With increasing age-related complications, elderly care has become complex. This is where the role of a geriatric care manager, also known as the GCM, comes in. This person is a specialist in elderly care and helps families that need help planning, coordinating, and supervising elderly care services. The range of geriatric care services includes everything from arranging for medical support, assisted living services, and medical equipment to providing emotional support, physiotherapists, etc.
Geriatric Care Managers are particularly beneficial for ageing people living independently. In the sections below, we will understand the role of a GCM in detail, when to seek support for ageing people, and what to consider when appointing a GCM.
What Do Geriatric Care Managers Do – The Role of a Geriatric Care Manager
Geriatric care managers, or GCMs, advocate for families looking for elderly care. They are ideal for families with ageing people, elderly people, or couples living independently. Understand what do geriatric care managers do? To know the role of a GCM:
- Elderly Assessment: The GCM evaluates the elderly’s health condition in detail including physical, mental, and cognitive factors. They also go through their medical history, medications, doctors’ files, and personal likes and dislikes to understand their needs and diagnose their issues if any.
- Care Planning: The detailed assessment makes way for designing personalised elderly care. It consists of services based on the individual needs. Also, the plan is regularly updated for cost-effectiveness and proper care.
- Coordination of Services: The next step in the process is providing the needed services by connecting the clients or elderly families with geriatric service providers. The involvement of a GCM ensures the right contacts and good quality services from trusted professionals.
- Crisis Management: A GCM is responsible for taking prompt actions in case of emergencies. Whether it’s a doctor consultation or a hospital visit required, they always ensure the best care and attention at the right time.
- Family Support and Counseling: They also help the families of elderly people understand elder care closely. They provide family guidance in difficult times to make decisions and also support geriatric and family counselling.
- Monitoring and Adjustments: The presence of a GCM ensures that elderly people always get attention and are under supervision. It ensures that they get the best care. For example, GCM schedules monthly doctor visits, daily vital checks, quarterly medical assessments, etc., based on the requirements.
- Legal and Financial Assistance: Some Geriatric Care Managers are also capable of handling Finance and Legal activities. For example, banking, pension, ITR, etc. Also, finance management is crucial as the services are added.
When to Seek Support With Aging Life Care
Ageing comes with increasing challenges. Seeking professional help at the right time can make a lot of difference. Keep a watch for the following signs and understand what does a geriatric care manager do? in such cases to help you:
- Increased Health Concerns: A critical patient who needs 24/7 medical supervision requires a GCM. Concerns such as emergency hospital visits, treatment for cognitive decline, medication management, nurses and caregivers, medical support, doctor consultations, medical checkups and assessments get taken care of by a GCM relieving the family of constant stress and worry.
- Difficulty with Daily Tasks: Daily tasks may become difficult for the elderly. For example- cooking, cleaning, bathing, dressing, mobility, or maintaining personal hygiene. These challenges require assisted living which can be arranged by a GCM.
- Family Caregiver Burnout: Managing critical patients at home is not an easy deal. Combined with other work, it can feel overwhelming and lead to burnout. A GCM relieves the family members of the responsibility and provides the best care with their expertise.
- Safety Concerns: Cognitive decline, balance, and mobility issues are common symptoms of ageing. These conditions can cause accidents such as wrong medicines or forgetting to have medicines, falls, inability to drive safely, kitchen accidents, etc. A GCM based on the elderly organises services and puts safety measures in place. Also, the specialist knows what treatment the elderly require for improved abilities.
- Transitioning to Assisted Living: Assisted living may become a need for elderly people in critical condition. However, the transition can be complex. The best facility that meets all the requirements can be difficult to find and require a lot of research work. A GCM makes the process easy by finding the best assisted living services and guiding the family through the transition process to make it easy and comfortable.
- Social Isolation: Common with elderly people living independently or even in families sometimes they isolate themselves from people. It can lead to loneliness and depression. ‘What does a geriatric care manager do?’ A GCM will motivate them, find them engagement that they would like, ensure social interaction, and monitor them for mental health conditions. They involve elderly people in activities and groups that would be helpful. For example, games, hobby classes, volunteering activities, book clubs, fitness clubs, etc., are good for cognitive, mental, and sometimes even physical health.
Finding Geriatric Care Managers
Looking for the right geriatric care manager can be a task. However, here is a list of qualities and factors you should be looking for in a GCM to understand what do geriatric care managers do?:
- Certifications and Experience: Check for their certifications in Elder Care and experience.
- Specialisations: Check for their specialisations, if any. For example, dementia care, mobility support, chronic patients, palliative care, etc.
- Reputation and Reviews: Check their references and online reviews to know their reputation.
- Consultation Services: Look for GCMs that offer consultation who assess the elderly and then explain the list of services they would need. It allows the families to understand whether they should hire the GCM.
- Cost and Payment Options: Check for their prices to see if they fit in your budget. Also, some GCMs can guide you with financing elderly care on a budget which may be helpful.
Why Choose Olive Elder Care for Geriatric Care Management?
At Olive Elder Care, everyone’s an expert in elderly care. Hence, everything from services to communication, approach, and care is designed with their sensitive age in mind. Our vision is to relieve the families of the worry and stress of handling ageing people and provide the Elderly with a healthy and happy place to live in. Other than providing medical support, daily assistance, and everything they need, we give them a community to live in. With several programs and activities organised daily under the supervision of experts, we ensure a motivated and thriving community of elderly people who enjoy life while getting the best care.
Olive Elder Care is for people looking for a happy place for their elderly family members. Our focus remains on meeting every need of elderly people – medical, physical, mental, emotional, social, recreational, and spiritual. Visit us and check our services, amenities, staff, accommodation, and the thriving community of senior citizens to see what the best geriatric care looks like.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the role of a geriatric care manager?
A geriatric care manager is a professional with expertise in elderly care. They understand the needs of the elderly and can arrange for the exact services to ensure they get the best care.
What are the 5 M’s of geriatric care?
Geriatric care focuses on 5 Ms- Mind, Mobility, Medications, Multi-complexity(multiple health conditions), and Matters Most(the likes, values, and goals of the elderly).
What are the roles of geriatric care?
Geriatric care includes many functions, such as medication management, emergency care, medical supervision, assisted living services, arranging for the best care for a condition, guiding the family, etc.
How do you manage a geriatric patient?
A Geriatric patient requires nonstop supervision. Other than providing them with the best care, they should be regularly medically assessed with checkups, screenings, and consultations. Since cognitive decline is a possibility, it is important to check their hygiene, daily care activities, nutrition, etc. Also, other than focusing only on their medical requirement, it’s important to keep elderly people engaged in activities. They should be for physical activity, social engagement, recreation, purposeful living, and motivation, all of which play an important role in geriatric care.
