Questions & Answers
about elder care

Why might I need a Geriatric Care Manager?

Geriatric Care Managers are specialists in assisting older people and their families to plan for and implement ways to allow for the greatest degree of independence, safety, comfort, and quality of life. They meet with families, assess the client's needs, and develop a comprehensive care plan with input from caregivers, professionals, and others. They then assist with any appointments, interviews, and other paperwork necessary to implement the care plan and make all preparations for any needed in-home care or arrangements for a transition to a facility. They review all care options clearly and discuss them with the family.

How can Senior Advocates of Brevard help my parent get all the elder care services they need and benefits to which they are entitled?

The health care and related services available in the Brevard County and Orlando area are extensive and varied, if you know how to make them work for you. Unfortunately, most people are unaware of what benefits they should be receiving, or how to interact with the system to obtain the best services for their situation. Senior Advocates of Brevard knows this system and can advocate for you or your loved ones to receive the best and most compassionate levels of care that are obtainable under the coverage that your health insurance promises. SAB can work with insurance companies, discharge planners in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities, administrators of nursing homes or retirement communities and with home care agencies to ensure that you receive the care you need and deserve. Our care managers ensure that the needs of the client are foremost, rather than the needs of a facility or provider.

How do we start the process?

After an initial telephone consultation - offered free of charge - an assessment is typically necessary for care managers to understand the environment that the older adult is living in, their level of functioning and their current support network. The assessment involves interviewing the older adult and family members, gathering relevant medical records, developing an individualized action plan and discussing the options with the older adult and caregivers.

What does the assessment entail?

Senior Advocates of Brevard is trained to evaluate all aspects of an older person's life, including legal, financial, home safety, nutritional, medical, and housing issues. An in-depth assessment would include the client's physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and environmental strengths, weaknesses and concerns. The goal of the assessment is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the support required to assist older adults in functioning as independently, and with the highest quality of life, as possible.

How does S.A.B work with doctors and other professionals?

Senior Advocates of Brevard can arrange and attend doctor's appointments to ensure that the doctor is getting the full picture and that the elder is able to understand the doctor's instructions. We coordinate with the home health or hospice nurses and aides who are involved, making sure that the plan of care is followed, and that detailed personal care is always properly performed. We also work closely with attorneys, financial planners, and clergy, to see that all of a person's needs are being met, and not just in one area of life. We will talk to these individuals medical and professional recommendations regarding your parent’s  overall care needs and plan.

Can I afford Senior Advocates of Brevard’s services?

Many people believe they cannot afford private geriatric care management when they really can. Our initial free telephone consultation uncovers many of these misconceptions and will give you an idea of the cost and options involved. Senior Advocates of Brevard has helped clients save thousands of dollars by recouping insurance monies, applying for assistance programs, recommending better health insurance plans, and using other cost-effective measures while still providing the highest quality care. Investing in your elder's care through our management services is often the best thing you could do for them. Not only will you save money in the long run, you will save valuable and precious time and worry that can exhaust your non-financial resources or interfere with your job or occupation.

I'm worried that my parent can no longer live alone safely. What can I do?

You should share your concerns with your parent and remain open to considering many possible solutions to this problem, including at-home solutions. Perhaps some help in the house, meal delivery services or an emergency response system could enhance your parent's ability to continue living at home. If our parent is feeing unsafe, she/he may be open to considering a new living arrangement. Unless your parent is in immediate danger, the process of selecting a new home should be a careful process.

I want to know that my mother is doing well at home alone. But, I live too far away to visit often or help her with daily chores. How can I make sure she is doing ok?

Senior Advocates of Brevard can act as an advocate and liaison for your mother. We will provide you with written or verbal updates of your mothers well being. As your Geriatric Care Manager, SDB will keep you informed of unexpected events or emergencies and involve family members in any decision-making. We can also arrange for in-home services to help your mother with specific chores.

I live across the country from my parents. They don’t really need any one to take care of them now, but is there is someone I could call in an emergency?

