Geriatric care managers (GCM) act as advocates for the elderly, creating a broad senior care plan and setting them up with the services they need – which can be a godsend for long-distance caregivers. By evaluating an individual's level of cognitive abilities, along with his or her health, emotional, financial, and legal needs, a GCM helps identify problems and needs and offers practical solutions.

Geriatric care managers also help ease the stress of searching for long-term care by intervening in crises, offering counseling and support and advocating on behalf of elderly individuals. GCMs can be hired to help in times of crises, should you need respite, or as the full-time point of contact for all senior care services. Most importantly, GCMs are experts at identifying problems and offering solutions.

A GCM Helps Develop a Senior Care Plan of Action

Your GCM will begin by creating a customized senior care plan and assessment in order to determine the best course of action for your loved one, which will include an examination of overall health as well as social, emotional, and physical needs. Your geriatric care manager will then arrange the appropriate services to meet the needs of your loved one on a daily basis. Geriatric care managers continue to supervise the process, monitoring what's going on and amending the senior care plan as things change.

Geriatric care management is private pay only. We recommend that you read our articles entitled Geriatric Care Managers Explained: What They Do, What to Expect, How to Pay For One & How to Find One as well as Geriatric Care Managers: How to Find & Assess. Select a state from the list below or search for GCMs in your area.