Cathy Cress

Expert in Aging Life and Geriatric Care Management

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What is the GCM’s Role is the Recovery Phase of Death and Dying ?

March 7, 2021

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The recovery phase of death and dying 

This occurs when people finally are able to cope with the mental, social, physical, religious, and financial effects of their disease, a heavy load  In the disease process and acceptance process, this is the period of time after a medical procedure such as chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. The client’s response to treatment is being monitored. Recovery does not always mean remission, but instead, it is the ability to accept and deal with the struggles of their illness

A Story About the recovery phase

William died at the home of his son after he had accepted that he was to die of liver failure. He was hospitalized and had not signed a Do Not Resuscitate because he actually did want everything done to save him. He had new twin grandsons a grandaughter he adored and loved life. He was having dialysis to treat his symptoms. A care manager knew that the doctors suspected cancer but believed the procedure to find out would kill him. But they felt their hands were tied by the DNR and the hypocritic oath. The care manager, finally, after talking to a nun on the staff of the Catholic hospital who said she would help,  and talked to the lead physician and asked that he order palliative care. He did and all 4 physicians talked to Bill gently and about removing the dialysis and signing a DNR. He did and after a family meeting lead by palliative care and hospice, William came home with 24-hour care.

The Recovery Phase Begins

After his coming to terms with his death, he and his family, sons, and grandchildren were able to say the goodbyes and offer the unconditional love that they had been fearful to express before his acceptance. A feeling of light joy permeated his room. For almost a month he lived in the family room overlooking the garden, where his hospital bed was set up. Great-grandchildren brought pictures, marveled at “grandpa grandpa “ high up in a hospital bed. His son put a  headphone with a mike on and William could hear and speak, as he had not in years. His 24-hour caregivers were gifted loving care providers from a GCM agency  Livhome. 

Home Care and Care Management in End of Life

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The 24-hour shifts included a nurse of 18 years from Central America and a man finishing his Ph.D. from the Congo. They cared for him with great warmth, so his family could just be his family, relaxing in their love and surrounding him, as if in a circle, that swirled with 4 generations, going every which way while he watched, really loved, and melted into his last stage. They ate meals, chitchatted, and welcomed new family coming in to see William, as he remained in the center in his hospital bed, the fulcrum of the gathering.

End of Life Geriatric Care Management Well Done

The geriatric care manager, GCM Mary Brennan, from Livhome, a seasoned powerful and so kind LCSW,  was an orchestra leader in Bill’s death. She adjusted here and there, with care providers, family needs, Bill’s needs, and followed the guidance of hospice, who were slowly increasing the pain meds, and supporting his health and medical care needs in death. The geriatric care management agency worked as a partner supplying 24 care and support for the family.

Bill was able to have again, a magical care provider from Livhome, who had been with him for almost two years and was there at the end as were all his sons – a life fully lived and a good, good death.

You are only as strong as your weakest link- those are the care providers.

These people were the raft that floated bill up while the family, offered love and hospice provided medical and end of life support. Together they buoyed Bill into his last stage of dying, knowing that his family was the fabric of every step he took toward forward towards death.

 

Deliver a Good End of Life- Add Death and Dying to Your Care Management Agency

 

Serve Your Client Until Death Do You Part

 

Join me Thursday, March 11, and learn why End of Life Services Are a perfect new service for care managers

 

In this 1 ½ -hour webinar you will learn how to

 

 

1.Transition the patient/family through the five stages of death

2.Help clients be active participants in their care

3.Give the family/caregiver tools to manage their care

4.Provide family center care to caregiver and family

5.Choose the right support services through all stages of death

6.Introduce Hospice and Palliative care and work with their team

7.Use ALCA End of Life Benefits During COVID. 

8.Use  COVID -19  Family Coaching for GCM

Sign Up

If you really want to add End of Life to your care management business sign up for this webinar now

Filed Under: Aging, Aging deaths, Aging Life Care, aging life care manager, Benefits of ALCA to Hospice, Benefits of Care Management to Hospice, Benefits of Geriatric Care Management, Death & Dying, death and dying care manager, elder care manager, End of Life, End of Life Care manager, End of life documents, FREE MARKETING WEBINAR, FREE WEBINAR, GCM Clinical Tools, Good Death, Home From the Hospital, Hospice, Hospice Care, Hospital care manager, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Palliative Care, Palliative care manager, Private Duty Home Care, Quality of Life in Dying, Recovery phase of death Tagged With: end, end of life care, end of life family meeting, free webinar, geriatric assessment for end of life, geriatric care manager, Good Life to the Very end, Hospice, Hospice at end of life, Livhome, Navigation through END of LIfe, recovery, recovery phase of death, recovery stage of dying, webinar end of life

Why You Need a Marketing Data Base Especailly Now with COVID?

