We know that providing individual care requires meeting individual needs-health, family, cultural, religious, and dietary. Our unique approach to addressing these needs with specialized services and home health care education has helped to make us a leader in the field of geriatric care. Freedom Eldercare consistently trains and employs specialists in a number of disciplines including:

Depression Management

Research has shown that about 20 percent of people over 65 suffer from depression. Depression in later life frequently coexists with other medical illnesses and disabilities. In addition, advancing age is often accompanied by loss of key social support systems due to the death of a spouse or siblings, retirement, and/or relocation of residence. Because of their change in circumstances and the fact that they're expected to slow down, doctors and family may miss the diagnosis of depression in elderly people, delaying effective treatment. As a result, many seniors find themselves having to cope with symptoms that could otherwise be easily treated.

Yet elderly depression doesn't have to be a part of your retirement years. With an understanding and knowledgeable doctor and willingness from the patient, elderly depression can be successfully treated. Many older adults often don't feel sad but show other symptoms like unexplained general aches and pains, sudden lack of motivation or energy to tackle daily life or familiar pains that have suddenly worsened. Depression in the elderly can also take the form of nervousness and anxiety. Usually some of the other symptoms listed above are present, too, but all in the absence of a real feeling of sadness.

Our Geriatric Care Managers are experienced in navigating the necessary channels to ensure our clients are receiving the necessary care to address their depression and return them to a baseline that improves their overall quality of life. Our Geriatric Care Managers will also provide specialized disease management training for our caregivers so they better understand how to care for clients with depression.

Our Caregivers are trained to identify and report symptoms to professional staff members so they can determine whether the client suffers with depression, dementia or both. In addition, our caregivers are trained to identify hundreds of physical, emotional and behavioral symptoms including poor appetite, unwillingness to dress, lack of personal hygiene, forgetfulness, and the inability to make decisions.

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