How Does Atul Gawande View Quality of Life in Dying ?

September 15, 2021

A good life to the very end

Atul Gawande’s acclaimed book, “Being Mortal“ opened our eyes to the medical way of death. He showed millions of readers how the quality of life and human interaction while dying trump the number of years gained through questionable painful procedures and dying in an institution.

He tells us that “our ultimate, goal, after, is not a good death but a good life to the very end

Quality of Life Can Be There to the End of Life

GCM Nina Herndon brings you that same quality of life message- about dying –where an elder can still live the end of life with joy. Her chapter “Supporting Clients’ Quality of Life: Drawing on Community, Informal Networks, and Care Manager Creativity” in the Handbook of Geriatric Care Management 4th edition is a geriatric care management Nina has devoted her career to giving elders a care plan for a happy life and a happy life to the very end.

Bringing Joy in the here and now of Dying

Bringing joy in the here and now of dying can be done through using quality of life tools- Spiritual, emotional, intellectual, creative, and physical quality of life. Increasing the spiritual quality of life can mean for a person is dying and wishes to return to a spiritual group she knew before, connecting them to the faith they are familiar with. Even homebound clients can have visits from members of a religious community or a prelate. They can have hymns sung, prayers said or whatever religious ritual their spiritual group follows, like communion, at home. Care providers can be trained to engage them by reading religious texts or playing hymns.

The Power Reminiscence at End of Life

Spirituality can be the environment. I once had a client who was in a nursing home dying of cancer and wanted to go home to die with hospice and 24-hour care. His spirituality was the environment and he had been a lead volunteer to build a trail in Santa Clara California from Los Gatos up the steep winding highway 17 over the Santa Cruz mountains to the Lexington Reservoir. He had no family so the care manager asked the volunteers he had worked with if they would visit him at his home. They happily agreed and 300 volunteers took shifts, 24 hours a day to sit with him reminisce, tell stories and sing while he died over several weeks. This is what joy that bringing a spiritual quality of life can offer in dying.

Tools for Reminicance at End of Life

Friends emailing short personal videos with good wishes and memories, that a family member can show on a phone or computer- can bring emotional joy at end of life. Sending notes, not of condolences but great memories can be a salve to dying. Volunteering to give respite to family members, if visiting is allowed during COVID or post the pandemic, can give an opportunity to share old memories or look at old photos and give family respite. You may have thought those old photo albums should be dumped but they can bring the joy of reminiscence if shared at end of life or with seniors at any time.

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How Can Reminiscence Give an Elder With Dementia a Happier Labor Day?

August 30, 2021

Even Elders with Dementia can Find New Joy with Reminiscence

Holidays are perfect for reminiscence or bringing back memories for someone who has dementia. Labor Day wascelebrated by them as a child.They may be able recall walking back to the first day of school , buying school supplies, or the taste of late summer tomatoes on hamburgers or ice cream at Labor Day barbecues with family.When an elderly person develops Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, the short-term memory is frequently affected .But long-term memories , like childhood Labor Day memories ,can remain as intact and as vivid as they have always been during the course of the client’s life. As a result healthcare professionals and family can use a practice called reminiscence therapy to help combat the frustration, confusion, and depression that can often accompany dementia and even bring joy to the older person.

What is Reminiscence ?

Reminiscence happens when an older person spends time recalling memories of his or her life. If they suffer from dementia this can still happen. This Labor Day by asking, elders who were kids in the 40’s , 50’s &60’s ,about how they celebrated Labor Day in that era, prompts them to recall with their long term memory that is often still intact.

Care managers and senior professionals can coach family to use photos, familiar objects, or other items to help jog the memory of the elder. Families can get out scrapbooks of a person’s life, including old photos, letters, and other such personal memorabilia.If you have old family movies, or DVD’s that can evoke good recall. This becomes a visual biography of the elder’s life and helps him or her remember who he or she is.Plus actually interacting or spending time and talking to and listening to older friends and family , who are often isolated and very lonely, can bring real joy to their lives.

How Does Quality of Life Therapy Help Any Older Person?

Almost all elderly men and women can feel deeply discouraged and frustrated with memory issues. Reminiscence can give peace and acceptance of the current situation by helping the person remember times when he or she has had a good and full life. It also prompts the communication skills of elderly people who otherwise may not feel very compelled to open up and share anything with anyone else.

