Mediate Michigan

A growing number of families are turning to professional consultants for help navigating the often confusing and stressful world of senior care, from dealing with sudden health declines to finding the right retirement home.

“It can be overwhelming to think about because it’s like being parachuted into a foreign country,” says Mara Osis, vice-president of ElderWise Inc. in Calgary. “You don’t know the language, you don’t know the customs and you just don’t know where to start.

“Driven by a rapidly growing senior population and a “sandwich generation” of baby boomers juggling careers, their own families and caring for their aging parents, senior-care consultants like Osis say their specialty is still largely unknown but starting to catch on.

But the families who seek out their help usually aren’t planning ahead for a smooth transition, consultants say — they’re often desperate for help because a parent has fallen suddenly ill or can no longer live on their own.

via Baby boomers turning to eldercare experts for parents’ care.