The Role of Geriatric Care Managers in Navigating the Aging Process

Geriatric Care Manager at RVNAhealth

What is a Geriatric Care Manager and why would I need one? This is an important question many have, but few know much (or enough) about! So let’s set the stage…

  • Do you have a loved one who has experienced a recent health or cognition change that will affect their daily or future living?
  • Do you know someone who is living alone or might need more care?
  • Do your loved ones have advanced directives in place, and have you had end-of-life care and wish discussions?

These scenarios only skim the surface in the range of topics that a Geriatric Care Manager can assist with. Whether seeking help during a period of transition or simply planning for the future, RVNAhealth’s Geriatric Care Management team of licensed clinical social workers offers expert senior guidance, advocacy, and support.

Help Designed For Navigating The Aging Journey

Navigating the complex world of senior care and aging requires careful knowledge and time. As RVNAhealth’s Geriatric Care Manager, Amy Feder, LCSW, CDP, CCM, works to support and educate clients and family members through their unique aging journey.

“I consider a large part of my role as an educator. Often, when a loved one experiences a sudden health or cognitive change, the children or spouse are not prepared for what those changes mean. Most are not aware of critical resources and options available to them.  That’s where I come in. I am a passionate counselor and advocate for our senior population. And helping individuals and families navigate the aging process is an honor,” says Amy.

Amy spends much of her time meeting with clients to understand needs, developing a plan, and then getting to work in connecting them with relevant and available resources and options. That work can span a wide range of support depending on an individuals’ needs and circumstances. Support may come in the form of education or advocacy on health and medical resources, connection to legal or financial assistance, social services, living and caregiving options, end-of-life planning, and more. “It can be really hard to summarize the services of a Geriatric Care Manager,” says Amy. “But that’s the beauty and importance of what this role is all about – it’s about each individual client and family and assisting them with their own specific needs.”

Questions or Want to Discuss a Geriatric Care Management Need?

RVNAhealth’s Geriatric Care Managers are available to clients on a private-pay basis for as little as an hour or for as long as an individual or family would like for ongoing needs and oversight.  “A lot can be accomplished in a one hour conversation,” says Amy. If you have an inquiry or questions about Geriatric Care Management at RVNAhealth, please call us at 203.438.5555 option 2.

About Amy Feder, LCSW, CDP, CCM, RVNAhealth Geriatric Care Manager

Amy Feder, RVNAhealth Geriatric Care Manager, LCSW, CDP, CMCPrior to her new role, Amy worked as an RVNAhealth Hospice and Palliative Care Social Worker.  She has also worked for many years as a Geriatric Care Manager for the Senior Choice at Home program through Jewish Senior Services. Amy’s background as a Certified Dementia Practitioner/ Geriatric Case Manager has provided her a unique ability in supporting geriatric patients and their families.  Amy has facilitated caregiver support groups throughout assisted living facilities in Connecticut and has spoken on the importance of self-care for family members caring for elderly loved ones.

Amy received her Master’s in Social Work from NYU in 1994, and has worked at both NYU Medical Center and Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.  Amy is a member of the Alzheimer’s Association, NASW, a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP), and Certified Care Manager (CCM) through the National Academy of Certified Care Managers. She feels it is a privilege to provide care for the senior population.

 

 

About RVNAhealth

RVNAhealth is a private, 501c(3) non-profit organization which provides a continuum of care to people in 35+ towns across Fairfield, Litchfield, and New Haven Counties. RVNAhealth depends on financial support from individuals like you who believe that healthy communities improve the quality of life for everyone. Every gift — no matter the size — is critical to upholding our mission and sustaining our important work. If you would like to support RVNAhealth’s mission to deliver unmatched, compassionate healthcare when and where it is needed, please click here.

Walking The Talk And Winning Awards in Home Care!