HOW DOES REMINISCENCE THERAPY HELP DEMENTIA

Using reminiscence therapy techniques can give the confused elder a richer quality of life by giving them with time with other people who will actually listen to them. Through this, a dementia patient is made to feel their thoughts and feelings actually matter. To someone who has an elderly loved one suffering from dementia, this benefit alone can make reminiscence therapy a form of joy.

There is even an app called Grey Matters, which caregivers and care managers can look into for reminiscence therapy for elders with dementia. If the senior is a BBC fan, like me, the BBC even has an app called RemArc to help dementia sufferers with reminiscence using old clips from the BBC. You can see in the future an app that has clips from Star Wars for present baby boomers or generations after that.

Books to Help You Open Your Own Program

Geriatric Care Manager Nina Herndon is the pioneer of adding reminiscence therapy to geriatric care management. She authored the chapter Quality of Life in Handbook of Geriatric Care Management .

Nina also created a book on quality of life activities you can use in your work and program called Joyful Moments

Great Tech Ideas For Long Distance Care Providers

July 22, 2021

Technology for the Long-Distance Family

Remote Technology to Help Long distance Care Providers

Remote technology like wearables, robotics, videoconferencing,are what an ALCA member or geriatric care manager need always and a way to navigate long distance clients to good choices for aging parents at a distance. Laurie Orlov’s blog, a fellow Geriatric Care Manager now very well known in the field of aging for her expertise in aging technology. This is what Orlov has to say about long-distance technology post pandemic. She can help with robotics , wearables such as smart watches and hearing aides . When these long distance care providers call you you might suggest one of the high-tech items expert Lori Orlov suggests a part of an older family member’s life. This is especially during the post pandemic when many restrictions are actually now coming back with the spread of the Delta variant among the unvaccinated.

These gero-technologies can help an older parent or relative shelter safely in place, avoid loneliness and isolation through connecting with others, age in place, and improve communicating with loved ones.

Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing is a great way to keep elderly parents connected and less lonely and isolated. It can also be a good tool for adult siblings who live apart to have chats or meetings about Mom or Dad. Free programs like Skype or another parent-friendly plus easy choice Facetime and the built-in webcams on many computers, make this easy on elders. Zoom has become the number one way that families communicate, during the pandemic. . For the holidays, birthdays or even a crisis, it is how we virtually gather now and has a free version.

Amazon Echo Show uses Alexa, by activating Amazon’s voice and can make calls to adult children or anyone, making it easy for seniors to talk to anyone including family. An older standard telephone conference service is still highly rated and still free, as well. Freeconferencecall.com

Med Dispensers

Here is a review of several med dispensers on the market

A device that is very appropriate for elders who have medication abuse problems is Hero Electronic Pill Dispenser

Alexa has a new pill reminder feature

A more modest choice is Electronic Pill Box with Flasing Reminders

Caregiver Video Cameras

Cameras like Google Nest can monitor an individual’s activities of daily living and provide caregivers with direct video feed on a smartphone, tablet app, or the Web to check on the status of a family member.

Monitoring sensors

Wireless systems. Cameras can be viewed remotely from a smartphone or computer. You may be able to get video motion alerts and the ability to pan and zoom

GCM Laurie Orlov at Aging Tech suggests many new 2020 sensor programs among them. Caregiver Smart Solutions

Canary Care. lets you place wireless sensors around the house to monitor the activity of an elderly parent who is declining, while the family is long distance. The information is sent to your Canary Care portal. The sensors are battery powered and the hub uses mobile data to send the information, so no need for a landline or broadband.

TruSense – can alert long distance or even local adult children if a probable fall occurs. An alert is triggered when TruSense detects that your loved one has not moved from high-risk fall areas (such as a stairwell or restroom) in an unusually long time. Other alerts include doors where the older person could wander.

Other Sensor Products

Sensor products can check a number of items within a house: motion patterns, stove on/off status, carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide levels, air quality, and presence of smoke or fire. They can also lock doors and control other items in the home remotely.

