Our assessments evaluate the strengths, as well as the unmet needs of an older adult. These needs must be identified and met to improve emotional, physical, and mental health. The initial assessment phase marks the beginning of a therapeutic relationship and establishes trust between the older adult and the care manager. Assessments are used to optimize safety and independence.
Our Care Plan is prepared with the goal of improving the quality of life in ways that are unique to each older adult. Recommendations are based on information gathered in the Assessment. Solutions are guided and adapted by the values of the client.
Upon approval, we begin to implement recommendations outlined in the plan of care. Examples include, communicating with health care providers, improving medication compliance, coordinating or providing appropriate personal care attendants, and providing community resources to ensure a safe living environment. Changes are gently initiated within the older adult’s capacity for change and with respectful and compassionate emotional support.
Our care managers are dedicated to preserving the older adult’s dignity and self respect. When conflicts arise, the care manager advocates for the older adults’ needs, preferences, beliefs, and values.
This is an essential ingredient in meeting older adults’ needs. Monitoring visits center around a therapeutic relationship which strengthens emotional health and self esteem while engaging elders in enjoyable individual and social activities. During these friendly and mentally stimulating visits, changes in needs and abilities are reassessed and communicated to families and health care service providers.
Bay Area GCM is your professional and compassionate stand-in relative when you want to leave for vacation, go out of town on business, or want to divert any calls about parents’ needs to us. You can have peace of mind knowing we are there when you decide to increase self care or are unable to visit.
Sometimes the onset of a severe illness will make it clear that help is needed. Short of that, families residing out of the area may wonder if a parent is able to continue with organizing their daily lives, managing money, if there is enough adequate food in the refrigerator, if driving skills are maintained, or if driving is no longer safe? Are medications being taken correctly? Is mail piling up? Is the house clean and maintained? Are relationships and activities falling away? Is it safe for mother to live alone?
Bay Area GCM is available to approach these older adults with respect, honoring their sense of autonomy, while assessing health and well-being, abilities and strengths.
Bay Area GCM can be available 24/7 for any unscheduled need, crisis, or hospital emergency accompaniment.
Consultations are offered to help families navigate and problem-solve situations which arise related to various issues of aging.
We’ve all heard “use it or lose it.” Now professionals are proclaiming “use it and get more of it!” Brain Enhancement activities are designed to increase brain cell reserve. This has benefits for all individuals, from those young seniors who want to build cognitive reserves, to cognitively intact older adults, to those who have been recently diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia. We will design an individualized program and work closely with you to improve the quality of your life as you age.
We are dedicated to improving the emotional health of older adults by helping them cope with issues such as:
Other issues we address include:
Focused attention and sensitivity is placed on developing an individualized activity program. We offer therapeutic interventions by developing a nurturing, safe, compassionate relationship with our clients. Some of the goals of these visits are to:
Our compassionate support for those caring for an aging loved one eases concerns or emotional distress related to increasing dependence, changes in memory and thinking, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, avoiding or moving out of caregiver burnout, cancer, terminal illness, end of life issues, or death of a loved one.
Sharon GraySharon Gray, co-founder of Bay Area GCM, has 18 years of experience working closely with older adults on the Peninsula. After receiving her Masters degree from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Sharon has earned a certificate in Applied Social Gerontology from San Jose State University, is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and is Care Manager Certified (CMC) with the National Association of Certified Care Managers (NACCM). Sharon also has an ongoing commitment to the community, demonstrated by her volunteer work with the Rosener House Adult Day Support, Meals on Wheels program, Pathways Hospice, Ombudsman Services of San Mateo County, and the Alzheimer’s Association.
Charlotte St. JamesCharlotte St. James co-founded Bay Area GCM with Sharon, and now devotes her time to working closely with individuals experiencing emerging memory loss as well as those living with advanced Alzheimer’s Disease. She continues to consult and work collaboratively with Bay Area GCM. www.stjamesassociates.net