Welcome to SeniorCare Options – Aging Life Care™ Managers
SeniorCare Options of Atlanta, Ltd. is an Aging Life Care™ Management service specializing in senior advocacy, needs analysis, and care coordination. As a cross between a medical case worker and a “Daughter for Hire” – we can help!
CONGRATULATIONS TO LISA KAUFMAN for her recent election to the ALCA ™ Board of Directors!
**UPDATE FOR COVID-19**
Our team at SeniorCare Options have all been fully vaccinated and are now able to see clients in their own home settings once again!
We continue to follow the updating CDC Guidelines and are advocating to be allowed to see our clients inside Hospitals, Assisted Livings, Memory Care and Rehab Centers. For clients that are too far away for in person visits in the state of Georgia, we are able to now offer TeleVisits to provide our Needs Analysis and Care Management.
There are 6.5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the US today. In 2009, there were 61 million people providing at least partial care for their loved ones and the average cost of 24 hour care in the home is $175,000 annually. Therefore, there are a large number of people in the US like you that are faced with very complex and costly decisions concerning the care of a family member.
What we typically hear when working with families is that they, like you, want to make sound decisions in these three major areas for their loved one: their physical well being, placement or living arrangements and declining cognitive health.
Families find themselves in this sea of overwhelming information and confusion. As you try to make decisions specific to medical care, it’s difficult to keep up with medications, treatments, and varying opinions. What are they for? What are they treating? What are the side effects and interactions? You also have doctors who specialize in different areas of care that will diagnose and prescribe treatment for their specific expertise. Some providers have been known to prescribe treatments or medications that address the fears of the patient and family in the present – but often without educating the family of the long term effects. This could leave you and your family in a position of making medical decisions in an area you’re least equipped. You feel overwhelmed and anxious that you’re making the right decisions for today and for the future.
Worse yet, doctors may make suggestions based solely on extending a patient’s life without considering their quality of life. This means is – decisions made today often lead to regret because of not seeing the bigger picture, especially if the long term effects of treatment are not considered.
You are also faced with making decisions around living arrangements. Do they stay at home with care, live with a family member, or should they move into an assisted living? What factors do you consider as you look at these options? Quality of life, medical conditions, and cognitive health all come into play. How do you balance these competing goals to make the right decision? In Atlanta alone, there are thousands of services from which to choose. Many of these services use assessments designed to do nothing more than give the provider a screening tool of the services they should sell to you. Where is your advocate in the middle of all these choices?
Finally, you may be faced with choices around declining cognitive health. How does your loved one’s state of mind factor into the other two decisions regarding living arrangements and medical care?