Building your team: Who to tap for your parent's needs?

Until not too long ago, when the needs of elderly family members arose, younger family members nearby stepped in to meet them. But that is becoming less possible. These days, families are often more dispersed. With both spouses working fulltime, while also driving children here and there, it is harder to carve out the time to attend to their parents’ needs. And the needs are often time-consuming and complicated. It’s almost like you need an advanced degree to navigate hospital bills, assisted living community contracts, or your parent’s medical treatments and recommendations. No one, much less an adult child who is already juggling a very busy life from afar, can do it all.

This month, in addition to featuring another “Super Senior,” as well as topics that come up in my daily practice, I’ll tackle building your team. When caring for your aging parent requires more than you can provide, who are you going to tap? There are whole new professions and accreditation bodies that have developed to meet these growing needs. However, many in the trenches don’t even know that these new experts exist.

For example, what do you do when mom’s health is failing and you live too far away to check in weekly? You might consider hiring a geriatric care manager.

What about if you don’t know how to navigate the complicated Medicare rules and insurance coverage of dad’s recent fall, which requires skilled nursing and rehab? You might be relieved to learn about healthcare advocates.

What if rehab will not discharge your mom back home and she needs to be placed quickly in assisted care? Who is going to help you find that care? Who can help with the move? Have you heard of move managers?

From elder lawyers to people who specialize in helping families with hoarders, I’ll try to cover some of the experts you might need. Read on.