Geriatric Care Managers (GCM) are usually nurses, social workers or psychologists who help seniors and their families handle the many aspects of being a senior (like why I wrote this book). The right Geriatric Care Manager can help in many ways and their role can be singular or all encompassing. If you are caring for a relative in another state using a geriatric care manager could be a godsend for both you and the senior. Most will either charge per hour or per activity and the billing is usually weekly or monthly.

What do they do?

1. Healthcare Management: This can range from setting up medical appointments, going with the senior to the appointment, to monitoring their progress. This also can involve following up with the pharmacist and managing the senior’s prescriptions.
2. Housing Assessment: Review current living arrangements and make recommendations for the future.
3. Financial Review: Can make sure that financial payments are being made by the senior or confer with an accountant.
4. Home Care: Manage the care that the senior requires in their current residence.
5. Legal Review: Can make sure legal documents are in order or make recommendations for an elder lawyer to get involved.
6. Crisis Manager: If unfortunately the senior involved has a bad fall, sudden illness or a chronic illness get worse, the GCM can suggest helpful options.

Action Step: Geriatric Care Managers are like anything in life, you will need to ask for references and make sure you get a written list of costs. 

Golden Nugget: Geriatric Medicine is a relatively new specialty that treats senior patients that have “aging issues” such as organs starting to fail, dementia and “poly-pharmacy” (sometimes patients will be on 10,15 and even 20 drugs per day). I took my father-in-law to a Geriatric Physician and he spent a valuable hour with us, and he insisted my Father-In-Law start using a much-needed walker.