The Elderly: Finding a Good Geriatric Care Manager

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The relationship will only work once a high level of trust is established between the two of them," says Rosenbaum.

It's also a good idea to ask potential care managers if they receive financial incentives from nursing homes or other providers for directing clients there. "Make sure you are dealing with a care manager who is most concerned with recommending the appropriate care for your parent vs. someone who might have a special financial relationship with a facility," says Paul Hogan, co-author of Stages of Senior Care (McGraw-Hill), to be published this November.

Caregivers kick off the process with an assessment. This includes a review of the medical history, and, if your parent is living at home, an evaluation of the setup, looking at stairs, lighting, and other issues. Care managers may even take a peek at the checkbook to find out if bills are being paid on time (some people give care managers power of attorney and the right to make medical decisions, but that's unusual).

Hiring one of these professionals isn't cheap. Initial assessments, which last a few hours, range from $200 to $850, depending where you live. Hourly rates can range from $80 to $200. While most payments are out-of-pocket, check your parent's long-term care insurance policy to see if it covers the expense, and check your employer's elder-care benefits.

In the end, finding someone to help you take care of an elderly relative can benefit your health as well as theirs. Suzanne and Peter Cooper of Upper Saddle River, N.J., are raising their five-year-old son while living with her 84-year-old mother, Irma, who has Alzheimer's disease. Suzanne, 49, says her own mental and physical state has improved dramatically since she hired Nancy Bortinger, the director of geriatric services at Vantage Health System in Dumont, N.J.

Bortinger plowed through a list of 20 local day-care facilities to get Suzanne's mother out of the house for stimulation and socialization. Now Bortinger is helping Suzanne place Irma in a respite care center for a week while the family takes a much needed vacation. Suzanne equates the role of a geriatric care manager with a global positioning system for your car. "Even if you have maps in the glove compartment, the GPS gets you right to the place you need to get to," she says.

To see a geriatric care manager discuss her role in assisting families with caregiving, go to www.businessweek.com/go/09/care

Young is a Personal Business editor for BusinessWeek .

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