Geriatric Care: Boosting Independence & Quality of Life in Seniors
Photo credit: Pexels Geriatric healthcare is a medical specialty that caters to the unique needs of the aging population. It…
The CarePlan Care Managers‘ Cleveland Elder Care Answers Blog is a great opportunity to gain knowledge in the area of care for loved ones. Offering the advice, information as well as solutions to some of the toughest descisions we all have to make. with this in mind, take time to scroll through the variety of articles that our CareBlog provides.
Staying Safe and Warm: Your Guide to Arctic Freeze Protection
When arctic temperatures plummet below zero, Bridget Ritossa of Careplan Geriatric Care Managers states that your elderly neighbors face unique…
Dry Eye Syndrome: 9 Easy Affordable Ways for Relief
Our eyes help us experience the beauty of the world around us. Their health plays a role in our overall…
Senior Living Communities: Pick the Best for Mom & Dad
You are probably here because you have older parents. They are likely still living where they have called home for…
Nursing Homes in Cleveland: Expert Help to Pick the Best
At Careplan, we are Northeast Ohio’s top care management service. Our team has a proven track record of relieving and…
Vision Loss: Four Easy Ways to Modify Your Home
Do you want to adapt your space to make it more accessible for people with vision loss or low vision? Check out these four easy tips.
Heart Failure Fatigue: How To Help Your Parents Beat It
As a caring family member or friend, you play a crucial role in supporting your loved one who has been…
Memory Care: Get Mom and Dad Expert Help
The time has come for you to consider memory care for your family member. They likely have a memory impairment,…
Denture Care: How to Make Your Dentures Last
As we get older, our chances of needing dentures increase. Unfortunately, dentures are not cheap, but they help us eat…
Senior Meal Delivery Services: The Best For Your Parents
Caring for our basic needs can become more difficult as we age. You’ve likely noticed that your parents struggle to…
Early-Onset Dementia in the Family? How to Establish Support
One day, you notice your family member is experiencing consistent memory loss and a decline in their reasoning and thinking…
Geriatric Care vs. Adult Care: The Best for Mom
Our parents guide us through navigating the healthcare system from birth. Throughout our lives, we meet various specialists. We eventually…
If you are not the primary caregiver
If someone else in your family has primary responsibility for the care of your loved one, that doesn’t mean you…
Where are the paid caregivers?
Frustrated in your search for a paid caregiver? You are not alone. There is an extreme shortage of helpers right…
Long-distance caregiving
Distance makes caregiving more challenging, from knowing what’s needed, to getting tasks accomplished. Here are some tips: Stay in touch.…
The yearly “Wellness Visit”
Catching things early is big with Medicare. Every year, all Medicare enrollees are eligible for a free “Wellness Visit” with…
Are you the primary caregiver?
In most families, there is one person who takes on the lion’s share of caring for an aging loved one.…
Cold weather safety tips for indoors
The dangers of cold weather are obvious outdoors. But there are dangers indoors, too, most often because the house thermostat…
Healing torn relations
Take any roomful of people and likely two-thirds of them have relatives who aren’t talking to each other. Families are…
Dementia and small children
The grandparent–grandchild relationship can be precious, like no other. But even young children notice if Grandma or Grandpa isn’t acting…
Is your home safe for older guests?
If you expect older visitors this season, check your home for hazards. Older adults often have impaired balance and vision.…
Not taking meds as directed?
Taking the right medicines at the right time is extremely important to health management. But 75%–96% of older adults admit…
Gifts for those with memory loss
Deciding what holiday gifts to give a person with memory loss can be challenging. Following are some tips to share…
Honoring family caregivers
November is National Family Caregivers Month. We want to express our gratitude to you, who are part of the 40…
Suppose they don’t get better …
Are frequent visits to the ER a significant part of the past six to twelve months? Does your loved one…
Palliative care for seriously ill veterans
Is your family member seriously ill or in frail condition? A veteran? If so, the VA has a special service…
Putting anticipation to work for you
Do you ever wish you could wave a magic wand for more joy? Patience? Optimism? Motivation? Maybe less irritability and…
What is Lewy body dementia?
The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. However, there are many other conditions that also bring on memory…
October is National Crime Prevention Month
It’s unpleasant to imagine that your loved one might become the victim of crime, but it’s worth considering. There are…
Who is who in skilled nursing facilities?
If your loved one is discharged from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility (SNF), their care will be in…
When your loved one is depressed, suggest exercise
Depression is common in older adults. It’s long been known that brisk exercise can help reduce depression. But it turns…
Are you prepared for a disaster?
No one likes to dwell on the possibility of disaster. But we all need to prepare for one, just in…
Could medicines be the culprit?
If your loved one has balance problems, the culprit may be in the medicine. Many common medicines have side effects…
Noncancer screening tests
Medicare pays for many screening exams, and even counseling sessions, to help nip common illnesses in the bud. Screening tests…
Caring with a stepparent
Has your parent remarried? If so, you may be sharing the caregiving with a person you don’t know very well.…
Listening: The other half of the conversation
Good communication requires both speaking and listening. Oddly enough, if you make a specific effort to listen, it can open…
When grandpa has dementia: Teens and tweens
For a teen, a relative’s dementia can turn a close relationship into one that’s now awkward, confusing, and embarrassing. And…
The doctor interview
After you have scoured the Internet to help your relative find a potential new doctor—someone on their plan and with…
Caught in a cycle of negativity?
