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What is an Aging Life Care Professional/ Care Manager?

An Aging Life Care Professional, also known as an Aging Life Care™ Manager or Geriatric Care Manager, is a caring and compassionate professional who specializes in assisting older adults and persons with disabilities meeting short and long-term care needs. They become a valuable advocate and a knowledgeable resource to their clients who are searching for ways to meet the needs of their loved ones. As a geriatric specialist, they can serve as an advocate, adviser, problem solver and friend to both the client and their family.

 

An aging life care professional understands their concerns, Geriatric care managers should have extensive knowledge about the costs, quality, and availability of elder-care related services or resources in Broward and Palm Beach counties. A geriatric care manager helps older people and their families cope with the challenges of aging. The care manager’s goal is to maximize independence and autonomy of elders and to provide the highest quality and most cost effective services to the client and their families.

 

The geriatric care manager will conduct a comprehensive assessment which will identify problem areas or suggest alternatives and improvements to enhance the individual’s quality of life. They will attend to all the matters required and make all the necessary arrangements in order to secure the proper care for their client and monitor those services established to ensure peace of mind for all those concerned.Because of their expertise with seniors and disabled adults, care managers can assist individuals with all aspects of their lives (physical, medical, social, emotional and functional). A care manager can help clients locate the best possible services for them by thoroughly researching the options for each client and recommending strategies to improve that individual’s quality of life and help them reach their maximum potential.

As Aging Life/Geriatric Care Managers, we become the central hub or “quarterback” of the elder care team. By maintaining communication between all of the members, and offering viable options/strategies that the client and their families can choose from. The individual’s independence is encouraged, while safety and security concerns are also addressed. Aging Life Care Professionals are able to address a broad range of issues related to the well-being of their client. In today’s fragmented and complex healthcare system we have become an integral part of this system.

Aging Life Care Professionals are members of the Aging Life Care AssociationTM (ALCA) and differ from those people who call themselves Senior Advisors or Navigators or Senior or Patient Advocates. An ALCA member must meet stringent education, experience and certification requirements of this governing body which includes the NACCM Certification (National Academy of Certified Care Managers).
As specialists in geriatric care, we ease the burden of caregiving for children, relatives or guardians by providing a wide range of services needed to care for elders in their own home, in an assisted living community or in a skilled nursing setting. A Senior Care Strategies aging life care manager can help to ensure that all of the involved parties are working together for the benefit of the senior or disabled adult. Geriatric care managers provide advice, counsel, direct care, education and loving support to preserve and protect the independence and dignity of every client served.

Assessment Care Plan/Process

Caring for an aging parent or loved one can be a time-intensive, emotionally exhausting responsibility.  As aging life care experts, Senior Care Strategies is accustomed to responding to a crisis or emergency situation 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.  However, a well-developed and carefully defined plan of care can help diminish or even prevent crises and emergencies.

Our care managers have expertise in meeting and responding to the needs of elderly adults as well as the community resources available throughout the State of Florida.  We excel at making the most efficient and effective use of all available resources for the benefit of our aging clients.

Our process begins with the “initial assessment” when the geriatric care manager gathers information relevant to assess the elderly individual’s current situation, including health, home, personality, family dynamic, abilities and the like.  An initial assessment provides a comprehensive overview of the individual in their current living quarters. This will then help the aging life care professional/care manager determine the needs of the individual in order to develop a plan for the individual’s care.

The assessment will help identify problems and potential areas of concern.  An individualized plan of care tailored to the specific needs of the client is then established based on data gathered during the assessment as well as information received from family members, interested parties and relevant professionals.  Senior Care Strategies’ experts will then propose an array of care options and cost-effective, quality services in the community which are most appropriate to enhance the individual’s overall level of function, maximize their independence, ensure their safety and encourage a productive lifestyle.

Crafting a plan of care for your loved one is based on a thorough evaluation of the following areas:

  • Safety & well-being
  • Psycho-social/mental health
  • Functional/cognitive abilities
  • Ability to handle financial and administrative affairs
  • Physical/medical (including health care providers, medications taken)
  • Ability to perform activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, toileting, transfers, self-feeding)
  • Strengths, limitations, and areas of independence

Ongoing monitoring by Senior Care Strategies will ensure implementation and coordination of the care plan.  Moreover, our care managers’ work with the family or other interested parties to modify the care plan as needs and conditions change, to address new care concerns and to allow for optimum functioning.

Our goal is to provide the highest level of personal services to help our clients achieve optimal health and quality of life. We take pride in providing comprehensive professional services and support with the highest level of individualized client attention.  Senior Care Strategies offers a wide array of personalized professional care management services to ensure optimum results and to meet the ever-changing needs of the elderly or disabled client.

“If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap.

If you want happiness for a day — go fishing.

If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune.

If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.”

Chinese Proverb