By Deborah Jeanne Post
As we age, it becomes increasingly harder to manage healthcare as various health problems crop up, and treating them requires a bevy of medical specialists.
If you care for or are an older adult facing these issues, help is available.
One resource is a senior care management company such as Reflections Management and Care in Syracuse.
Owner Lindsay Kratzer calls the company’s services “boots on the ground in the home, organizing care” because so many people live far away from their senior parents. But even people who live near their parents find services such as these helpful.
“Having someone skilled in this area is a valuable asset,” she said. “You wouldn’t hire an electrician to do your plumbing. You can be the daughter or son and not have that stress on you as the caretaker.”
Staying abreast of health issues through adequate healthcare interventions such as doctor’s visits, therapy and medication can help people age better, but these resources are challenging for many older adults to manage. Navigating the healthcare world can feel intimidating to anyone. But add to that many more factors such as possible limited hearing, vision, cognition and mobility and it’s nearly impossible to do alone. Many older adults see several medical specialists, along with a geriatrician or primary care provider, optician and dentist.
“Advocacy is important,” Kratzer said. “We like to think doctors speak with each other, but they don’t. A lot of times, it’s about how some diagnoses interact with others and understanding them.”
Attending appointments can be hard, as public transportation and ride share drivers only deliver passengers to the curb. Older adults who no longer drive may also find it helpful to have an arm to hold to walk into the medical building and some guidance to the right suite. That’s the kind of support a care manager can provide.
The appointment itself can be difficult for patients of any age.
“With permission, we can go in with the actual appointment and ask all of those questions to support our clients,” Kratzer said. “Oftentimes, these are quick appointments. Information is given out quickly. You might not have time to write down questions and answers. We can aid with following up on appointments like changes in medication. We can help clarify those changes.”
The agency’s services, all provided a la carte, are typically not covered by insurance like any other care management service.
A geriatric care agency can make suggestions and recommendations on health and help families connect to providers, which can be especially helpful for long-distance caregivers who cannot stay as abreast as they would like with changes in their loved one’s health.
Some older adults who want to remain more independent mask their actual circumstances — skipped medication doses, missed doctor’s visits and lapses in medical care — so that their families don’t worry. But in time, this can add up to exacerbated conditions that could have been more easily treated earlier with the right care.
An agency can schedule an in-home assessment that can help families identify what their senior could use to better support living independently and if that is even still possible. Simple changes like ordering medication delivery in daily dose blister packs from an online pharmacy can help keep people more independent longer.
Hospital stays can be difficult for family members to manage, but a care agency can recommend strategies that can make it easier to transition home, the adult child’s home or rehabilitation as needed after discharge.
Many rehabilitation wings of nursing homes are at capacity, forcing hospitals to discharge patients to locations hours away from home. Some adult children cannot host their recovering parent. Others can with the right equipment and a small amount of support coming into their home. Many seniors’ homes are not accessible to equipment like wheelchairs or walkers and lack grab bars and step-in showers. A care agency can help families discover and sort out all the options and make decisions that support the best life for all involved.
Providing knowledge, resources and feedback from her experience in the field can help families take the next best steps. As much as they want to help, hospital staff lack the time to significantly help in complex situations. One way to find a care agency or receive a list of resources is to reach out to the county office for the aging.
“With all the different pieces and moving parts of healthcare, it’s helpful to have professionals assist,” said Sara Sunday, aging services administrator with Oswego County Office for the Aging. “A family member who’s not dealing with aging issues every day it gets overwhelming as to where to turn and what are the best options to manage the aging process.”
Every county health department has personnel specializing in resources for older adults and can help residents find things such as community agencies and other organizations that can provide things like case management, senior transportation, meal delivery, volunteer or paid companionship visits, in-home care and independent living or assisted living housing.
“We can help direct them to a good connection point and follow up to make sure that connection was a good connection,” Sunday said. “The person calling for the older loved one may feel overwhelmed. We can help them as well. Oftentimes the person reaching out for mom or dad needs additional supports such as to address housing insecurity or food insecurity.”