Preface to the First EditionIn recent years, as aging children and their aging parents have pioneered new caregiving experiences, private geriatric care management has become a compass for families charting unknown territories.
As a founder and five-year member on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Professional Care Managers (GCM), I am proud to have been an integral part of this profession's growth.
In meeting the challenges of aging, when dependence and depression strike an older loved one, a family needs much more than a doctor's prescription. The family must learn as much as possible about the conditions, and what options are available.
Concerned family members are usually overwhelmed when they face an immediate crisis with a beloved elderly family member (EFM). Suddenly, they must confront a maze of possible interventions, critical medical and financial decisions, and complex longterm planning strategies.
Family caregivers need to know what choices and resources are available, to be certain that nothing "falls through the cracks." They want to do the right thing. Whether they love, like, dislike, or even occasionally hate their EFM, they don't want to feel guilty or have regrets later on.
Family members desperately need a caregiver's map and a dedicated professional guide, to achieve the optimum benefits for their EFM, as well as for themselves. This is where a good geriatric care manager comes in.
First and foremost, a professional care manager tries to improve the EFM's quality of life. Quality of life, not length, is the key word. At the same time, the GCM attempts to protect the family's hardearned savings by suggesting costefficient options.
This book is not a do-it-yourself manual. It doesn't offer easy solutions or New Age miracles. Nor does it suggest how to treat specific cases, which are as individual as human beings are unique.
Most importantly, a book does not substitute for a competent professional assessment and care management.
This book does supply facts, dispel myths, and correct misinformation. It alerts caregivers to the crucial need for early intervention, so they can prepare a plan of action for the immediate and longterm care of elderly loved ones.
The book can also serve as a caregiver's bible during times of crisis, when families really need it. Because some people may not read the entire book, but only selected chapters of in terest, many important topics are referred to and detailed in more than one place.
Throughout this book, I use true stories and syntheses of true stories about some of my clients and patients as examples. This allows the reader to relate to reallife situations similar to their own, gaining what they can from others' mistakes, successes, and courage. Of course, names and details have been changed to protect their privacy.
It is not possible to completely cover the everexpanding field of care management for the elderly in a single volume. Instead, this book deals with the subjects of interest to most caregivers, and asks forgiveness from those whose questions and particular situations have been omitted.
The goal of this book is to empower caregivers to become knowledgeable, competent care managers for the elderly loved ones they are entrusted with.
Preface to the Second Edition
When the first edition of this book was being written, I had no idea how deeply the new concept of private geriatric care management would resonate and take hold in our society,
Over the past five years, the response to "Mama Can't Re memberAnymore: How To Manage the Care of Aging Parents" has been so widespread and gratifying that I felt inspired to do a revised, updated edition, so the book could continue to empower families.
My commitment to providing down to earth, useful education and realistic help to families is even stronger now. With the growing numbers of people needing professional geriatric help for their elderly family members, and with governmental support systems and medical care for seniors presently in such flux, I believe this book is needed more than ever.
Nancy Wexler
Tarzana, California
February, 1996
Copyright Nancy Wexler 1996.