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If you would like to speak with Dr. Dan Tobin, please contact Davia Temin, Christine Summerson, or Trang Mar of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or news@teminandco.com.
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Press Releases
The New Solution to Eldercare for 30 Million Baby Boomers:
Care Support of America – “Trusted Guidance as Your Parents Age”
Four Hours’ Consultation with Specially Trained Nurses Can Extend Parents’ Aging at Home, Prepare for Hospital Discharges, Reduce Time in Nursing Homes
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 – An aging mother falls and breaks her hip and is coming home from the hospital…A father with mild cognitive impairment begins to develop serious Alzheimer’s disease and has to move to a nursing home…An adult child tries to help an aging parent in a distant state who lives alone and struggles to remain independent with the help of home health aides and community services.
Today, Care Support of America (CSA), the national family care manager service, introduces a new expanded Web resource and corporate identity geared to reach the 30 million baby boomer family caregivers around the country who are searching for practical solutions and support in caring for their aging parents.
“Baby boomers are increasingly being consumed by caregiving responsibilities as their parents live longer, but not always well,” says Dan Tobin, M.D., Care Support of America Founder and CEO. “We have an invaluable service, proven over years of clinical research, to help them.”
Care Support of America exists for family caregivers anytime, anywhere – when their parents are coming home from the hospital, when they are trying to make sense of doctors’ treatments for advancing illness, when in-home services and equipment need to be arranged, or when insurance benefits and community services seem complex and unfamiliar.
CSA provides registered nurses, specially trained as family care managers, who work over the phone and in person doing home safety assessments of parents’ homes. CSA’s nurses work with the patient’s doctors and their hospitals and help family caregivers understand and evaluate treatment options, develop an individualized plan, and coordinate for family caregivers all medical and non-medical aspects of a parent’s care – including home health aides, transportation, medication management, insurance questions, and more.
Real-life Success Stories
Care Support of America’s method has helped thousands of families in 32 states and Canada, through partnerships with local home care services in more than 500 locations.
Real-life Care Support of America success stories include:
- Making sure an aging mother’s hospital-discharge plans were in place, visiting the parent the day she was discharged, and following up to be sure medications were in order, doctor’s treatment recommendations were followed, and organizing home nurses, aides, and equipment.
- Providing expert help with the interstate relocation of an aging mother, including handling forms and dealing with agencies and providers.
- Discovering elder abuse by a local home care aide who had a parent sign a power-of-attorney and was about to steal a lifetime of savings.
- Finding the best assisted living facility in a parent’s home town (CSA does not get paid for referring to any organization).
“I know that as I tried to care for elderly and chronically ill parents, uncles, and cousins myself, I found the whole medical system incredibly complex – and I'm an insider,” says Joseph F. O’Donnell, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry and Senior Advising Dean and Director of Community Programs at Dartmouth Medical School, and Senior Scholar of the C. Everett Koop Institute at Dartmouth. “If I had a service like Care Support of America, I would have been able to sleep better with less worry about their care and more effectively utilize my time trying to coordinate their care in the disjointed system we have. Most important, I feel they would have been able to receive better care.”
Extend Aging at Home, Improve Outcomes
Care Support of America’s service was developed through years of clinical research by Dr. Tobin at Kaiser Permanente, Catholic Healthcare Hospitals nationwide, selected Medicare demonstrations, and other large group healthcare systems and HMOs.
In independent peer-review studies, care coordination and CSA’s approach in particular have been shown to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, extend aging at home, and reduce time in nursing homes. Most Care Support of America clients, 80%, say that they get the help they need after only four hours of service, according to client surveys.
New Web Resource; New Identity Geared to Reach 30 Million
Care Support of America’s new Website (www.caresupportofamerica.com), which launches today, includes expanded information, tools, and checklists for family members coping with eldercare crises and coordinating care.
The new Care Support of America identity and “Trusted Guidance as Your Parents Age™” tagline reflect CSA’s mission and nationwide scope. A new logo of stylized stars symbolizes the changing relationship of adult children becoming caregivers for their parents. The logo and Care Support of America’s redesigned and enhanced Website were developed by leading global branding consultancy Siegel+Gale.
“As baby boomers, we’re as hard-wired to take care of our parents as our parents are hard-wired to take care of us,” Dr. Tobin says. “Our tools and methods solve problems and also help navigate the sensitive – and changing – relationship between an aging parent and an adult child. We help our clients manage the stress and leave room for them to spend meaningful quality time with their aging parents.”
About Dan Tobin, M.D.
Dan Tobin, M.D. is Founder and CEO of Care Support of America, a national family care manager service. He is an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry (health psychology) at Dartmouth Medical School and the author of books and articles on eldercare issues and positive solutions to family caregiving problems. Dr. Tobin’s blog, The Caregiver, appears on the Psychology Today Website at http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-caregiver.
About Care Support of America
Care Support of America (http://www.caresupportofamerica.com) is an independent family care manager service that helps identify and solve family caregiving problems to provide trusted guidance as your parents age, wherever you and your parents live. Care Support of America has partnerships with home care providers in 500 locations and has provided family care manager services in 32 states and Canada.
If you would like to speak with Dr. Tobin, please contact Davia Temin or Christine Summerson of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or news@teminandco.com.
