Elderly Care Services

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Specifically, a geriatrician is a physician who has completed a residency in either Internal Medicine or Family Medicine, with an additional 1 to 2 years training fellowship in the medical, social, and psychological fields to deal with the issues common in older adults. Geriatric care is a growing field as the number of our nation's elderly population increases.

A geriatrician is a medical doctor who has additional training and experience in assessing, diagnosing and treating the problems that are especially common in people as they age. Elder may react to illness and disease differently than younger adults. Geriatricians are able to treat older patients, manage multiple disease symptoms, and develop care plans that address the special elder care services and needs of older adults.

In addition, an elderly person may suffer chronic, complex medical conditions, including physical, psychological and social issues. Geriatricians are adept at diagnosing and treating these types of issues. Geriatricians may possess the added sensitivity to help an elderly person maintain high levels of functioning and quality of life.

Often ...
... a geriatrician will also provide case management, which is an important resource for families living with chronic illness. It is easy to become stressed out with the demands of the disease and with the red tape of the health care and social services network.

Case managers providing these elderly care services need to have a basic understanding of the special needs of persons with chronic illness. Their skills are very helpful to families when there is a change in the person's physical state or in awareness and understanding. Should this happen, an elderly services case manager can take another look at the person's needs, which may become necessary in the following instances:

* When the person loses the ability to process information and help is needed to identify issues and provide follow-up with a course of action
* When there is a change in the caregiver situation or support network that can easily become a crisis for the family as a whole
* When there are fewer financial resources and the family is no longer able to pay for the resources they need
* When safety issues arise that can put the elderly ill person at greater risk

Every situation is unique and it's important when you're looking for elderly care services, to keep an open mind and consider as many possible resources that can help you. The bigger the pool of choices you have to choose from, the easier you will then find it to prioritize what is needed and when, in order for you to feel more comfortable in finding the right senior care assistance for your elderly loved one.