September 21, 2020

COVID Has Made Marketing To Lead Sources Critical

Geriatric Care Managers Need a Marketing Database

You need a marketing or Contact Management database( CRM) to market to lead sources. An aging life or geriatric care management agency’s marketing has three key target audiences or lead sources: individual clients who need care, referral sources, and children of aging parents.  Marketing databases are the key to reaching lead sources such as 3rd party referrals like elder law attorneys, upscale assisted living, trust officers, concierge physicians.

In the Deadly Fall Confluence of COVID and Seasonal Flu You Really Need the Right Marketing DataBase

The JAMA Journal tells us “The confluence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and seasonal influenza this fall and winter will result in considerable morbidity and mortality, stressing the health

system. With more than 200 000 COVID-19–related deaths already, the US could see a second wave of disease later this year. In 2018-2019 (a “moderate” year for influenza), the US experienced 35.5 million influenza cases, with 490 600 hospitalizations and 34 200 deaths related to influenza.1 An effective COVID-19 vaccine is unlikely until 2021. Even though seasonal influenza vaccines have variable year-to-year effectiveness, they can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality, especially with high coverage.”

Here are some of the many choices ALCA or Geriatric Care Managers can check out

  • SalesForce For Small Business 
  • GoldMine 
  • Act!
  • Highrise is a contact management database.  Easier to use than SalesForce,  Basic account for 6 users, with 5 GB of storage and 5,000 contacts is $24.00 monthly.
  •  Zoho lets you have 3 users and up to 5,000 contacts. An Excel spreadsheet of contacts can work in a start-up if the file is set up correctly to capture the necessary information.
  • Clear care can also be used as a contact database and a client database used by Aging Life GCM who have a home health component 
  • WHY DO YOU NEED Customer Relationship Database FOR MARKETING?

  • Rolodex on Speed                                               
  • Throw away all those business cards
  • ADD all 3rd party targets you need to market to for referrals
  • all contacts in the community that help you weave a care plan- can be the same as targets
  • all the contacts that you use as your individual prescription- which is your care plan
  • Will send a form elder law letter to all elder law  or third party contacts o ( Att) track all calls or marketing visits to a concierge physician or any contact group C(P)Track your marketing visits, data, send Follow up letters
  • Adding all of your continuum of care or all contacts in the community that help you weave a care plan- physicians, elder mediators, CCRC and all housing, MFT who specialize in aging-Use all the really good contacts that you use as your individual prescription- which is your care plan-  
  • SIGN UP For FREE WebinarMARKET LIKE YOUR BUSINESS DEPENDED ON IT DURING COVIDOctober 22 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm PST
  • As you are approaching the busiest season for care manager’s  the holidays when families visit remotely or in-person for the holiday and see their elderly parents skating on very thin aging iceLearn care management marketing that works at all time but especially during COVID so you can:Consult with and help client’s during COVID and post COVIDConvert Consultation into  regular clients

    Understand branding         

    Develop a positioning strategy so the caller chooses you

    Understand lead generation in care management

    Understand how to do an e-newsletter

    Get the best marketing software  

    Understand Public Relations Press, TV-Radio, Social Media Coverage

    Understand Zoom Webinars

    Create a 5 Star Marketing Plan for the top 10% of seniors who can afford you. THIS FREE  WEBINAR  FROM 2 PM – 3 PM PST October 22, 2020

     

    You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
    When: Oct 22, 2020, 02:00 PM Pacific Time (the

    US and Canada)
    Topic: MARKET THIS Fall LIKE YOUR BUSINESS DEPENDED ON IT

    Register in advance for this webinar:

