Welcome Wisdom

Strategies for Long-Distance Caregiving

January 2, 2024 — by Felicia Juntunen, MA, CMC, Director of Care Management November and December include multiple occasions to gather, often resulting in family members traveling from a distance to spend time with aging parents and loved ones, whom they don’t see regularly because of geographic separation. These visits sometimes result in family members becoming aware of changes... Read More

Caregiving: It’s a Balancing Act

August 1, 2023 — by Felicia Juntunen, MA, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management Just a sampling of the statistics on caregiving provides a sobering perspective on why the topic of caregiving and support for caregivers is so important. According to The Family Caregiver Alliance, in 2015: 34.2 million Americans provided unpaid care to an adult over 50 years old. 16.1... Read More

In-Home Care as Support for Aging

August 1, 2022 — by Felicia Juntunen, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management One of the services Elder Care Management regularly interacts with is in-home care, services that provide non-medical caregiving and assistance for a client at home. Hiring in-home assistance can help extend an older adult’s ability to remain in place, often supplementing family support, and combined with home modifications and the... Read More

Partnering with those best prepared to support

February 1, 2022 — by Gail Arno, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management As we continue to write about the partnership efforts that we, as Care Managers find so vital, it seems prudent to share a few of the resources that we rely on both near and far.  We are often brought into the lives of our clients in the... Read More

Mental Health and Aging…

September 2, 2021 — by Gail Arno, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management Untreated or dismissed mental health issues in our younger years can present in a variety of ways as we continue to age. Approximately 15% of adults aged 60 and over suffer from mental health disorders. The WHO defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Because mental health is... Read More

When the hits just keep coming…

August 2, 2021 — by Gail Arno, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management This time we revisit the experience of our client BettyJean and the challenges she faced being vulnerable, alone, and aging with both physical and cognitive challenges. BettyJean was living in her own home, had hired caregiving support with a caregiver who was slowly taking more and more... Read More

The Vulnerability of Aging without Support

July 1, 2021 — by Gail Arno, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management Aging can be a daunting effort and isn’t always easy for many of us, even those with supportive family members and friends, or those who have done their planning for the future and have set a course for a successful retirement and beyond. There are many... Read More

The difficult decision we often face, to stay at home or make a move 

June 24, 2021 — by Gail Arno, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management Making the monumental decision to move from your home where things are familiar, routine, and comfortable into a senior housing setting can be one of the biggest and most challenging decisions of a lifetime. Routine and comfort at home are key and very important but equally critical is making... Read More

When you need somebody to lean on

April 12, 2021 — by Gail Arno, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management Even in the best of times, incomplete and under-developed family support systems with strained familial relationships and poorly developed communication skills can be extremely challenging and futile. As one is aging and in need of support from the many resources necessary for successful aging, gaps in these basic areas can often make the aging journey an... Read More

Our Heroes

November 5, 2018 — by Ginger McMurchie, ECM owner and Care Manager November is National Caregiver Month- a time to honor those who care for loved ones with chronic disease or disability. Caregivers have been called heroes. I think we all envision capes, masks, and superpowers when we hear that word. But caregivers come in all forms, just in... Read More