Family members who care for an older loved one can be overwhelmed by the responsibilities, difficulties in navigating the health care maze, trying to understand the changes in physical and mental abilities, arranging home assistance, tackling finances, driving to appointments – all while trying to keep their own life in order.
Geriatric care management can be the answer when an older adult needs assistance but the job is overwhelming for a family member or there is no one to help. Geriatric care managers are healthcare professionals with a background in nursing, social work, gerontology or psychology who specialize in elder issues.
In Litchfield County, Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging offers geriatric care management to help individuals and families access much-needed services, coordinate home assistance and advocate. The Center of Healthy Aging, now with 11 locations, has been helping families throughout the state achieve a better and safer quality of life.
The first step in developing a personalized geriatric care management plan is performing an extensive in-home assessment to determine the client’s needs whether they are medical, functional, cognitive, emotional or social. The geriatric care manager then coordinates the most effective care to ensure ongoing monitoring of the general aging process or a chronic disease. The manager also oversees private aides, provides access to the appropriate community resources, plans for other living arrangements when necessary, and assists with bill paying and paperwork, if needed.
“A geriatric care manager often transports a family’s loved one to the medical appointment, attends the consultation and then follows up with care coordination needs and relays information to family members,” said Jessica Dakin, Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging geriatric care program manager, shown above with client Phyllis Gowitt. “People find comfort in this. It’s almost like being there themselves. It’s reassuring for them to know that everything will get done.”
To learn more about the benefits and services of a geriatric care manager in Litchfield County, call the Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging’s Torrington office at 860.496.6240.
Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging is a not-for-profit member of Hartford HealthCare Senior Services. Each of the 11 resource and assessment centers are designed to enhance access to services and information related to attaining optimal quality of life for seniors and their caregivers. To learn more, click here or call 1.877.424.4641.
Charlotte Hungerford Hospital is a 109-bed, general acute care community hospital located in Torrington, Connecticut, that serves as a regional health care resource for 100,000 residents of Litchfield County and Northwest Connecticut. CHH is a Hartford HealthCare partner, and offers personalized attention from an expert team of caregivers and physicians that utilize advanced technology and clinical partnerships in a convenient, safe and comfortable patient environment. Charlotte Hungerford Hospital – Thousand Caregivers, One Job, Your Health. Click here to learn more.