Peace of Mind Aging Consulting offers Free Initial Consultations
As an Occupational Therapist working with older adults for the past ten years, I have had the opportunity to work with many families who notice changes in their aging loved one’s physical and cognitive abilities, as well as social or environmental factors impacting their engagement in the community and in meaningful life activities. Often the changes can start small— perhaps they have stopped leaving the house as often and are becoming increasingly isolated. Perhaps there was an acute medical event— such as a stroke, heart attack or fall that caused for a sudden change in daily life engagement and independence. Perhaps there have been early signs of memory loss or impaired cognitive function impacting one’s ability to continue driving, managing finances and managing medications. Perhaps an aging loved one loses a spouse and the remaining senior is unable to safely and adequately fulfill all the duties required to remain at home alone. There are innumerable reasons why the complexities of aging can impact one’s ability to remain at home, engaging in the meaningful life activities that promote quality of life, joy, purpose and dignity.
An Aging Consultant, also known as a Geriatric Care Manager or Senior Care Consultant, can provide their expertise regarding how the situation can be improved in order for the senior to have the highest possible quality of life. Services including personalized consultations where the Aging Consultant actively listens to the primary concerns and provides a comprehensive care plan with recommendations, referrals, actionable next steps and follow up plans. Additionally, Aging Consultants can conduct comprehensive assessments to determine the current level of function including cognitive (memory, problem solving, executive functioning), physical (balance, strength, range of motion), environmental (home safety) and social (level of support and connectedness with others) using evidence-based assessments utilized by Geriatric Medical health professionals.
Additionally, Aging Consultants can take the guess work out of finding the best fit for a higher level of care including independent living, assisted living, memory care and other long term care settings. They can find a local place that fits the needs and preferences of your aging loved one. With extensive knowledge on how each different long term care setting operates, we can help make this process easy, transparent and straightforward.