    After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Community & Covid-19, Aging deaths, Aging Families and Disaster, aging life business, Aging Life Care Assocaition, aging life care manager, ALCA Disaster Plan, Benefits of Care Management, Benefits vs Features, Coronavirus Coaching, Coronavirus emergency plan, coronavirus marketing, coronavirus quality of life virtual program, Covid 19 Webinar, COVID-19 & Care Management, COVID-19 &Shelter in Place Plan, Covid-19 and GCM SERVICES, COVID-19 Recover at Home Plan, COVID19 Deaths Essential worker, database, e-newsletter, Features vs Benefits, FREE MARKETING WEBINAR, FREE WEBINAR, GCM Start -Up, GCM Start-Up, GCM technology, Geriatric Care Management Business, geriatric care manager, geriatric care manager start up, geriatric social worker, marketing ALCA /GCM, marketing care management, Marketing data base, marketing pitch, nurse advocate, nurse care manager Tagged With: aging life care manager, aging life or geriatric care manager, aging life target audience, benefits of ALCA, Benefits of care management, Benefits Of Geriatric Care Managers, Benefits vs Features, care manager, case manager, COVID & Christmas, COVID & Halloween, COVID & Holiday Season, COVID & Holidays, COVID & Seasonal Flu, COVID COACHING, COVID GCM Procedures, Covid-19 Telehealth, COVID& Thanksgiving, CRM care manager data base, CRM for Geriatric Care Manager, Fall Tempest of COVID&FLU, GCM contact data base, geriatric care manager, marketing data base, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Qualifying for VA Benefits

130 million Dead COVID- Trump will not require the #1 deterrent -Masks

July 9, 2020

Number 1 Prevention of COVID -19  Wearing A Mask

The Coronavirus yesterday reached the 3 million mark in mark in cases  The number one preventative step we could have taken is to wear masks 

 

Citing Lone Ranger-TRUMP Refuses National Order For Masks

Yet, President Trump refuses to issue a federal order to wear masks and leaves it up to the states. In Texas, where the coronavirus rampages, the  Republican governor has also refused to issue a state order to wear masks. Like ordering the US to wear masks, has something to do with his looks, Trump said a mask makes him look like the Lone Ranger. The Lone Star state topped over 1000 cases 5 days in a row

 

33 Million Would Not Be Dead if Masks Ordered in  October

A new study says wearing masks would have saved 33 million lives since last October. Yet there are still no federal mask requirements.

Lack of President’s National Response Leading to New Depression- Says World Bank

This lack of federal response, like no federal order to wear masks, is not only killing huge swaths of the world population but has torpedoed our economy. President Trump wants to reboot the economy yet by not using federal controls, according to the World Bank the President is moving us to a recession and the cusp of depression worldwide.

Less than half the States Require Masks

Only 20 states require masks as Trump, instead of requiring masks, has left it up to the states. He relented recently, narcissistically,  saying he thought he looked good- like the lone ranger in a mask but ordered no federal requirement. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci predicts a few days ago that the huge COVID spread could leave 100 million a day dying. Masks are our # 1 deterrent again this  slaughter by the omission of using federal powers

33 States Now in Crisis Surge of Virus Sunbelt Devastated

A total of 33 states now have a coronavirus surge with 7 states in the southwest at a crisis level.

Without required preventative steps from the Trump government and the wildfire surge immolating ¾ of our states, COVID 19 is not going away, in fact, may last well into 2021

Mixed -Messaging by President, States, Counties Gives Families no Path to Virus Safety

The problem is made more confusing by the administration’s mixed messaging with different states, cities, counties telling residents what to do to be safe. Families have no idea which way to turn to keep themselves and the most vulnerable senior family members safe.

 

JOIN ME FOR MY NEW FREE WEBINAR

Create Science-based, data-backed, mixed -messaging- free products to keep seniors safe   

 

Create 5 Telehealth Products for COVID 19

 

Products from sheltering in place through the hospital, recovery at home, discharge from an SNF, or hospital for local and long-distance elders.

Increase your bottom

line as COVID spreads throughout the US and more shutdowns loom

 

Learn Step by Step How to Consult with Aging Families and Seniors to:

 

 

  • Choose the best Hipaa Compliant Telehealth Products to Remotely Consult with Client

 

  • Help a Local Family Help a Loved One Safely Shelter in Place

 

  • Help a Long-Distance Family Help a Local Loved One Shelter in Place

 

  • Help an Aging Family Help a Loved on Hospitalized for Covid-19

 

  • Help an Aging Family Help a Senior when Discharged from Nursing Home

 

 

  • Help an Aging Family Help Elder Recover when Discharged from a Hospital

 

WHEN. THURSDAY AUGUST 6     

TIME- 2 PM Pacific Standard Time

 

REGISTER NOW 

 