Daily activity monitoring. Activity sensors can be placed on the refrigerator, stove, door, and other objects around the home. Your relative may also wear a watch that monitors activity. You can allow caregivers and physicians to access the data. Set up notifications to be delivered by e-mail, text, or mobile app.: Live!y is a good choice

GCM Technology Guide

Technology moves in nano-seconds and changes almost as fast. Give clients and their families the updated information. For a totally overhauled technology chapter,” Technologies That Support Aging in Place “, by GCM Julie Menack and Berkeley’s head of the Center for Aging and Technology, David Lindeman Ph.D. Get the new Handbook of Geriatric Care Management 4th edition

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6 Smart TECH Solutions to Wire Your Care Management Business for Profit

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Critical software programs that make care management information flow

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Close the GCM or ALCA Sale to Assisted Living With Benefits not Features

June 23, 2021

Marketing Tactics – Use Benefits

ALCA members need to sell the benefits of Geriatric Care Management to assisted living. Care managers are perfect professionals to help assisted living residents if they have just moved in, are unhappy with the move, not participating in activities isolating or general when they are not thriving in the resident community.

Marketing care management to ALF’s takes some particular marketing tactics

Although it might seem counterintuitive, consumers rarely want to buy things for the sake of buying them – they want what they purchase to solve their problems.

To borrow from the example of an umbrella, features of this umbrella might be its unbreakable spokes or wind-resistant construction – but the benefit is staying dry even in strong winds that might break lesser umbrellas. The benefit of staying dry in strong winds that break other umbrellas – this make the sale.

Clients who purchase home care or care management want to buy benefits – what your product or service can do for them.

GCM Benefits To Assisted Living

Let’s take a third-party. Care Managers often market to Assisted Living. ALF Directors want to hear how your ALCA or GCM agency is going to help the Assisted Living site. Of course, you can describe your agency features, price, training of staff, gold standard service. However, benefits are what make the sale and keep the Assisted Living dry not flooded by the rain.

But here are some benefits you can offer to Assisted Living when you are seeking referrals and you have a service for residents that involves Quality Of Life

YOUR GCM ALCA AGENCIES BENEFITS

The problem: Assisted Living does not want residents to move out. Most facilities are strictly non-medical and do not have one to one companion and geriatric care management services. Your geriatric care management agency can solve that problem through the benefits of ALCA or geriatric care management.

The assisted living and retirement community population sometimes have clients with needs that cannot be met with their nonmedical, non-one-on-one support services, (usually just an activities director)

You will help facility with residents who are not adjusting to the facility or considering moving by engaging them in activities that will enhance the quality of their life, SO WHAT so they remain in the facility
You will help residents not engaging in activities to participate in the ALF’s activities program or outside activities and socialization program through a quality of life assessment & companion, SO WHAT so they do not want to move out of the facility
You will engage with new residents who are just adjusting both to the facility and their move, to engage in socialization and activity programs. You can help them make friends & engage in outside activities through a quality of life assessment and companion, SO WHAT so they do not consider moving out
You will make monthly monitoring visits to make sure Companion is meeting all the client’s needs, keep in touch with the family and facility with frequent e-mails, texts or telephone updates plus sending a monthly report SO WHAT so everyone is on the same page through your great communication skills.

So, selling the benefits to the third party, who will refer your agency to families of residents who are struggling, is a much more potent selling point that features of your agency.

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Understand how to find VIP Concierge Clients- hot mapping & Market Studies
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Start-Up Geriatric Care Management Marketing and PR Checklist

April 7, 2021

To grow an ALCA or Geriatric Care management business, you must use- marketing and public relations (PR). ( usually social workers and nurses have never done )Here is a helpful start –

Start-Up Geriatric Care Management PR/ Marketing Checklist

1. Brand Identity- including logo design and collateral material design

Services needed to complete

Research competition, develop key differentiating features, develop a brand positioning statement, and develop business names, graphic design for the logo.

, colors for business communication. Consider consulting a branding firm.

2. Business Identity –

Get coordinated business card envelopes, note cards, and folders

Services needed to complete

Graphic design, printing, and delivery

3. Products sheets or Sell sheets, Brochures

Services needed to complete- Copywriting, graphic design, printing, and delivery

4. Identified and 3rd party targets – including a prospect profile

Services needed to complete-

Identify targets ( elder law attorneys, assisted living, concierge physicians, trust/wealth management departments) in your services area. Research develops prospect profiles, mailing lists, key factors in specific communication messages per target audience. Add to marketing excel sheets.

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