Cathy Cress

Expert in Aging Life and Geriatric Care Management

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GCM Agency Lifespan Wins Top Awards

April 11, 2021

Geriatric Care Management Home Care Agency Wins National Award

Lifespan a 35-year-old geriatric care agency in Santa Cruz, California won prestigious awards from both national and local groups this month. Home Care Pulse awarded the care management home care agency ” Provider of Choice Award” for being best in class for rendering quality care to their clients, being trustworthy, and providing outstanding home care services the award was based on customer and staff surveys. Locally they also won the Santa Cruz Good Times Award for “Best of Homecare “award while competing with all home care agencies in their county.

Lifespan helped build trust during the “annus horibillus ” year of COVID  through their own website.Clients could see their extreme COVID safety precautions prominently provided on the navigation bar of their website. 

Outstanding Home Care in the year of COVID

The award recognized their outstanding home care services providing quality care through impeccably trained COVID safety-equipped and monitored home care staffing during the pandemic, building community trust. Clients in Santa Cruz, California needing care management services during COVID and ongoing were provided geriatric care management services developed over the agencies 35-year history and fine-tuned for clients’ needs during the epidemic

Quality of Life as Well as Quality of Care

The agency continued to offer Well Being – a service for lonely and isolated seniors who dramatically suffered during the pandemic from sheltering in place. Lifespan not only served the quality of care needs of clients but also the Quality of Life Needs  answering isolation and loneliness in a pandemic

Videos Showing Home Care Safety Build Trust

Finally, they showed the community their excellence and safety through videos in their email newsletters for 6 months, done with a phone by a talented staff member. The agency provides Quality of Life activities and adds videos about  Lifespan‘s Well Being Program. They upload them to their YouTube channel another great way they build trust with their agency. Market safety from Covid-19.

During the continuing but diminishing pandemic, as clients begin to use services like care managers and home care again, it is critical that you build that trust by showing customers you are safe. In Lifespan’s case, you can also win awards for this.

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Life Care, aging life care manager, Blog, Covid Safety Video, COVID-19 Safety, Families, Geriatric Care Management Business, Geriatric Care Manager, geriatric social worker, home care, Home Care Award, Home Care Covid Safety, Home Care Pulse, Home Care Trust, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, PPE, PPE Nursing Homes, Private Duty Home Care, Provider of Choice Award, Quality of Life, Videos Tagged With: aging family, aging life and geraitric care manager, aging life care management, aging life care manager, aging parent care, care manager, case manager, Community Award, COVID Safety Precautionss, geriatric care manager, geriatric care manager private duty home care, Home Care Pulse, Home Care Pulse Awards, Home Care Trust, Lifespan, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Outstanding Home Care, private duty home care

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

What are the Ten Steps The Care Manager Takes in The Acute Phase of Death ?

March 3, 2021

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What Does a Care Manager Do In Acute Stage of Death?

What does a care manager do after a terminal diagnosis has been given by a physician and the older person and their aging family have moved on to the ” Acute Phase”?

 The acute phase of death and dying begins at the time of diagnosis. The person has heard their terminal diagnosis from a doctor or other medical staff person and is then forced to try and understand their situation. Many people can’t absorb or understand their diagnosis the first time they hear it.

 Most People Who Are Threatened With Dying Are Immobilized – in Shock

Shock is often the first reaction to this acute phase of death. People are immobilized and temporarily shut down. This makes concentration and listening next to impossible. They may also want to avoid acknowledging the illness. People need time to process such news.slide-worried-manjpg.jpg

The care manager can help clients cope with shock by encouraging them to talk things out. Unless a decision needs to be made immediately, decision-making should be postponed until there has been some time to talk things through.  If the family caregiver’s inability to perform family tasks interferes with timely medical treatment, then the care manager needs to intervene. They can organize another family to share care or help hire private duty home health care if this is affordable. The care manager can also do a mixture of both.

