Informed Eldercare Decisions has been Helping Families   Find Best Care Available for more than 20 years.

We are an independent, Massachusetts-based  private company dedicated to helping clients make the best care choices for parents and relatives, and to help them understand various funding alternatives to pay for care. 

1-800-375-0595

Our services are non-medical in nature and are therefore not covered by public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Our services are covered by many long-term insurance policies. 

Bob O'Toole, President and Founder

Bob O'Toole, LICSW, an experienced Professional Geriatric Care Specialist, is President of Informed Eldercare Decisions, Inc., a private company specializing in elder life planning. He is a founding member of the national network of social work and health care professionals known as the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers, and is a former editor of the association's two major publications, Geriatric Care Management Journal and  Inside Case Management. He is also a contributing author of the Handbook of Geriatric Care Management, 3rd edition, recently published by Jones and Bartlett.

Prior to founding Informed Eldercare Decisions, Bob worked for 10 years as a senior administrator in the Massachusetts Home Care System and for one of the leading private long term care consulting firms.

Bob has written numerous articles on the delivery of elder care in the private marketplace. His articles have appeared in Geriatric Care Management Journal, Compensation and Benefits Management, EAP Digest, Workspan, Health Insurance Underwriter and the Journal of Medical Practice Management.

An experienced speaker and workshop leader on elder caregiving issues, elder financial abuse and the public and private  financing of long-term care costs, O'Toole has been a speaker at the national conferences of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, National Private Duty Association, American Association for the Continuity of Care, & The Voluntary Hospitals of America among others.

Bob is in his third year as editor of "Eldercare in an Age of Scarcity: Who Will Care and Who Will Pay an internet blog focused on manpower and financing issues of eldercare in America.  

What is A Geriatric Care Manager

The National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers is a volunteer nonprofit association with over 2,000 members 
Members (GCM's) are health and human services specialists who serve a largely affluent clientele of elders and family caregivers.  The NAPGCM membership is drawn from several fields related to care management, including nursing, gerontology, social work, and psychology.

http://www.caremanager.org/

Why use a Geriatric Geriatric Care Manager?
Geriatric Geriatric Care Managers provide a variety of services for seniors and caregivers.  A Geriatric Geriatric Care Manager generally provides a home assessment and then creates a senior care plan recommendation based on the interview.

Services provided by Geriatric Geriatric Care Managers :
Conduct a professional assessment of the needs of the person needing care
Identify and arrange for services that best match the elderly clients needs

Find community resources to support elder in their own homes
Assist with placement in a continuing care retirement community, assisted living facility or nursing home when needed

             Be a valuable source of information and support                               for the family caregiver
 
Conducting an in-person assessment
Geriatric care managers are nurses, social workers & other highly trained and experienced professionals who have advanced degrees in their field.
These professionals are trained to conduct interviews that include questions covering a range of issues related to your elder's health and living situation, including health care issues, need for support with everyday activities of daily living, nutritional status, safety needs, memory issues, depression and other mental health issues, finances, insurance, and more.

Interviews between a Geriatric Geriatric Care Manager and the senior can be done with or without family members.  It is important that the Care Manger have all the information that is necessary to do the best job possible.

 James Ferry, Executive Vice President

Jim began his Geriatric Care Management career in 1992.  In addition to his career experience, he is a  Ph. D candidate in Social Work at SUNY Albany

He recently published “How to Start a Home-Based Senior Care Business” which is available for purchase at bookstores and through Amazon.comClick here to read full profile

http://youragingparents.net/page12.html

Irene Jackson-Brown, National Advocate for Caregiver Services

She began her professional career as an academic. After she received a Ph.D., she served on the faculty of both Yale University and HowardUniversity and was a senior fellow at the Phelps Stokes Fund. She moved from academe to the not-for-profit sector and became a program executive at the national headquarters of the Episcopal Church.  She continued in the not-for-profit sector as a senior consultant at theInstitute for Applied Behavioral Science.
Click here to read full profile
http://youragingparents.net/page13.html
 
Robert Page, Senior Project Manager
Bob Page serves as Senior Project Manager at Informed Eldercare Decisions and plays a key role in the development of our new Elder Life Planning for Bank Depositors program.
Bob is an accomplished and dynamic sales and marketing executive with a consistent track record of success in developing business services that help small and mid-sized companies grow.
Known for developing effective sales strategies, product launches and collaborative alliances that are critical to the success of small business today, he also contributes articles and education programs for the National Eldercare Professional Community. (NEPC)
Click here to read full profile
http://youragingparents.net/page14.html

 Christine Marie Quinn
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Certified Geriatric Care Manager     
                                    
Christine has more than twenty years experience working with elders and their families in a variety of settings. A specialist in counseling elders and families around loss, illness, death and dying, transitions and other issues related to the aging process including elders in crisis situations.
 
