Melissa was living 2,000 miles from her elderly parents when a serious illness sent her mother to the hospital. Because Melissa’s father is debilitated with Alzheimer’s disease, both her parents ended up in a nursing home.
Melissa, who is in her 40s and who asked that her full name not be used to protect the privacy of her parents, flew in and stayed as long as she could. She suspected that her mother could recover well enough to move back home if gently coaxed. (Her father remains too ill to be discharged.) But there were no other children or close friends nearby to help her parents, and Melissa has a high-pressure job that would not allow her to make frequent visits.
So Melissa hired a geriatric-care manager, one of a small but growing cadre of professionals who do everything from evaluate what types of services a senior needs–medical, dental or legal–to visiting the individual or taking him or her shopping.
Melissa’s situation is hardly unique. As people over age 85 account for an ever bigger part of the U.S. population, Baby Boomers have become a “sandwich generation”–caught between the conflicting demands of aging and ailing parents and of their own children and work, experts say.
About one in every four households in the U.S.–about 22.4 million–includes a person over the age of 18 who is caring for a person over the age of 50, according to a study released last year by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the American Association of Retired Persons. That is a staggering increase from 10 years ago, when only about 7 million households included a caregiver, according to Gail Hunt, NAC executive director.
At the same time, the number of geriatric-care managers has soared from just 30 in 1984 to more than 1,300 today, according to the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers, a trade group based in Tucson.
Geriatric-care managers are often people with training in social work, psychology or gerontology who help clients evaluate the needs of the person under their care and inform them of the resources available. The cost will vary based on location and services needed, but fees typically run from $50 to $150 per hour, says Carolyn Smith, spokeswoman for the managers group.
In some instances, the geriatric-care manager simply provides an evaluation, fulfilling the role of a dispassionate third party to come in and interview the senior, examine his or her surroundings and make suggestions.
For example, does the senior need round-the-clock care or just help with cooking and cleaning? Are there hazards in the house or retirement facility? Can those hazards be corrected so that a senior who prefers to can stay where he or she is? Does the senior need medical help or simply social contact and transportation?
The geriatric-care manager can then recommend public agencies that provide help and explain what each service might cost. In a typical case, this evaluation can be done in a few hours and cost less than $200.
On the other hand, some people–such as Melissa–want and need more for their relatives, says Erika Karp, president of an Evanston-based care company, Northshore Eldercare Management Inc.
Karp took books to Melissa’s mother and took her shopping, and she hired additional caregivers to help Melissa’s mother after she left the nursing home. She also served as an advocate for Melissa’s father when Melissa felt his medical needs were not being adequately addressed. In an average month, Melissa spent $250 to $300 on Karp’s services; for some months, the bill climbed to more than $1,000.
Families who can’t afford these weighty expenditures can still get help. There are dozens of public and private agencies that provide services for a low cost or for free, experts say.
Often family members are unaware of these services because they consist of a patchwork of city, county, state, church and community-based programs, says Steven Barlam, who operates Senior Care Management, a geriatric-care management firm in Los Angeles.
Services generally fall into one of several categories, such as adult day care; respite care (services that take over for a caregiver who needs a vacation or even just a few hours off); socialization (ranging from bringing books to shut-ins to providing transportation to bridge clubs and church socials); and lifeline services (meals and phone calls to check on the senior’s safety).
Generally, seniors with the wherewithal will pay for all or some of these services; those with less money will receive the services free or be charged according to a sliding scale based on income.
How does a relative find the services? Hunt suggests first checking your Area Agency on Aging, which should be listed in the government section of the phone book and serve as clearinghouse for information on what’s available locally. (The Chicago agency is at 312-744-4016 and the Illinois one is at 312-814-2630.)
Those who can’t find a local agency can contact the national agency Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 or www.ageinfo.org/elderloc, another referral service provided by the U.S. Administration on Aging.