 

Ultimately decisions must be made regarding his or her medical care and available treatment options. Once treatment begins, the reality of the illness becomes a part of the family’s life, and adjustments and accommodations need to be made. At this point, the family is hopeful that a cure can be found.

 

 

Care Manager Tasks in Acute Phase:

 

  1. Arrange for private duty home care if needed and approved
  2. Arrange for durable medical equipment, if needed
  3. Coordinate and facilitate family meetings about sharing care if needed   
  4. Visit the older client on a regular basis to monitor their symptoms, care, and support and update medication list and care plan
  5. Send weekly monthly report on the status of the client to all family members making them so they all know the status of the elder’s care and the arc of dying. 
  6. Schedule medical appointments for the client so they can see the various doctors
  7. Drive client to medical appointments to advocate take notes and make list questions to ask to best use those 10 minutes of a typical doctor’s visit    26patient_600-1.jpg
  8. Assist family, in continuing to get questions answered by health care professionals about next steps after a terminal diagnosis 
  9. Provide a “Whole Family Approach” to centrally update all family members and meet their emotional needs around the older person now that a terminal diagnosis- perhaps their worst fear is here 

 

  1. Assist in compiling and organizing documents needed for advance care planning.

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 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


In the only book on Clinical Geriatric Care Management, Care Manager’ Working With The Aging Family  Gwendolyn LAZO Harris MA, CT,  Diane LeVan MA both highly expert care managers, created a seminal chapter on Palliative Care and End of Life Care Manager 

Filed Under: Aging, Aging Life Care, aging life care manager, Blog, case manager, Death and Dying Care Management, death and dying care manager, elder care manager, End of Life Care manager, Families, Geriatric Care Management Business, Geriatric Care Manager, geriatric care manager, geriatric social worker, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Palliative care manager, Private Duty Home Care Tagged With: acute phase of dying, Advanced care planning, aging life care manager, aging parent crisis, care manager, case manager, death and dying, geriatric care manager, Hospice, nurse acre manager, nurse advocate, Palliative Care, terminal diagnosis

What Joy Can a Care Manager Give in the Terminal of End of Life?

February 16, 2021

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Bringing Joy to The End of Life

A care manager can bring joy in the terminal phase of dying and give a good life to the very end. Here is a wonderful example 

 Bill died at the home of his son after he had accepted that he was to die of liver failure. 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, a 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.

The Joy of Hearing and Care Providers to Let Family Just be Family

His son put a  headphone with a mike on and William could hear and speak, as he had not in years.  It was like the wonderful film and concept  Alive Inside.  Hearing was a gift that gave him such joy. in his last weeks of life.

His 24-hour caregivers were gifted loving care providers from a GCM agency  Livhome. 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.

The Joy of a Great Care Manager620-amy-goyer-juggles-work-and-caregiving-mobile-technology.imgcache.rev1382542973676.web.jpg

The geriatric care manager, GCM Mary Brennan, from Livhome, a seasoned powerful and so kind LCSW, 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 so at the end.

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. They gave him that good life till the very end.

If you want to add an End of Life service and other services, plus all the forms necessary, go to my website,  and check out GCM Manual 

Free Webinar

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 free 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 care

4. Provide family center care to caregiver and family.    26patient_600-1.jpg

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, Death & Dying, Death and Dying Care Management, death and dying care manager, Dementia & Holidays, End of Life, Good Death, Hospice, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Palliative Care, Private Duty Home Care Tagged With: aging family, aging life care manager, ALCA in End Of Life, Alive Inside, Being Mortal, care manager, case manager, Dying at Home, end of life care manager, GCM in Death and Dying, geriatric care manager, Good Life to the Very end, Hospice, Hospice at Home, Joy in End of Life, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, terminal phase of death, Terminal Stage of Death

Are You Marketing Private Care Management to The Concierge Family- Who Can Afford You?

October 7, 2020

 

Who is Your Market in an Aging Life or geriatric care management business?