Filed Under: Aging deaths, Aging Family, aging family crisis, ALCA Products for COVID_19, Blog, coronavirus, Coronavirus Coaching, Coronavirus safety elders, coronavirus shut down, CORONAVIRUS Stay at Home Plan, COVID-19 & Care Management, Covid-19 GCM Products, Covid-19 mixed messaging, COVID-19 Webinar, elder care manager, FREE WEBINAR, GCM COVID 19 Crisis, GCM products in COVID-19, Geriatric Care Management Business, Geriatric Care Manager, geriatric social worker, Home Care Emergency Coronavirus Plan, INFECTION CONTROL & COVID-19, inquiry COVID-19, Intake COVID-19, mask wearing covid-19, Telehealth COVID-19products, telemedicine, Therapist Specializing in Aging, Trump's failure to order masks, Trump's lack a federal response Tagged With: aging family, aging life care manager, aging parent crisis, care manager, COVID_19, COVID-19 Deaths, COVID-19 deaths SNF's, COVID-19 exposure, COVID-19 prevention, COVID-19 Telehealth product, GCM Telehealth Product, geriatric care manager, geriatric care managers, geriatric social worker, masks, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Telehealth counseling, wear mask 4COVID

Nursing Home Still Deaths Camps, 40,000 Dead – Feds Skew the Stats

June 14, 2020

Rachel Maddow once again, now the House of Representatives swept a spotlight on the despicable nursing home mortality rate of COVID -19. Nursing Home residents remain the largest % of deaths in the US. Although only 0.6 of the population they  represent a whopping  42 % of the deaths 

Feds Statistics Insanely Wrong

Highlighting the Do Nothing attitude that continues in the Trump federal government, CMS just released data collected from nursing home national wide that is cast as insanely wrong. Nursing home officials said their data were somehow scrambled, either because nursing home personnel reported in the wrong columns, or the numbers were loaded incorrectly somewhere between the CDC and CMS.

Yesterday the House Select Committee Briefing Confirms Urgent Need for Federal Action to Protect Nursing Homes from Coronavirus

Chaired by Rep. James E. Clyburn, they explored the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on nursing home residents and workers, including the deaths of more than 40,000 Americans in nursing homes across the country. 

 Chairman Clyburn called on the Trump Administration to take action to protect nursing homes, stating:  “[W]e need the federal government to ensure our nursing homes have enough testing and personal protective equipment to stop the virus from spreading.  That means providing coordination and resources—not just leaving it up to the states.” 

Dr. David Grabowski of Harvard Medical School explained, “Rather than pushing the logistics and costs of testing and PPE to states and nursing homes, the federal government needs to own this issue.  The federal government should set a consistent policy across all U.S. nursing homes and then provide states and nursing homes with the resources to achieve it.”  He concluded, “The buck has to stop there.” 

The Trump administration failed to provide nursing homes with testing and protective equipment.

We have focused on a lack of PPE in hospitals but what about nursing homes. Asked if the federal government has done enough to stem the outbreak in nursing homes, Dr. Grabowski replied:  “Absolutely not, the guidance was not sufficient.  I’ve actually called it ‘non-guidance guidance’ in that there were no teeth or dollars behind it.  And if you don’t put logistics, if you don’t put costs into this guidance, if it’s just simply a theoretical set of guidance for the nursing homes and for the states; it’s not actually going to happen.”  He concluded, “I would have liked to have seen federal leadership.”

Dr. Grabowski stated that nursing homes in many states still “can’t get testing fast enough” and “are really struggling to find the tests.”  He explained, “The federal government should’ve put the testing in place and actually paid for it.”  He stated, “Until we get rapid and accurate testing for all staff and residents, we won’t be able to contain COVID.”

Mr. Carlson explained that nursing homes face serious shortages of PPE and that “shipments from FEMA have been a bit late and inadequate.”  He also explained that “the lack of federal coordination” has “impeded facilities’ ability to identify infected persons and to provide care.”

PPE Feds Send Looks like Blue Plastic Trash bags

NPR reported the PPE is either never delivered, flimsy, and much less than ordered or looks like remade trash bags. Instead of proper medical gowns, many packages hold large blue plastic ponchos.

In late April I blogged about the national COVID epidemic in nursing homes. It has been a month and a half and death toll, which was 10,000 rocketed up to, 40000, now – that’s 30,000 more deaths in just a month and a half.

