Is there a senior financial caregiving service?

A fellow caregiver asked...

My siblings and I are trying to help our Mother long distance. She needs a hands on person to help her with her daily, monthly finances. It is becoming too difficult to take care of long distance. Is there such a service?

Expert Answer

Maria Basso Lipani writes a popular website on geriatric care topics, where she puts her expertise as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to good use answering care planning questions. Maria is a graduate of Columbia University School of Social Work and is licensed in California and New York.

 

AARP sponsors a Money Management Program that may fit your needs.  It runs in roughly 24 states and the District of Columbia.  To learn more, click the following link: http://www.aarpmmp.org/mm_program.cfm. 

 

If your mother does not qualify for assistance through AARP or if she resides in a state without a program, another option would be to hire a geriatric care manager to provide this service.  If you’ve never heard the term “geriatric care manager” or know little about the role of one, I would suggest exploring my website www.geriatriccaremanagement.comfor an introduction.  Being that you and your siblings all live at a distance, there may be a distinct advantage to engaging this type of assistance. 

 

The biggest benefit to hiring a geriatric care manager to assist with your mother’s finances is that he or she could do double duty as your eyes and ears on the ground.  Even a once monthly visit by a skilled geriatric care manager could provide you with valuable insights into how your mother is managing in other areas of her life and alert you if more assistance may be needed.  For long distance caregivers who rely on phone calls and staggered visits to catch potential problems, this can be an invaluable service. To search for a geriatric care manager by state, visit the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers at: www.caremanager.org.