For most family caregivers, frustration and guilt are common, as is anxiety and resentment. These feelings are normal and reasonable under…
Senior centers: Worth a fresh look
Even pre-COVID, many 90-year-olds adamantly refused to go to a senior center, saying they didn’t want to be around “all…
Combatting dehydration
With summer’s warm weather, be on the lookout for dehydration in your loved one. The signs include confusion, fatigue, weakness,…
Dementia and finances
If the person you care for has dementia—memory or thinking problems from a condition such as Alzheimer’s, a stroke, or…
The “Sandwich Generation”
Elderly parents are living longer. Children are often dependent for more years than expected. Add to this the ongoing responsibilities…
Swollen legs and feet
Many older adults experience swollen legs and feet. For some, it’s because of sitting a lot and leading a sedentary…
Does brain training work?
The brain is another organ to keep fit, and regular workouts are a good thing! Our brains enable many types…
Understanding the rhythm of a disease
Much of the strain of caring for a loved one lies in the loss of a predictable routine, a sense…
Text message scamming: “Smishing”
Your loved one may be watching for phishing scams on email, but now there are scams carried out by short…
Caregiving with kids
Children generally like to feel included. But they may not know how to relate to an ill family member with…
Living with cancer as a chronic condition
Has your loved one been diagnosed with cancer? The vast majority (67%) of people with cancer live for another five…
Organ donation
Those who donate organs, eyes, or tissue leave a tremendous legacy, often the gift of life itself: Allowing someone a…
Interrupt the stress cycle with deep breathing
We’re breathing all the time. But when it comes to stress relief, not all breathing is equal. The body’s stress…
Cooking tips for the visually impaired
Is low vision making it harder for your loved one to cook? If food preparation has been one of their…
Primary care providers
A primary care provider (PCP) is charged with monitoring and treating a person’s whole body. Specialists abound and indeed are…
When you envy others
Do you ever look at friends and find yourself mad or upset because they have free time? They don’t have…
The journey of late life
Families spend three to five years caring for an aging relative. At first it may be light chores or small…
Poetry and dementia
If the person you care for has dementia, you may have noticed their withdrawal from conversations, movies, even from reading…
Should Dad move in?
Combining households has many benefits: Less hassle running back and forth between two residences, less worry about Dad eating well…
Protecting the house from Medicaid
Care in a nursing home is expensive. For an extended stay, most people will need to pay quite a bit…
Reducing the nausea of chemo
If a loved one in your life is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, very likely they are dealing with the common…
“Chemobrain”
People who go through chemotherapy for cancer often complain about “chemobrain.” If your loved one is under treatment and is…
Caregiving apps
Juggling multiple schedules, keeping other relatives informed, ensuring prescriptions are filled … these are but some of the many duties…
When your relative has money questions
Is Dad asking if he should sell the house now that Mom is gone? Or perhaps Aunt Mary is anxious…
Psychological first aid
Anxiety and stress commonly accompany family caregiving. The ongoing pandemic and its stream of variants are only adding to that.…
Aging Life Care Managers – Experts in Aging and Organizing
..Older adult children working from home have been contacting Aging Life Care Managers such as those at Careplan Care Managers…
New Beginnings; Aging Life Care Managers Helping to Keep Older Adults at Home or Transition
By Bridget M. Ritossa, LSW, CMC Aging Life Care Managers expand your resources and knowledge for making excellent choices related to…
Care-giving Long-Distance Made Easier with A Geriatric Care Manager
In the pandemic world we are currently living, long distance caregiving is further complicated by the litigation set in place…
Covid 19 – Till Death Do Us Part and No Sooner – A Geriatric Care Manager Advocating for A Simple Wish
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Just last week I spent 48 hours working a case given to me by an elder lawyer. A client was at…
The Geriatric Care Manager… A Powerful Tool to Promote Successful Long-term Care Insurance Claims
Most would agree that long-term care insurance is a valuable resource to protect client assets. However, it is not always…
Life Planning Conversations That A Great Geriatric Care Manager Will Have with Your Client
What is the difference between a good GCM and a great GCM? Great GCM’s, such as the ones at Careplan…
Aging Parents – When Crisis Hits!
When a crisis hits, where do you start? You may still be in shock from the news. In addition, may…
COVID-19 and Careplan’s Transition to Home Program – Assisting Older Adults Discharging From The Hospital
Covid-19 Hospital to Home Transitions Program: A Program Benefiting Those Discharging from Hospital to Home During COVID-19 Picking Up Where…
Keeping Clients Out of The Hospital – The Benefits of Enlisting an A Geriatric Care Manager
There are many reasons that a trip to the hospital is not a good idea these days. To name a…
Recognizing Elder Abuse and Reporting it.
Careplan Geriatric Care Managers are Mandated Reporters. Our Care Managers are dedicated to protecting our most vulnerable and fastest growing…
Tips for Communicating with Hard of Hearing Older Adults
One in three people 60+, two-thirds of people 70+ and 15% of Baby Boomers have hearing loss. Most Older Adults…
Careplan’s Geriatric Care Managers (GCMs) Watch Over Clients And Look For The Best Services
Careplan’s Geriatric Care Managers (GCMs) watch over clients and look for the best services to recommend. This presents a great…
A Needed Resource For Struggling Adult Children
Written by Bridget Ritossa, LSW, CMC-Owner Careplan Geriatric Care Managers What Is a Geriatric Care Manager? A geriatric care manager…
If Your Older Adult is Hospitalized
The hospital environment for a healthy young person can be a source of confusion on it’s own. Consequently, complicate the…
Keeping Mom and Dad Safe at Home – The Goal of A Geriatric Care Manager
Keeping Mom and Dad Safe at Home Lisa, a daughter in New York City, calls the Aging Life Care Manager…