StayingWELL Services caregiver training

In photo: Jessica Spears, StayingWELL Supervisor, provides hands-on caregiver training with “Alex,” RVNAhealth’s training manikin

RVNAhealth StayingWELL Home Care Services Wins 2024 Best of Home Care – Leader in Experience Award

For the second year in a row, RVNAhealth StayingWELL Services has won the distinguished Best of Home Care – Leader in Experience Award from Home Care Pulse (HCP), the leading firm in experience management for home care. As a Leader in Experience, StayingWELL Services is now recognized among the top 15% of over 3,000 home care agencies nationwide participating in the HCP Experience Management Program. For Melissa Woodhouse, Director of RVNAhealth’s StayingWELL Services, excellence in non-medical home care starts with listening to our clients and having the best caregivers!

Home Care Pulse 2024 StayingWELL Awards

Walking The Talk in Client and Caregiver Satisfaction

A firm believer in the adage, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure,” Woodhouse and team sit down monthly to review satisfaction and experience feedback that comes in continuously from our clients and caregivers. “We’ve been using Home Care Pulse for unbiased feedback for over four years. The insight and information we receive have been invaluable to the management and success of our services. We are particularly proud of our improvements over the past year. The 2023 Home Care Pulse data shows that we outperformed 70% of other nationwide home care agencies in both client overall satisfaction with their daily life and client ratings of their caregiver abilities.” Woodhouse attributes these outstanding results to their increased investment in caregiver training programs – all which tie back to client and caregiver feedback.

Investing In Our Caregivers and Delivering the Best in Client Home Care

All new caregivers hired by RVNAhealth StayingWELL Services go through an orientation program with training by experienced supervisory staff. This past year, StayingWELL Services acquired usage of and incorporated a full-sized healthcare training manikin (nicknamed, Alex) to elevate hands-on training. All caregivers now receive group and individual hands-on training in techniques such as bathing, dressing, transfers, and more. “This additional ‘hands-on’ training now provided in the office, before a caregiver goes out to a client, has been a significant game-changer,” says Woodhouse. “Caregivers learn more and feel more confident, and our supervisors obtain better assessments of caregiver capabilities and can customize ongoing learning needs. This ultimately has led to better pairings of caregivers to client needs — which has had a great impact on our client and caregiver satisfaction scores.”

Melissa Woodhouse, RVNAhealth Director of StayingWELL Services

In addition to its caregiver training, StayingWELL also prides itself on a continued robust supervisory and support team. “I am pleased to hear positive feedback from both clients and caregivers about the support we provide to our caregivers. In addition to orientation and training, our three full time home care supervisors go out with caregivers for every new assignment and for any client status changes. This is another differentiator for us,” says Woodhouse.

“Having won this prestigious home care award last year, and then seeing the continued efforts of our team to push for and achieve even higher satisfaction – I am just extremely proud.  Our team of 200+ caregivers and support staff come to work and make the quality of our clients’ lives their number one priority each day. It is very exciting to be able to share this year’s award and results with our team and celebrate all that they do!”

About RVNAhealth StayingWELL Services

RVNAhealth StayingWELL Services provide non-medical at-home personal and household daily living assistance to help you retain independence and live safely, comfortably, and joyfully at home or wherever you reside. Available 365 days annually, for short- or long-term durations, our caregivers serve over 35 communities in Connecticut. To learn more, please visit our StayingWELL Services website or call 203-438-5555.

RVNAhealth StayingWELL Services Wins Distinguished 2023 Leader in Experience Award

Congratulations to RVNAhealth’s StayingWELL Services division for winning the distinguished 2023 Best of Home Care – Leader in Experience Award from Home Care Pulse (HCP), the leading firm in experience management for home care. The Leader in Experience Award is the highest recognition awarded by HCP. It is given to select home care businesses that receive both HCP’s Provider of Choice and Employer of Choice awards – reflecting client and employee satisfaction ratings among the very highest in 10 or more quality metrics. As a Leader in Experience, RVNAhealth is now recognized among the top 15% of home care providers participating in the nationwide HCP Experience Management Program.

