How can PGCMs assist family caregivers?

PGCMs assist families and caregivers in numerous ways.  They conduct care-planning assessments to identify problems and to provide solutions; screen, arrange, and monitor in-home help or other services; provide short- or long-term assistance for caregivers living near or far away; review financial, legal, or medical issues and offer referrals to geriatric specialists; provide crisis intervention; act as a liaison to families at a distance, overseeing care, and quickly alerting families to problems; assist with moving an older person to or from a retirement complex, assisted care home, or nursing home; provide consumer education and advocacy; offer counseling and support.  Some PGCMs also provide family or individual therapy, finance management, conservatorship or guardianship assistance, and/or caregiving services.