When Dr. Robert Kane, an internationally-known geriatric health care expert, and his sister tried to arrange long-term care for their elderly mother, it should have been a breeze. Instead, they faced difficulty after difficulty and their mother was forced to live the life of dependency she dreaded.
He shared his experiences in a radio interview with Steve Inskeep on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition in 2004: “Being able to seek out the best and the brightest in the field didn’t make the system work. If somebody with my experience and my knowledge couldn’t make the system work, I mean, what chance does the ordinary person have who comes into this for the first time?”
To help other physicians cope with problems associated with providing long-term care for elderly patients, Kane established an organization called Professionals with Personal Experience with Chronic Care. Today there are more than 550 members. You can read about their experiences by going to www.ppecc.org.
For many physicians, it’s particularly frustrating when their parents aren’t willing to entrust their care decisions to one of their children—even though that “child” is licensed to practice medicine. It can take aging parents a long time to admit they need help or agree on a plan for their remaining years. Doctors accustomed to taking charge and giving orders often find their non-compliant parents aggravating.
Caring for Your Parents: Your Physician Well Being Resources Benefit Can Help
“Physicians aren’t immune to the same feelings of guilt, depression and anxiety the general public suffers when making decisions about the care of their parents,” says Dr. Alan Rosenstein, medical director for VITAL WorkLife. “We have supportive counselors and physician peer coaches who can help physicians make good decisions about their parents’ care and feel better about the decisions they make.”
Physician Well Being Resources solution offered to you by your employer through VITAL WorkLife includes unlimited telephone consultation—available 24/7 by calling 877.731.3949. Your benefit also includes free, face-to-face counseling with master’s- and doctorate-level professionals—as well as physician peer coaching.
“Physicians often have conflicts with siblings about where and how parents will receive care or who’s shouldering the burden of the care,” says Deb Wood, senior consultant for VITAL WorkLife. “We can work with the physician as well as his or her extended family members in an effort to limit resentments and arrive at consensus.”
With resources in every state, VITAL WorkLife is able to offer both telephone and face-to-face sessions wherever needed.
Specialized Concierge Services: We’re Here to Help You Care for Your Parents
Another way Physician Well Being Resources eases the burden of caring for your aging parents is with customized concierge services. We can help you find and vet resources that both meet your standards and address your parents’ needs, including:
- Elder care centers
- Home health care providers
- Assisted living centers with escalating levels of service
- Nursing homes or long-term care facilities
- Hospice providers and grief counselors
If your parents live outside your geographic area, our concierge services can help make travel arrangements for you to visit them—or for them to visit you (including helping arrange for hospital beds, oxygen and other specialized equipment, as needed).
Your Member Website offers hundreds of helpful articles and links to resources finding care services and facilities for your parents if you prefer to do that research on your own. To find these resources, log onto your Member Website, enter your username and password in the member portal, and start exploring.