Committed to being the best in our field, RVNAhealth partnered with Home Care Pulse at the beginning of 2020 as part of an ongoing improvement initiative, to better understand the client and employee assistant experience.  As an independent third-party provider, Home Care Pulse collects candid and direct phone-interview feedback monthly from StayingWELL clients and employees in areas such as impact on daily life, communication, assistant ability, and client/assistant compatibility.

“Winning this top award category — the Leader in Experience award — is an incredible honor,” says Melissa Woodhouse, RRT, MOT, OTR/L, CDP, Director of StayingWELL Services. “I am proud of the efforts made by our team to listen to, and act on, the honest opinions and recommendations made by over 200 of our clients and employees in the past year. The feedback received continues to challenge us in raising the bar for delivering excellence in daily living assistance to our clients and offering a rewarding career to our employees. As one of only 12 participating home care agencies in Connecticut to receive this award, we are honored to be recognized.”

RVNAhealth StayingWELL Services provide non-medical at-home personal and household daily living assistance to help you retain independence and live safely, comfortably, and joyfully at home or wherever you reside. Available 365 days annually, for short- or long-term durations, our living assistants serve over 35 communities in Connecticut. To learn more, please visit https://rvnahealth.org/services/staying-well/ or call 203-438-5555.

In the Words of Our Patients and Loved Ones…

On November 13th, we will celebrate Caregiver Appreciation Day. What a better way to celebrate the talents and dedication of our amazing StayingWELL caregivers than by sharing a testimonial from one of our families…

“It is 9:30pm on Wednesday night, and I am home after meeting my mother-in-law’s night aide at 8pm. Danielle Taibi had stopped by her unit earlier, but I was unable to be there for that. My mother-in-law and her daughter, were raving about Danielle. They thought she was so helpful, knowledgeable, and understanding. Then Shannece S. came at 8pm and she had such a warm and lovely disposition. She turned to me and said, “go home and go to sleep”. It was the best thing someone said to me all week!”

– Client family member, Jodi Stewart

Caregiving is often described as a labor of love for those providing care for a family member or friend. When the decision is made to bring in RVNAhealth’s StayingWELL caregiving team to help, we know how important it is to understand the needs of both our clients AND their loved ones. Rest is one of those needs that are essential to the health and well-being of familial caregivers. Our caregiving teams work every day to provide outstanding care and service to our clients along with empathy and assurance to loved ones.  “Go home and go to sleep” is a simple but meaningful phrase that will resonate for those that understand the labor of love that is caregiving. Thank you Shannece and Danielle for demonstrating the best of RVNAhealth caregiving! And thank you to all of our StayingWELL caregiving team — you remind us every day, through moments like the above, the impact and meaningfulness of our work!

RVNAhealth’s StayingWELL services provide hourly and live-in personal caregivers to assist individuals with maintaining independence and living safely wherever they reside. If you would like more information please contact us at 203.438.5555 or visit our website.

In the Words of our Patients and Loved Ones…

RVNAhealth’s StayingWELL services provides hourly and live-in personal caregivers to assist individuals with maintaining independence and live safely wherever they reside. We are grateful when one of our clients writes in to share the impact our caregivers have had on their family. Our StayingWELL caregiving team — over 200 strong — is a group of award-winning individuals who bring pride and compassion to their work and clients. Congratulations to our caregiver, Karen, for being recognized!

“I would like to recognize and thank Karen for the care she has provided to my grandmother. Having a loved one who is challenging to care for has really put my personal and work life to the test. Since Karen joined our family’s care team, she has made our lives so much easier! My grandmother, who would never have agreed to a “caregiver,” was instead introduced to Karen as a “housekeeper.” Karen’s bubbly personality quickly won her over and within the first day my grandmother was letting her do the laundry – something she would previously only let my cousin, or I do. Since starting, we have increased care to every week, and this has lifted a huge burden from my mother and myself. Karen ensures the fridge is clear of expiring foods, goes grocery shopping, and cleans. She also took my grandmother to a local nursery to buy some outdoor plants that she continues to show every family member and neighbor that comes by. It has been a very stressful time as my grandmother began to lose her independence (driver’s license, etc.). Karen has made this transition so much easier! We are grateful to Karen and her personality. She has been such a benefit to my grandmother, and she looks forward to Karen’s visits.” – N.B., Bantam, CT

If you would like more information on RVNAhealth’s private duty caregiving services, please contact us at 203.438.5555 or click here to visit our website.