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HELPING DAD STAY INDEPENDENT: THE BEST FATHER’S DAY GIFT FOR AN AGING PARENT—A CHECKLIST FROM DR. DAN TOBIN, FOUNDER AND CEO OF CARE SUPPORT OF AMERICA
NEW YORK—June 10, 2009: “As our fathers age, they want to remain independent, not be a burden, and—no offense—they usually don’t want to move in with their children,” says Dr. Dan Tobin, Founder and CEO of Care Support of America and a nationally recognized expert on elder care and family caregiving. “Helping your Dad safely age at home can be the best gift— and the best Father's Day gift—you can give him, once you notice even small changes in his ability to get around.”
“Remember Men are from Mars? Men do not often express their feelings freely or at all. So if your father is living alone, it will be harder for you to know how he is doing,” Dr. Tobin says. “The hardest part may be getting your Dad to open up about practical and emotional issues.”
Dr. Tobin advises: “Go slow and steady. Approach one issue at a time. Fathers may want to appear as if they’re always in control, even when things have begun to slip. Let your Dad know that you are there to help without getting in his space. To assess how he’s doing living on his own, here is a checklist of issues for you to explore with him. Then, if there are problems, you can address them, and find your father the help he’ll need to stay independent.”
- Activity and Connectedness
- “The most important indicators for wellness in aging are staying physically active and staying connected to others or to a community. Does your Dad appear to be slowing down? Is he less mobile? Is he exercising, interacting with his neighbors, or participating in senior-activity programs? We tend to look away from physical changes that are important in supporting our Dads.”
- Housekeeping
- “When you visit your father at his home, look around and get a quick reading on whether he could use help with home repairs or housecleaning. Remember to think about preventing falls, which cause serious problems as your Dad ages.”
- Nutrition
- “Is your father eating properly? What’s in his refrigerator?”
- Adaptive Technologies
- “Is your Dad’s strength or mobility reduced in any way? Would he benefit from, or even enjoy using, any adaptive devices from low tech to high, such as kitchen utensils or tools with bigger grips, or a webcam or email device for seniors?”
- Driving
- “Driving may be one of the most difficult issues to discuss. Men almost always resist the need to stop driving. Your Dad’s driving skills need to be re-assessed in light of vision, responsiveness, hearing, and night vision. If his driving is restricted, be willing to compromise—maybe driving only in the daytime or in familiar places. You can also help in setting him up with alternative transportation services.”
- Finances
- “If your Dad has not discussed family finances with you before, be aware that finances can be one of the most personal parts of family dynamics. You can start by finding out if your Dad’s personal finances are in order—bills, rent, mortgage, credit cards, taxes, etc. Does he have enough money for extras? If his budget is stretched, you can try to find free services in his community. If possible, you can also offer to pay for services such as home health aides, home repairs, cleaning services, transportation, and entertainment.”
“Often an individualized family plan goes a long way to show your Dad that the entire family is mobilized around giving him the gift he really, really wants for Father’s Day—independence and support,” Dr. Tobin says.
Family care managers, like Care Support of America, can help, particularly if you’re in a distant city. They can professionally organize a problem list and assess any pressing issues, including home safety, locating credible home services, understanding the basic finances of wellness in aging, and how families can best support their father’s independence.
About Dr. Dan Tobin
Dan Tobin, MD, is Founder and CEO of Care Support of America, a national family care manager service. He is an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry (health psychology) at Dartmouth Medical School and the author of books and articles on elder care issues and positive solutions to family caregiving problems.
About Care Support of America
Care Support of America (http://www.caresupportofamerica.com) is an independent family care manager service that helps identify and solve family caregiving problems to provide trusted guidance as your parents age. The service begins with a personal family care manager on the phone, working with a local nurse, to locate and mobilize trusted home care resources in your parent’s community; help you understand their doctor’s treatment plans and information; help ensure that parents remain independent in their home; and answer questions about Medicare, long-term insurance, and basic finances. Care Support of America has provided family care manager services in 32 states.
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Dr. Dan Tobin, Family Caregiving Expert, Featured on Caring.com—Founder and CEO of Care Support of America Offers Families Advice on Planning Care for Aging Parents
NEW YORK—May 7, 2009: Caring for aging parents can be overwhelming. Every family’s situation is unique, and many caregivers turn to the web for information that is practical and proven. Now they will have access to Dr. Dan Tobin, a nationally recognized expert on eldercare and family caregiving. Dr. Tobin, Founder and CEO of national family care manager service Care Support of America, is newly featured as a key expert on Caring.com, a website providing support for caregivers.
“What can I do if my parent refuses to receive medical treatment?”
“How can Mom and Dad stay safe at home while their illness is advancing?”
In his role as a Caring.com expert, Dr. Tobin will answer questions like these, helping caregivers with proactive information to navigate the complicated family dynamics associated with caring for aging parents.
“Caring.com is building a community as well as an invaluable information resource,” says Dr. Tobin. “I have devoted my professional medical career to providing caregiver guidance, and I’m honored to help caregivers who visit Caring.com.”
“Dr. Tobin is part of a distinguished group of Caring.com experts who respond to users’ questions on everything from health and housing to money and legal matters—all dedicated to the needs of people who are caring for their aging relatives,” says Andy Cohen, Caring.com’s Co-Founder and CEO. “We are delighted to have someone with Dr. Tobin’s experience join our group of experts.”
Dan Tobin, MD, is Founder and CEO of Care Support of America, a national family care manager service. He is an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry (health psychology) at Dartmouth Medical School and the author of books and articles on eldercare issues and positive solutions to family caregiving problems.
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