Resources
Note: While I hope you find these service providers and resources useful, this list is not an endorsement of any service or person.
Geriatric Care Managers:
Geriatric care managers are professionals such as gerontologists, nurses, counselors, social workers, or psychologists with a specialization in issues related to aging and elder care. Care managers work privately with older adults and their families to create a plan of care that meets the needs of an older adult. You can find a geriatric care manager in your area here: click here. Some I know of, or have worked with, in the Portland Metro/Vancouver area include:
Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship:
Sometimes, when an adult is quite cognitively impaired, guardianship and/ or conservatorship can be the only way to make a safe and effective care plan that honors their values while reducing risk or abuse, or allows needed medical intervention that could not occur otherwise. Both of these are court processes, requiring an attorney, but they are complicated interventions that require specialized help at the point of deciding whether or how to consider using them. Getting some advice up front can save you an expensive legal process, and help you decide whether this might really be the best option.
• Brynne Hicks, LCSW, NCG, OCPF, 503-349-5983, website
Placement Services: (assistance in finding senior living options)
Adult Placement Network, Michele Fiasca, 503-659-2029
AutumnOfLife, Cherie Henry, 503-970-1032
All About Seniors, Inc., Jennifer Hale Roney, R.N., 503-659-1410
Oregon Senior Referral Agency Association is an association of senior housing referral companies
In Home Care:
Aging Advisors, 503.953.5827
Geriatric assessments, care providers, case management
Guardian Angel Caregivers, Steve Miller, 503-698-2020
Caregiver Connection, Micki Carrier, 503-246-4672
Other Senior Services:
Eldercare Locator, 1-800-677-1116
• a referral service of the U.S. Administration on Aging
• operators will give you phone numbers for state and local senior service contacts
Elders In Action, Personal Advocate Services, 503-235-5474
• trained volunteers in the tri-county area help seniors sort through housing, healthcare and financial abuse issues
• seniors who’ve been scammed can get counseling and help in filing complaints with authorities
Independent Living Resources, 503-232-7411
• offers a range of services to seniors to help them retain/maintain independence
Multnomah County Aging & Disability Services Helpline, 503-988-3636
Books:
When Roles Reverse: A Guide to Parenting Your Parents by Jim Comer
A Dignified Life: The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer’s Care, A Guide for Family Caregivers by Virginia Bell and David Troxel
Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias – The Caregiver’s Complete Survival Guide by Nataly Rubinstein
Coping With Your Difficult Older Parent : A Guide for Stressed-Out Children by Grace Lebow, Barbara Kane, and Irwin Lebow
Coming of Age with Aging Parents: The Bungles, Battles, and Blessings by Gail Goeller
The Parent Care Conversation: Six Strategies for Dealing with the Emotional and Financial Challenges of Aging Parents by Dan Taylor
How to Survive Your Aging Parents: So You and They Can Enjoy Life, 2nd Edition by Raeann Berman, Bernard H. Shulman, and M.D., Bernard H. Schulman
Communication and Assertion Skills for Older Persons (1987) (Series in Death Education, Aging and Health Care) by Leilani Doty
Would you like to talk about your specific situation?
Email, call or text (503) 243-2283.