best life. An Associate Care Manager, Gregory has been a part of our team for over a decade. – Charlotte Home. Not only is there no place like it, conveniently located wherever you hang your hat, but it also fits--like an old, comfortable shoe. One of the things that makes “home” high on our list of favorite places is that home is where things work the way we expect them to work. Reach for it, and whatever it is will be their at your fingertips. We don’t have to think! (or so we (don’t) think…). We just do. But comfort can be a slippery slope, and it can get us into all kinds of unplanned trouble. As our older loved ones age, inconveniences in the home can turn into safety hazards. As we watch our parents age, we begin to feel deeply our own mortality and—if we’re not careful—to slip into a pattern of denial, the manifestation of which is the attempt to keep life as it exists in our memories perhaps longer than is advised, all to maintain comfort and status quo. Ironically, this attempt to maintain status quo may end up as a major catalyst to change in our lives unless we bring some consciousness to our scenario. So we need to look around, and I mean Really Look – not with the eyes we had when we were children in the house, or the eyes we had while we were rearing children, because those eyes both literally and figuratively no longer exist. What do we see? Here’s what I see most when I’m asked for advice: Stairs
- Steep stairs are not only difficult to manage for less-abled bodies, but they are a huge fall risk.
- Depending on where the family is in its journey, hand rails may be enough, but a stair lift may be necessary.
Cords
- The serpent of the salon, these may be “hiding in plain sight” ready to cause a fall.
- Make sure all floor surfaces are clear in trafficked areas, and, if carpeted, no holes worn through.
Mats
- Scatter rugs become “shatter rugs” if not well-secured to the floor.
- Use adhesives to secure in place, or get rid of any unnecessary rugs.
Washroom
- Water, rugs, and ceramic or steel surfaces all in one place make this the most accident-prone room in the house.
- Make sure it’s well-lit and that the shower has grip bars for balance, or even a chair for stability.
Kitchen
- Timers for appliances are a godsend in this room; auto-off coffee makers and the like will relieve fire anxiety.
- When cabinets are too high to reach, or too low, they may stretch an older adult’s limits. Make sure everything important is in easy reach.
If you’re all set from this list, but still unsure, call us! We’ll be glad to come out and give a look to ease your mind, or to begin the next conversation. In the next blog post, we’ll give you CCM’s best practices for when a change of address for a loved one may be imminent. 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.
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Deciding on whether to move and then deciding which senior residential option is best can be stressful for a senior and a caregiver, and then comes the move. It is not as easy as packing a son or daughter off to college, because relocating an older adult is really about packing up the possessions of a lifetime. Moving day and its run-up can be challenging with all there is to organize and coordinate, but fortunately there actually are experts trained in helping to make the move smoother and less stressful. These professionals know that the move and its associated packing is more than just moving furniture.

As a geriatric care manager I am not only called on to help facilitate good choices of a facility, but also to lend a hand or an ear in my role as resource, counselor, advocate, and local friend throughout a move. There also is the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM); check out their web site. NASMM (pronounced NAS-em) is – in their words - a not-for-profit, professional association of organizations dedicated to assisting older adults and families with the physical and emotional demands of later life living including downsizing, relocating, or modifying their homes.

They offer some helpful advice to elders considering a move along with their caregivers. For instance, they suggest considering an option that focuses on the older adult simply “aging in place” rather than moving to a new physical environment. In either case, a change to a downsized living environment can be in order, and they assist in developing a space design.

When you as a caregiver alone or with the assistance of a senior mover help an elder in this transition think about what you will do or contract for:
- Arranging for the profitable disposal of unwanted items through auction, estate sale, buy-out, consignment, donation, or a combination of the these
- Interviewing, scheduling and overseeing movers
- Arranging shipments and storage
- Supervising and overseeing of professional packing
- Unpacking and setting up the new home
- Coordinating cleaning, waste removal, shopping, senior escort
- Assisting with selection of a realtor and helping prepare the home to be sold.
As you look to possible help from the outside or what you will do as a caregiver, it is important to remember that it is not just about moving things - it is about relocating memories. One caregiver I know recounts the story of helping his mother transition to an independent living community and the entire day it took to empty and organize just one closet. The explanation was simple. Every file and every box had a story, and having someone available to share the stories, putting some to rest and packing others carefully for the move required time.

So, while some may think of moving day as a lot of heavy lifting, it really is more about helping to preserve a biography and to share a history of place and life. Make sure you plan enough time for transitioning all the memories.

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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