That market is the rich and famous people who are your concierge clients and three other wealthy groups. The lower 90%, only call when there is a crisis and that crisis usually leads to homecare. Homecare costs between 4000-6000 a month. This is why you need to serve that top 10%. The upper 10% can afford that according to Pew research, in this nation of broad income disparity, and 90% below cannot.

Demand and not need determines the success of an eldercare business like aging life or geriatric care manager business. This fundamental fact of life must be taken into consideration when developing a business plan for a for-profit, fee-based, Geriatric care management business.

Who Can Really Afford Geriatric Care Management

The target market for a private geriatric care management business is not the 65 million families who need those concierge care management services, but the much smaller subset of those families who can afford to hire a GCM or aging life care manager and a private duty home care agency, and are willing and able to pay for the services that GCMs and can actually find their way to you.GCM-pix-2.jpg

 This subset really represents the top 10% of the economic spectrum and more precisely among the rich and famous, the top 1% who actually held onto its share of national wealth in the 2008 economic crisis, and  gained quite a bit with Trump’s tax cut in 2019 

Even Fewer People Can Afford Care Management Since 2008 Collapse

Meanwhile, the share of national wealth held by the bottom 90% fell to 25% after the Wall St and housing collapse, and these elders are tragically not the market for geriatric care managers because they cannot afford the service.

Whether you are a nurse care manager, geriatric social worker, nurse advocate, geriatric care manager, aging life care manager, any of the alphabet soup of care management names, if you have a private geriatric care management business, you can only make money and thrive as a business by marketing selling and be signing up the top 10% elder client.

Why Need vs Demand is the only Way to fiscally Survive in GCM As Hard As That May Be to GCM’s

Bob O’Toole MA, long time geriatric care manager, wrote a highly researched chapter in the latest edition of Handbook of Geriatric Care Management 4th edition  Private Revenue Sources for the Fee-Based Care Manager- Need Vs Demand in the Elder Care Market which shows aging life and geriatric care manager why you need these 10% elders and their families as customers.

COVID HAS AFFECTED CARE MANAGERS CASELOADS AN BOTTOM LINES

Like so many small businesses geriatric care managers have been fiscally affected by

coronavirus  If you have strong safety and infection control policies and feature them prominently on your web site, you should be able to make up for this budget hole created by the virus, by targeting the right clients demographically.

 

Join me in my newest FREE Webinar

MARKET LIKE YOUR BUSINESS DEPENDED ON IT DURING COVID

October 22 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm PST

As you are approaching the busiest season for care manager’s  the holidays when facebook-holiday-post-4.pngfamilies visit for the holiday and seeing their elderly parents skating on very thin aging ice

Learn 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 COVID

Convert 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

SIGN UP NOW  

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Aging, aging family crisis, Aging Life Care, Aging Life Care Assocaition, aging life care manager, ALCA sales, care manager, case manager, Concierge aging clients, coronavirus marketing, Coronavirus safety elders, elder care manager, Families, FREE MARKETING WEBINAR, FREE WEBINAR, GCM bankruptcy, GCM Ethical Dilemma, GCM financial literacy, GCM Webinar, Geriatric Care Management Business, Geriatric Care Manager, geriatric care manager, INFECTION CONTROL & COVID-19, LOSING CLients TO COVID, Marketing aging life care, marketing ALCA /GCM, marketing care management, marketing geriatric care management, marketing pitch, marketing to concierge clients, marketing to the top 10$, Marketing to top 10%, marketing to upper 10%, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Private Duty Home Care, Webinar, Webinar ALCA GCM Tagged With: aging family, aging life care manager, aging life or geriatric care marketing plan, aging parent crisis, care manager, care manager marketing, case manager, Concierge Client, Covid Budget deficit, geriatric care manager, geriatric social worker, Losing clients to COVID, nurse advocate, nurse case manager, nurse navigator, Rich and Famous, social work care manager, Upper 10%, webinar concierge care

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