She has extensive experience with identifying and connecting elders and family caregivers with needed community social services and is a passionate advocate for elders who wish to remain in the community and live with dignity and independence for as long  as possible. Her advocacy efforts include devloping programs that educate elected officials and members of  the communities she has served about the concept of “Aging in Place” and the responsibility that Councils on Aging and other elder service providers have for frail elders in their communities.
 
A partial list of Christine's achievements include; developing a  transportation program and medical escort service for vulnerable elders to ensure appropriate outpatient medical care, developing and producing an educational television show which served as outreach tool for the community, initiating a home modification program to help elders remain in their homes, and creating a "Safe Return" program with the Police Department for cognitively impaired elders and disabled residents which was later used with special needs preschoolers
 
As a psychotherapist, Christine has  worked in both clinics and nursing homes playing a key role in the work multidisciplinary mental health care teams. An experienced Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia counselor, Chris has also worked extensively with issues around death and dying.

For more than 20 years, Informed Eldercare Decisions has provided services to family caregivers who have sought our assistance while they were faced with difficult decisions concerning an aging family member. Due to the pressures of work, geographic distance, or other demands, it’s not always possible for concerned family members to manage the many tasks involved in care giving. Those not well acquainted with the fragmented service delivery system, often find it confusing and difficult to negotiate. 

It can be especially difficult when a family member has suffered a serious stroke, has a complex diagnosis such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s or other dementia, or is being treated for a prolonged mental illness that may be further complicated by difficult to manage behavioral issues.


Call us 1-800-375-0595

Profiles of our Specialized Care Management Team

Alberta Lipson

Alberta Lipson, Ph.D., worked at MIT with students and faculty for 20 years. For the past four years, since 2007, she has focused her attention on elder services.

She has worked as a Nursing Home Ombudsman, a Geriatric Care Manager and as a consultant to elder service agencies. As a consultant with the Brookline Council on Aging, she conducted a study of residents of that community who were 85 years and older to assess their needs and referred those who needed services to appropriate resources.

Alberta has also served as a resource advocate helping elders with transportation and housing issues. and as a SHINE counselor
(Serving the Health Information Needs of Elders ) she provides health insurance counseling services to elderly and disabled adults.

She has great empathy and energy and is skilled at assessing needs and finding appropriate resources to meet those needs.  

 Myrna Ann Saltman, M.S.

Myrna brings an extensive range of experience in the field of aging to her work with family caregivers.

Her professional activity includes Supportive Housing Resident Services Coordinator responsible for programs and activities for 250 low-income/elderly residents in Arlington  where she interacted daily with residents, staff and other elder service providers. Her work has included meeting with frail elders in their home environment, developing and managing care plans; planning and providing specializedprograms; coordinating special events; and working with other professionals and volunteers.

Previous work with older adults includes serving as Program Director, Weston Council on Aging, Assistant Director at The Cambridge Committee of Elders Senior Center, Newton Community Development Foundationand and as Senior Adult Supervisor at the Jewish Community Center, Worcester.

Myna has also developed expertise in applying state policies, procedures and eligibility for federally funded program.  

Our firm is proud to be a member of The Boston Senior Care Alliance (BSCA), an association of trusted senior care professionals offering a diverse range of services that effectively and comprehensively meet the needs of older adults and their family members.

The alliance conveniently brings together the resources older adults and their families need to help them manage changes in their lives.

 Our clients benefit from the BSCA’s collaborative model of care that meets the holistic needs of each individual and his or her specific situation.

 Members of the alliance offer our clients access to the highest quality providers in their respective fields.

 http://www.bostonseniorcarealliance.com