In today’s market, seniors are faced with a multitude of complex systems to maneuver through.  Finding the way through these systems can be frustrating and difficult.  Often seniors are hospitalized having never seen their personal physician. The hospital personnel that provide the direct care normally do not follow the care of the client after discharge. This often starts a reoccurring cycle in which the senior is hospitalized, sent to a skilled nursing facility, and then back home.

Senior Matters Professional Geriatric Care Managers (PGCM) attempt to break this reoccurring cycle by advocating for clients in a variety of setting, which includes working with hospital discharge planners, physicians, elder law attorneys, bank trust officers, and financial planners.  We assist clients through the mazes of home health agencies, hospice groups, retirement communities, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, and also various state agencies.

Our approach to care is to assist the client with achieving his or her goals of remaining independent and, if at all possible, at home.  We begin by listening to the client and his or her family to determine if our services fit the needs of the client.  If the services offered by Senior Matters meet the needs of the client, the next step is a full assessment performed by a PGCM.

An assessment evaluates both the physical and mental well being of the client.  The physical assessment evaluates the client’s level of independence in areas called “Instrumental Activities of Daily Living” (IADLs) and “Activities of Daily Living” (ADLs).  Examples of each are:

• Shopping
• Housework
• Laundry
• Meal preparation
• Handling financial issues
• Transportation
• Using the telephone
• Medication taking
  
  

• Bathing
• Dressing
• Toileting
• Continence
• Transferring from bed to chair
• Eating

Once a full assessment is complete, the PGCM will develop a care plan and make recommendations to the client and his or her family as to the best course of action to meet the client’s goals.  A care plan is essentially an action plan for the future.  Recommendations from the care plan may include:

To Contact Us:

In Columbia: (803) 779-1181

Toll Free (888) 779-1182

Fax (803) 779-6499

• Ongoing assessments to ensure safety and quality of life
• Coordination of physician care to facilitate communication between specialty physicians
• Care coordination (short-term or long term)
• Arranging for outside services such as drug delivery, meal delivery, or healthcare monitoring devices
• Non-medical In-Home caregiver / companions
• Financial Planning
• Counseling and family support
• Pre-legal assistance
• Dietary consultation
• Relocation services

The Senior is not obligated to follow the care plan, but the PGCM may suggest options that the Senior had not considered, and the PGCM has the experience to navigate through the healthcare maze quickly to ensure, if at all possible, the Senior’s goals are realized.