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82 Percent of Employees Say Help of a PGCM Would Be Beneficial

Eighty-two percent of employees report that they have an older loved one who could benefit from the hands-on assistance of a Professional Geriatric Care Manager within the next year, according to a recent survey that LifeCare conducted online among the employees of its 1,500 client companies nationwide.

“The majority of workers across the country today are personally facing the need for broader and deeper support when it comes to caring for their older loved ones,” says James B. Weil, LifeCare’s director of Successful Aging.

The resounding proof, he notes, comes from the “Caregiving in the U.S.” report, released earlier this year by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. The report shows that one out of every six Americans—nearly 40 million individuals—provides unpaid family care to someone age 50 or older. These family caregivers are dealing with their loved one’s “aging” issues, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s (in that order). “Family caregiving puts a tremendous strain on employees—physically and emotionally,” says Weil. “Their caregiving responsibilities can all too easily overwhelm them and affect their performance at work.”

Weil says that a valuable first step toward giving these employees the help they need is to provide them with work/life programs, flexible work arrangements and access to support groups or counseling assistance. In many cases, however, an elder person’s needs are quite complex or require more attention than a family member can give. “In these cases, Professional Geriatric Care Management programs are an ideal solution,” says Weil.

A high-quality Professional Geriatric Care Management (PGCM) program arranges for a qualified professional geriatric care manager to actually visit with elders (and family members), assess their health and ongoing needs firsthand, and then create customized care plans. In addition to these face-to-face assessments, such a program also arranges for care facility reviews, post-hospitalization assessments, ongoing care coordination, and it provides counseling and education services for family members/caregivers.

“The bottom line,” states Weil, “is that PGCM programs benefit everyone involved: elders receive better care, caregivers make more informed decisions and worry less about their loved ones, and employers get more focused and productive workers.”

LifeCare’s PGCM Program gives client employees exclusive access to the Guild, a preeminent organization of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers, whose members must meet strict educational and experience requirements, abide by a Pledge of Ethics, adhere to Standards of Practice, and maintain minimum insurance requirements. If you are not a LifeCare client and would like to learn more about this program, contact LifeCare at 866-675-3751.