Geriatric Care Managers in Oceanside – Beginning The Conversation

Geriatric Care Managers in Oceanside - Beginning The ConversationGeriatric Care Managers In Oceanside Start By Understanding Your Family’s Needs

Most people have never had the kind of professional-personal relationship that geriatric care managers in Oceanside and elsewhere have with their clients and their clients’ family.  They are familiar with going to doctors, accountants, lawyers and other traditional professional service providers, but the new Geriatric Care Manger (“GCM”) profession is unfamiliar to most people.

The first few meetings can be a little awkward, as family members get a sense of just how to communicate and work with this unfamiliar type of professional. The most important thing to remember is that your GCM is committed to devoting all of her or her knowledge to helping you, and the priority is always to produce the outcome that the client and the client’s family desire..

Making Things Possible

A GCM’s goal is not to come into your family’s life, explain what you are doing incorrectly, and show you how you should care for your aging parent. Instead, the GCM wants to spend time learning about the client, getting to know the client and the client’s family and finding out what their unique needs and desires are. Then, the GCM draws upon his or her expertise to help the client and the client’s family find tools and solutions that fulfill those needs and desires within the context of the entire family’s day to day operation.

Geriatric Care Managers in San Diego Need To Get to Know You

If you’re not naturally outgoing, you (and especially your elderly loved one) may feel strange having a long conversation with a new acquaintance about what you want. But that is the fastest, best way for San Diego County Geriatric Care Managers to learn how best to use their skills on your behalf. Telling the GCM up front how your family members feel about personal feelings such as how they feel about nursing homes or how much your parent loves to cook will help the GCM develop a set of solutions that will succeed.

Putting it Into Practice

You should never feel like a recommendation from your GCM is the final word. Simply going along with recommendations that your loved one doesn’t like is not likely to be successful.  Speak up and trust your GCM to work with you to find a different solution rather than try to overlook such conflicts. The GCM-client relationship works best when there is open, honest communication on the part of everyone, and your aging parent will see that no one is cutting any corners to make sure they experience the best care possible.

Originally posted 2012-10-01 10:30:38.

Tim Colling
Tim Colling

Tim Colling is the founder and President of A Servant's Heart In-Home Care, which provided in-home caregiving services in San Diego County, and also of A Servant's Heart Geriatric Care Management, which provided
professional geriatric care management services and long term care placement services in San Diego County. Tim has more than 30 years of experience in management in a variety of industries. He held a Certified Care Manager credential from the National Academy of Certified Care Managers. Tim is also a Certified Public Accountant (retired), and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from California State University at San Diego. In addition to writing blog posts here for the Servant’s Heart blog, Tim also is a regular contributor to HealthLine.com and to FamilyAffaires.com as well as blogs of other eldercare services provider companies. Finally, Tim is also the president of A Servant's Heart Web Design and Marketing, which provides home care marketing as well as website design and online marketing for those who serve the elderly and their families.

Articles: 557
Skip to content