Happy Caregiver Appreciation Week 2021

This past week RVNAhealth took time to celebrate Caregiver Appreciation Week and thank our StayingWELL caregivers for their tireless efforts in helping our clients to remain safely and confidently in their homes.  Caregivers were treated to a drop-in reception and a pampering-themed gift bag in both our Ridgefield and New Milford offices.  The StayingWELL caregiving team — over 200 strong — is a group of award-winning individuals who bring pride and compassion to their work and clients. We appreciate and thank these individuals for their tremendous contributions each and every day!

RVNAhealth to Host Caregiver Job Fair

In response to the growing demand for non-medical companion care and assistance, RVNAhealth StayWELL Services will be hosting a Caregiver Job Fair on Saturday, September 25th from 10:00am-2:00pm, outside the Danbury Public Library, 170 Main St, Danbury, CT.Continue reading

RVNAhealth Talks OT on ‘Lutheran Home Live’

Recently RVNAhealth had a chance to discuss Occupational Therapy with Wendy Mutter, Marketing Director and Admissions Liaison from Lutheran Home of Southbury.  Wendy hosts a regular series called Lutheran Home Live, profiled on Southbury.com, aiming to educate the Southbury public on available health and aging services.  Danielle Taibi MOTR/L, CDP (below, left), a licensed Occupational Therapist since 2013 and Home Health Aide Supervisor for RVNAhealth StayWELL Services, had a chance to talk about RVNAhealth services and cover the basics of Occupational Therapy and its approach.

Danielle Taibi, MOTR/L, CDP

Danielle began by explaining the difference between Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy – a topic very often misunderstood.  Occupational Therapy often focuses on addressing an injury or illness that has disrupted a person’s normal activities of daily life – activities as basic as eating, bathing, dressing, for example – and then helping that person regain function.  Typically, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist will have the same goals for a patient’s recovery, but their approach and techniques will differ.  Occupational Therapy focuses less on bio-mechanical exercise — typical of physical therapy — and more on common meaningful activities and fine motor skills to help one regain their optimal function.  Danielle provided the example of using laundry folding as a functional Occupational Therapy technique to work on a person’s range of motion improvement.

Falls prevention was another topic discussed and of frequent importance to Occupational Therapists working in the home.  More than 1 in 4 older adults fall every year and 60% of these falls happen in the home.  When an Occupational Therapist enters a home to work on mobility issues, falls prevention is a priority and can be addressed through a home assessment.  An Occupational Therapist can identify risks in the home and make recommendations, often starting with the removal or securing of area rugs and electrical wires and assessing the bathroom for possible assistance equipment needs or grab bars.  While often simple recommendations, changes such as these can make a significant difference to remaining safe in one’s home.

RVNAhealth offers Occupational Therapy services both in the home and at our outpatient Rehabilitation & Wellness Center, located in Ridgefield.  Please visit our website to learn more about RVNAhealth’s Occupational Therapy services and team.  And for more information specific to falls prevention, please see RVNAhealth’s recent Falls Prevention webinar.

Thank you to Wendy Mutter of the Lutheran Home of Southbury for profiling Occupational Therapy and RVNAhealth.  And thank you to On the Mend Medical Supplies & Equipment for hosting the interview in their wonderful store in Southbury.  You can view the full video interview here.

For more information on Occupational Therapy or other services provided by RVNAhealth, please email or contact us at 203-438-5555 x2.

StayWELL Earns ‘Employer of Choice’ Award

The RVNAhealth StayWELL team has been awarded a 2021 Best of Home Care® - Employer of Choice Award from Home Care Pulse. This award recognizes RVNAhealth and our StayWELL business as one of the top performing non-medical home care agency employers in the nation, based upon unfiltered caregiver employee feedback.Continue reading