Dr. Lisa Bishop is a geriatrician in a mid-sized city.
One of her newer patients, James Foster, is quickly becoming a favorite. James is funny, sweet, and easy to work with. He was referred to Dr. Bishop for help with two primary issues.
First, James gets confused easily. He’s mostly fine by himself at home because he is familiar with his surroundings and isn’t overwhelmed by noise. But he can’t really go out by himself anymore.
Second, he experiences regular pain from an old leg injury. Regular exercise helps tremendously, but with his growing confusion, he no longer feels comfortable going for walks around his neighborhood by himself.
James’ grown children all live nearby. But James raised a family of high achievers. They all have high-profile jobs, busy schedules, and their own high-achieving, busy children. James’ children love him but they simply don’t have time to take him for walks, drive him to the grocery store, or visit him more than a few times per month.
James’ son, Michael, expresses these concerns to Dr. Bishop at a recent appointment, and she recommends hiring someone to help out. Michael tells her he’ll consider it, but she can tell he’s skeptical and suspects she’ll be hearing from him again soon.
Two weeks later, Michael calls back. He tells her that they tried hiring one of James’ neighbors to go for a walk with him every other day, but that person wound up being unreliable. He’s also worried that so much time alone is exacerbating James’ mental decline. Dr. Bishop confirms that he’s probably right and reminds him how important mental stimulation is for James.
She realizes right away that she said the wrong thing. She can hear the frustration and sadness in his voice when he tells her, curtly, that he has no time to find a solution and no idea where to start looking for one.
Dr. Bishop has lost count of how many times she’s had this conversation with patients’ families over the years. She herself is growing weary of it and wishes she knew what to recommend, for the sake of the families and her beloved patients. She tells Michael she’ll look into it—though she herself doesn’t know when she’ll have time to do so—and hangs up.
That night, Dr. Bishop logs into her rarely-used Facebook account. She’s part of a few private groups of gerontologists and geriatricians and figures it can’t hurt to ask around. She writes a brief post asking for advice on what to tell families who don’t have time to care for their aging loved ones.
The next morning, she finds that several of her fellow geriatricians in nearby cities have recommended CARESULTANTS. “Basically they do everything the family doesn’t have time to do: hire a CNA, hire someone to go for walks etc, take them to doc appts,” writes one commenter. “They’ll even come to appts with patients, which is nice, because I know they understand what I’m saying when I tell them what to do.” Several other commenters agreed.
Dr. Bishop finds the CARESULTANTS website and sets up a call. She’s pleased to discover that her Facebook friends were right: They do seem to offer everything James’ family needs. She calls Michael that same day and leaves a message, with contact information for the person she spoke to. He never calls her back.
In fact, she doesn’t speak to him again for another three months, when he comes with James to his next appointment. The difference in both men is significant. James is walking smoothly, with no limp or other signs of pain, and he seems sharper than he was last time Dr. Bishop saw him. And much to her surprise, Michael seems downright happy to see her.
Michael tells her that he called CARESULTANTS and hired them on the spot. Within a week, they had hired two caretakers for James:
● Ted, a retired park ranger. The plan was for Ted to take James for walks around the
neighborhood, but he quickly learned that James loves the great outdoors. After confirming his plan with the CARESULTANTS manager in charge of James’ case, Ted started taking James to different parks around the city. With Ted’s background, he knows the trail system like the back of his hand and knows exactly which trails are accessible for James. Plus, James loves to ask Ted questions about the local flora and fauna, so the two men never run out of things to talk about.
● Peg, a senior companion caregiver. Her own father is James’ age, so she bonds with him right away. She takes him to the grocery store, the library, and all his other errands. She does his laundry and preps some of his meals. James teaches Peg to play his favorite board games so they can play together.
Thanks to CARESULTANTS, James is getting regular exercise and company. He tells Dr. Bishop that his leg feels great and insists that she visit a few of the trails Ted has taken him to. Michael confirms that James seems less prone to confusion and that Ted
and Peg provide the family with regular updates on his condition.
Dr. Bishop is relieved—for James and for all of her other patients facing the same problems. She spends her lunch hour calling over a 1⁄2 dozen families, recommending that they consider CARESULTANTS.
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For families, CARESULTANTS provides structure, clarity, and peace of mind. For elder and family law attorneys, CARESULTANTS is the solution many of their clients are looking for. If you’re curious about CARESULTANTS and the possibility of referring your clients to us, schedule a brief call to learn more.