While researching for facilities and organizations that take care of the elderly, you must have come across the term ‘Geriatric managers’. Geriatric managers are professionals who have been especially trained to care for the elderly and the frail, who are unable to look after themselves, and do not have anyone to take proper care of them. A Geriatric manager represents the interests of senior adults in their care and ensures that their needs are addressed consistently and reliably. Geriatric managers work independently, as well as in association with senior home care agencies. They are professionals with clinical or graduate degrees in nursing, social work or psychology. They are specifically trained to assist seniors and their families to make long-term arrangements for their care. They are well suited for providing senior home care. Their work involves the following elements:
- Assessment of the physical, environmental, functional, cognitive and financial conditions of the elderly, and the specific requirements needed to address them. Geriatric managers are fully informed about the details of various services, the quality, and the costs involved.
- Co-ordination with the family, physicians and other concerned people and the preparation of a long-term care plan that would take into account, the services that are required.
- Monitoring the administration of care, which would include looking after the provision of the recommended services and making adjustments as required.
- Ensuring timely delivery of services, to the seniors and their families.
- Providing regular information to the concerned families, this is especially required by those people who are staying far away from their parents/elderly relatives and would require regular updates.
Senior home care agencies specialize in providing complete home care solutions for the elderly. Before selecting a senior home care agency, for providing care to the old or dependent adult in your home, you should take care to check out the geriatric managers associated with them. The qualifications and skills of the geriatric managers would have a direct influence on the quality of the care provided by the senior home care agency.
There are several benefits of consulting senior home care agencies for services. They offer a full range of care services for the seniors. Geriatric managers attached to them are available to all of their clients 24/7 and they are trained to manage unexpected crisis or emergencies at any hour of the day or night. Geriatric managers also ensure that their clients are not cheated in any way by under or over delivery of services. Reputed senior home care agencies ensure that they have the best geriatric managers for the service of their clients.