Workers in the facilities still have inadequate PPE to protect themselves from the virus, and CMS in some fabulist attempt to look like it actually cares about Medicare and Medicaid, comes up with an outcome study that seems to be run by drunks or charlatans.

Now Rachel Maddow is showing us nothing has changed except the bodies are piled higher and higher in nursing homes. I care and I assume every senior agency that gets this does but put that caring into action. Write your Congressman, or maybe just adopt a nursing home and raise money in the community to buy PPE for them. This is, of course, pathetic but the government does not care, CMS does not care and President Trump certainly does not care about older people.

Filed Under: Aging deaths, aging family crisis, Aging Life Care, Aging Life Care Assocaition, aging life care manager, Aging therapist, ALCA COVID-19 Crisis, Assisted Living, Blog, care manager, case manager, CMS & Nursing Home Policy, Coronavirus safety elders, Covid 19, Covid-19 Death Nursing Homes, Covid-19 Nursing Home, geriatric care management emergency proceduress, geriatric care manager, geriatric social worker Tagged With: aging life care manager, aging parent care, care manager, CMS COVID response, geriatric social worker, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, nursing home COVID statistics, Nursing home COVID testing, nursing home death, PPE in Nursing Homes, Skilled Nursing death

Advanced Directives AND COVID-19- Do You Know When To Initiate in the Pandemic

May 5, 2020

Covid-19 Makes Signing Advanced Directives Critical

Advanced directives are even more critical with COVID-19 patients, who are often elders. The New York Times had a story about an older woman who was suffering from Covid-19 When she entered the hospital no one asked about advanced directives. After several weeks on a ventilator, the hospital asked about advanced directives, she had none. All her elderly sisters could recall was what she had said about dying when she was young.

WHEN DO YOU DISCUSS ADVANCE DIRECTIVES?

 

Advanced Directives should be part of your initial psychosocial assessment. Once the COVID-19 diagnosis is known with an elderly client, the care manager who has added end of life services to their agency is often the one who will initiate and guide advance care planning discussions. As difficult as these discussions may be, the burden on the family is significantly lessened if decisions about advance care planning are made before the client’s condition worsens.

Hopefully, this has already been done but many people put it off for fear of death. A recent study found that less than 50% of severely or terminally ill patients had an advance directive in their medical record.

Advance Directives

 Advance directives are legal documents that allow clients to make decisions about their health care and finances in advance of when they are not mentally or physically able to do so. These documents must be signed, dated, and witnessed naming another person to make decisions for you.

Your job as a care manager is the make sure the dying client has these documents:

• A durable power for an attorney for healthcare 

• A living will 

• A do not resuscitate order DNR (efforts to restart the heart after it has stopped 

If the client does not have these legal documents and wishes to create

them, the Geriatric Care Manager will suggest that the documents be put in place with the oversight and consultation of an elder law attorney. But if hospitalization is imminent, getting the patient to consider signing with legal consultation maybe your own option, with the family’s permission. 

·       ·      

Join Me in My Latest Webinar About Products For GCM Clients Especially Covid 19 

How to Sell VIP Clients a Menu of Products They Want To Buy During COVID-19 & After

When May 7th

Time 2:PM PST -3:30 PM PST

Learn in this webinar:

Why Sell VIP Products rather than Geriatric Care Management
Why VIP GCM Clients prefer GCM Products
How to Develop a 4 Season Menu of Products

VIP Products to Add to your Menu of Services

VIP services to Add to your Products

Covid -19 Products to offer now

Covid-19 Assurances & Technology You Must add to Your Products Now and in the future

 Sign Up

 

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Filed Under: Advanced Directives, Advanced Directives and Covid-19, advanced directives& COVID-19, Aging, Aging Community & Covid-19, Aging deaths, aging family crisis, Aging Life Care Assocaition, aging life care manager, Aging therapist, ALCA COVID-19 Crisis, ALCA Products for COVID_19, Covid 19, Covid-19 Death Nursing Homes, Covid-19 Nursing Home, Death and Dying Care Management, death and dying care manager Tagged With: Advanced Directives, ADVANCED DIRECTIVES & COVID-19, aging life care manager, aging parent crisis, care manager, case manager, coronavirus and seniors, COVID-19 Deaths, COVID-19 deaths SNF's, death and dying in COVID-19, durable power of attorney, end of life, geriatric care manager, geriatric social worker, nurse advocate, nurse care manager

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