We offer a monthly monitoring service, which would give you peace of mind. In order to be able to effectively respond to and resolve a crisis, however, we must first conduct an initial assessment of your parents’ present situation. Then we will make weekly telephone calls and a monthly visit to identify potential problems before they become emergencies. Our staff provides 24 hours, 7-day a-week on-call availability.

My father is lonely since my mother passed away. Can you help me find community services that will help my father with his isolation?

SAB staff is very familiar with many of the public, non-profit and private programs in the community and are also skilled at locating and evaluating community resources with which we have not had recent experience. Once we assess your father’s situation we can determine which programs might be most helpful and assist with the application and introduction process.

I am looking to place my father in an assisted living or nursing home near my home. How do I know what he needs and what to look for when seeking out a facility?

Senior Advocates of Brevard is knowledgeable about local facilities in and around the Brevard County and Orlando area for senior care. We can assist you with a medical assessment if necessary and will work with you to look at all your options and assist in making the best recommendations for your father. If needed, a care manager may also be able to simplify the transition into or out of a senior community, for the senior citizen, family members and staff.

Our elderly mother lives in another part of the country. My brothers and I feel it is time to move her closer to us. Can you help us select the right type of facility?

Selecting a facility, whether it be an independent living apartment, an assisted living facility or a nursing home, is a major decision and Senior Advocates of Brevard encourages you choose very carefully. SAB staff will determine what appropriate options are available based on an assessment of your mother’s current living situation, functional, medical and emotional status, as well as pertinent financial and legal factors. We will then conduct a facility evaluation to determine which ones will best meet your mom’s needs.

My mother lives alone. She doesn’t need or want someone to take care of her but I worry whether she is eating well, going to her doctors and living safely. Can you “check-up” on her?

Our staff can make regular telephone calls and home visits to assess whether your mother is eating nutritional meals and taking medications as prescribed. We can even help her refill her prescriptions and purchase her groceries. We will also conduct a home safety evaluation and help you and your mother prepare an emergency response plan. Our staff can accompany her to the doctor; report on any concerns between visits and advocate for good care. If we sense a problem or we have questions about your mother’s physical state or medication, we will talk to her physician and contact you. Our staff provides 24 hours, 7-day a-week on-call availability.

Can someone help me with my mail, balance my check book and pay my bills?

Senior Advocates of Brevard can help your elder adult with their correspondence. We encourage you to use our financial management service which will help with bill paying, balancing your checkbook and other daily household financial management tasks.

Family disputes - My brothers, sisters and I disagree over how to care for our elderly dad. What do we do?

Our care managers experienced in caring for the elderly can be of great help in this situation. Oftentimes, these problems arise because siblings see their parent's needs differently. A care manager with Senior Advocates of Brevard can assess your dad’s strengths and limitations objectively and provide valuable information about what kind of care is best and most realistic under the circumstances.  Our clinical social workers are equipped to mediate all types of disagreements and disputes, and are experienced in all types of family dynamics.

I’m afraid that my father forgets to take all of his medications. Can the home care worker give him his medications each day?
 
Senior Advocates of Brevard staff can remind and assist with medications that are pre-poured by your dad, a homecare provider or by a family designee. An SAB staff member cannot take pills out of the bottle; only the patient, home healthcare nurse or family designee can do that. When a SAB care manager makes a visit, he/she assesses and monitors the client’s compliance and ability to the take their meds as prescribed and reports any problems to the doctor.

Will Medicare pay for my elder's in-home services?

Medicare pays for very limited home healthcare services: primarily skilled care like nursing services or physical, occupational or speech therapy. It is a requirement that such care help the patient recover function following an illness or hospitalization and only is continued as long as the patient makes progress and is substantially house-bound. Medicare will pay for a small amount of help with activities of daily living (such as bathing and eating) for a limited time if the patient also is receiving skilled care. Senior Advocates of Brevard will advise and assist you regarding government and private insurance coverage and options.

