3/2/2016

Many of us are faced with very difficult decisions to make about how to care for our elderly parents and spouses as people live longer with all of the advances in medicine. The healthcare delivery system and complex process of accessing care is very overwhelming. Having an experienced professional listen to your concerns and help you and your loved ones to formulate a plan that meets everyone’s needs, is extremely helpful and essential to this process.

Think of an Elder Care Consultant as a guide in a foreign country, an advisor to walk you through every step along the way in a world that is unfamiliar to you, to communicate your needs and help you make the best and safest choice for care. There is no right option for care, simply the best course of action for you and your family. It is a difficult journey, but one that can be made a lot easier with the right guide. You need not walk alone in this process. From individual and family meetings, to accompanying families in visiting facilities, advocating on your behalf with community resources, an elder care consultant is there for you.

Helpful Hints When Exploring Your Options:

• Be an educated consumer
• There are no right or wrong decisions
• Safety is a priority
• Everyone has different financial abilities
• Everyone has different capabilities
• Know all of your options
• Share your concerns
• Have at least two sets of eyes and two sets of ears

 

Nancy Geller, LCSW, ACSW

Elder Care Consultant

3/2/2016

One of the cornerstones of success is communication, whether it is with a parent, spouse, child, sibling, significant other, friend or healthcare provider.  In life, particularly with regard to health issues, there are sometimes difficult choices to make.  The more you let your loved ones know what you want to occur if you become ill, the easier it is to make decisions.  Healthcare choices are challenging to discuss.  We often dance around the topic and never truly get there.

Sometimes the person themselves will be capable of making the decision, but knowing you support them and understand it, is essential to the relationship.  Even more crucial, is understanding what the individual wants to happen so you can make the right decision for them, if the person is unable.

The greatest gift that my parents have given their children is that we know their wishes.  In light of this, whatever choices are made are theirs, even if we have to act on their behalf.

Essentially, they have continued with the parenting role in their later years, always trying to make life easier for their children.  We know what they want and will be able to respect their choices, because they made them and we supported them with open and honest communication.  This for me, is the greatest gift of all.

by Nancy Geller, LCSW, ACSW

Elder Care Consultant