Geriatric Care Management Blog

While it is true that adults over age 65 have about half the national rate of smokers in their ranks, being 65 or older is still the right time for anyone with the habit to quit.  In the 2009 National Health Interview Survey, more than one in five adults 18 years of age or older claimed to be regular smokers.  More men were smokers than women, the poor were greater smokers than other income brackets, and the good news is that by adults reached age 65+, their rate fell to only about one in eleven who were smokers.  Some of these persistent smokers may feel that by the time they reach this age that it will not help to quit or that they may not have any great risk of anything happening at that point.  Wrong! Quitting at any age can reverse the ill effects of smoking.  In studies among smokers who had the habit for even thirty years, lung function improves, cardiovascular health improves and even the risk of a heart attack begins to go down once a person quits.  Also, seniors appear to be better able than younger...

Over the past couple years on more than one occasion I have talked about what a geriatric care manager (GCM) is.  Even though the national association that accredits professional geriatric care managers (NAPGCM )is about 30 years old, the question of what we are still comes up.  But there is more you should know about a care manager if you are one of the caregivers or family members looking to engage a geriatric care manager to help with your loved one.  Here are eight questions I recommend you ask anyone you are considering for your circle of care.

What are your credentials? A GCM should also have other training or credentials like a rehabilitation degree, nursing diploma or social worker license in addition to being certified as a GCM.  Ask about that. Are you certified or licensed? Are they a certified geriatric care manager or simply providing services to older adults? Just as you would not want a lawyer who did not pass the bar or an accountant...

More than 40 million adults in the United States are providing some sort of ongoing help with activities of daily living to an older adult.  This figure jumps to more than 60 million adults who at some point during the year are caregivers to an older adult or other person with special needs in their orbits.  What I hear a lot of is how much caregiving can create huge pressure when the caregiver already has a “day job.”  There may be no magical fix, but here are four suggestions for not letting the stress of two jobs get the best of you if you are a caregiver. First, you may feel that the demands or your job and the demands of caregiving are too much, and you may think about quitting your day job altogether.  That may not be financially feasible for many employed caregivers, so start out by actually talking with your boss or with your human resources department.  You may find that your company has an employee assistance program that includes support for caregivers.  Or they may even have a geriatric care manager...