My spouse has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Is it possible to care for him or her at home?

Yes, most people with Alzheimer's disease can be cared for at home. It is essential for you to consider that your loved one may have Alzheimer's for many years and the disease will gradually worsen. Caring for a person with Alzheimer's is to be considered as long term process.  One must put enough help in place so that you can reserve as much energy as you can for yourself for the long term. Spouse caregivers who are unable to do this often burn out or develop their own serious health problems. Senior Advocates of Brevard can help you explore the resources in the Brevard County/Orlando area, such as caregiver support groups, adult day health programs, home healthcare, hospice care and respite services. The Alzheimer's Association offers support and information through its local chapters, and your local Department of Elder Affairs can offer referrals for other support services.

My parent is terminally ill and does not want to die in a hospital or nursing home? What can I do?

Caring for a seriously ill loved one at home can be intimidating and overwhelming. Most of us have no experience or training in caring for an ill person at home. There is little doubt that, when families commit to caring for a seriously ill loved one at home, they face many challenges. These families also benefit from additional support, especially the comprehensive, holistic support offered by hospice. Hospice care is care that addresses the needs (physical, spiritual, emotional, psychological, social, financial, and legal) of a dying person and his or her family. Under certain circumstances, Medicare will pay for hospice care in the home. Senior Advocates of Brevard works closely with several excellent home hospice and palliative care programs located within Brevard County.

Healthcare documents - What do I need?

Everyone should have a basic will, a durable power of attorney, a living will or advance directive and a healthcare proxy statement. Senior Advocates of Brevard can assist you with obtaining these necessary documents and provide referrals for elder law attorneys if needed.

My parents need help, but won't accept it.

It's common for a senior citizen to initially resist outside help. They are getting old and they feel as if the prime of life has passed them by. They want to stay in their own home, so they are evasive when questioned by their children who sense that they are having trouble with some things.  The elderly parent is afraid that if they admit problems, that their family will put them in a nursing home. They don’t want their children telling them what to do and they feel like the first time they give in to their children will be only the beginning of their lives being dictated to them. Is this really what’s happening? Of course it’s not. SAB care managers are well versed in the skills that are necessary to develop a relationship of trust even with the most difficult clients. We are their Senior Advocates. We are empathetic to their fears and concerns and seek to gently guide them to begin to see that their children want to help them maintain their independence for as long as possible.

Who else can utilize our services?

Families who live at a distance can rely on Senior Advocates of Brevard to provide a trusted link to their elder parents. Attorneys may use our services for a professional assessment of a complex clinical situation in a home care facility or at home. Trust officers find that SAB can play a key part in providing a professional assessment to assure the provision of comprehensive, cost-effective care plan for the senior adult. Physicians and other health care professionals welcome the specialized individual services that a SAB can offer to the elderly and their families a means to prevent crises and avoid unnecessary hospitalization.

How else can Senior Advocates of Brevard save the family unnecessary expenditures?

Senior Advocates of Brevard can help you save money in several ways. First, we can help you to plan effectively for the future, and assist in avoiding a crisis situation. Second, our care manager’s goal is to preserve independence within the home wherever possible. We can often arrange for services to be delivered in a elderly adult's home rather than requiring a costly move to a retirement or nursing facility. Third, because our case managers are knowledgeable in both the needs of older adults and the resources that are available to them, we can be timely and proficient in corresponding service needs with the appropriate agencies. Also, you can hire one of our care managers for a single, specific task, such as helping you find a daily caregiver, scouting out and assessing assisted living facilities or going to the emergency room, or their home and staying with them until you can arrive from out of town.

If you are in need of assistance with caring for an elderly loved one, are a novice in the issues of elder care and uncomfortable with elder care decision-making, are faced with an immediate crisis, which requires immediate decisions being made or major life changes, or simply want some advice about any aspect of geriatric care issues, please don't hesitate to contact us at 888-751-7887.