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Professionals advocate for older adults.
Creative Services
Lynn Breuer
Special to the Jewish News
T
he Sandwich Generation.
We've all heard the phrase before, but like many
defining moments in life, it takes on new meaning as
you begin to live it. Last week, I had my sandwich generation
epiphany. On the way to the printer to proofread materials for
work, I received a call from my 16-year-old son telling me that
his flight to Dallas was delayed due to bad weather.
As I was commiserating with him (after all, who ever heard of
snow in Dallas!?!), my call-waiting clicked and it was my mother,
telling me that she was ill, needed to go to the doctor and didn't
have anything in the house she could eat.
My experience that day is a common one in our society. Many
people are working full time, concerned with their careers, rais-
ing their children and, at the same time, needing to take more and
more care of the their aging parents.
The good news however, is that help is available.
Geriatric care managers are trained professionals who are
expert at assessing and meeting the needs of older adults, both
those who are living in their own homes as well as in older
adult residential facilities. Usually credentialed in social work,
nursing or gerontology, they will meet with older adults and
their families, assess all areas of need an older adult might have
and make recommendations aimed at maintaining indepen-
dence and improving quality of life.
But they don't stop there.
A geriatric care manager can be an ongoing advocate for an older
adult, taking them to physician appointments, communicating
concerns to the doctor, reporting back to the family, coordinating
in-home care and meals on wheels, arranging for end-of-life docu-
mentation, providing emotional support to both older adults and
their family members as well as a host of additional services.
Many geriatric care managers are available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week for crisis intervention. They can meet their
clients at the hospital, providing a list of current medications as
well as any medical advanced directives the client might have. In
short, they act just as you would, if you were there.
ElderCare Solutions of Michigan (ECSM) is a geriatric care
management division of Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan
Detroit. ECSM has been providing geriatric care management
services in Southeast Michigan for the past 10 years.
Often, clients first contact ECSM during a crisis, which fre-
quently includes a hospitalization. Their geriatric care manag-
ers can then put in place all the supports an older adult might
Channel 56' Remember When
Detroit Public TV viewers will enjoy a trip down memory
lane at 8 p.m. on Monday, March 15, with the encore
presentation of Detroit Remember When: The Jewish
Community, a 50-minute documentary from Academy
Award-winning filmmaker Sue Marx and producer Allyson
Rockwell.
"It's mostly nostalgic. We have a lot of storytellers:' says
Marx. "It's really recollections and stories told by a variety
of people-both old and not-so-old-who have memories of
growing up in the city or have relatives who did. They're
need in order to return home or, if that is not possible, help the
family choose a rehabilitation facility that will meet the client's
needs —medical, physical, social and emotional.
Others will contact ECSM proactively, in order to reduce the
likelihood of a crisis. Putting some needed supports in place
can have a profound impact on an older adult's well-being.
Here are questions when choosing a geriatric care manager:
• What are the geriatric care managers' professional creden-
tials?
• Do they work as part of a multidisciplinary team?
• How long have they been practicing?
•What are their policies regarding after-hours emergencies?
•What back-up arrangements are available if your care man-
ager is on vacation?
•What are their fees?
•Are they members of the National Association of
Professional Geriatric Care Managers?
How To Decide
Does someone in your life need a geriatric care manager?
Families are sometimes uncertain about when to call a geriatric
care manager. ElderCare Solutions of Michigan suggests con-
tacting a geriatric care manager when:
• Family lives out of town;
• There is local family but they are overwhelmed and need
resources;
• Family disagrees as to what action to take regarding an
older adult;
•An older adult's living situation is no longer safe;
• When a professional opinion is necessary;
• When an older adult's physical or mental functioning are in
question;
•When age in place modifications are necessary.
❑
Lynn Breuer, MSW, is director of marketing and community outreach
for ElderCare Solutions of Michigan.
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Published by: Jewish Renaissance Media
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President/Publisher: Arthur M. Horwitz
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Departments
We all want to age with dignity. Does someone you love
need help managing their life? To contact ElderCare
Solutions of Michigan, call (248) 592-1944 or visit www.
eldercaresolutionsofmi.org .
For more information about Geriatric Care
Management, visit one of the following Web sites:
• www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/health/26patient.html
• www.napgcm.org/index.cfm
telling intimate and historical stories."
Through a blend of interviews, archival images
and home movies, the documentary covers it all: The
Early Days, Discrimination, Religious & Civil Rights,
Education, Tzedakah, Future Leaders.Volunteers from
ElderCare Solutions of Michigan will be in the DPTV
studios answering pledge phones. Viewers will have
the opportunity to make a pledge in support of the
programming on Detroit Public TV and receive a copy of
Detroit Remember When: The Jewish Community. Donations
on March 15 will be matched by Jim and Sandy Danto.
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