Today, one out of two French people is closely concerned by the dependency of an elderly person. A figure that will only increase: by 2070, there will be 13 times more centenarians than today.

As a “family doctor”, he has the good knowledge of your loved one, who is his long-time patient. He is the one who will know best how to follow his health evolution, and notice the first signs of a loss of autonomy.

He is also able to organize and coordinate more advanced care if necessary (physiotherapy, recourse to a nurse or home help), as well as to guide caregivers in their search for help.

Referred by a general practitioner, or if you notice a problem in your loved one, you will consult a geriatrician in the event of:

Geriatricians practice mainly in the hospital sector , but they can also practice in other settings, and in particular in liberal or in a private health establishment. A geriatrician can also be a coordinating doctor in a retirement home. Be aware that geriatrics is sometimes called clinical gerontology.

The gerontologist, specialist in the study of aging

Less pragmatic than geriatrics, gerontology studies all the biological phenomena of ageing. Gerontologists can work either in hospitals or nursing homes or in government agencies or universities.

Geriatrics is in fact a component of gerontology (of which it is more precisely the medical branch): except in exceptional cases, it is therefore with a geriatrician that you will be dealing, rather than with a gerontologist.

The coordinating doctor, a strategic actor in a retirement home

If your relative benefits from accommodation in an EHPAD, the coordinating doctor will be your main contact. His role ? Be the guarantor of the coherence and relevance of the care provided. Its responsibilities, established by the decree of May 27, 2005, require it in particular to:

A strategic player in a retirement home, he can be a general practitioner as well as a specialist (in geriatrics, gerontology). He may possibly hold a university degree as a coordinating doctor or a certificate of continuing education issued by an approved body.

The liberal nurse: the actor of home care

With the development of home care ( solution favored by 90% of the elderly and their families ), the issue of care at home becomes crucial.

Occupational therapist: “home care” gentleman

A loved one who sees less well, gets tired quickly, is less flexible and less mobile than before…? This is probably the right time to seek the services of an occupational therapist. This health professional is trained and authorized to restore “margins of autonomy” to people for whom the acts of daily life are complicated.

By what means ?

First through a diagnostic phase , at your loved one’s home. The occupational therapist follows him in his environment to have a clear vision of the acts that pose a problem, and to anticipate possible degradations in the future.

Then by a series of recommendations on securing and fitting out the home, to make it more practical and adapted to the patient’s abilities

The psychomotrician: an expert in neuronal disorders

So-called psychomotor difficulties are common in older people. What is it about ? Mental disorders that result in a physical alteration of:

To treat these disorders, a psychomotrician will organize workshops and specific rehabilitation sessions to help your loved one either reduce the extent of this disorder or make it disappear.

In the case of home support, your loved one’s needs are not limited to “simple” medical follow-up. He or she will need a whole range of services on the edge of health and daily life, to enable him or

Of the three professionals authorized to assist a person at home (home helpers, life assistants, and social life assistants), the latter are those whose scope of action is the widest.

But they serve the same purpose: to facilitate the essential acts of daily life. And generally provide the following services:

This explains why they are mainly found in hospitals, and even more so in EHPADs and UHRs (establishments specializing in the accommodation of severe Alzheimer’s disorders) . Most often, the MAP is then integrated into a multidisciplinary team (doctor, occupational therapist, psychomotor therapist) set up to take charge of these patients