Focusing on managing a geriatric care enterprise gives us access to the amazing resources of the management consulting field: clarifying the mission; facilitating cooperation; planning; etc.
Families are complex systems (Bowen). Family members are typically caught up in events from the past and the concerns of the present. Medical issues create another layer of complexity. Same with economic pressures. Why would anyone want to add another element?
A knowledgeable outsider can offer a perspective on a larger picture---one that includes the future as well as the past and the present. He or she is not embroiled in the family saga. Of course in times of crisis families tend to circle the wagons--- the outsider (and the news he/she brings) might not be welcome.
Still, thinking about family caregiving as a family business, good management can make all the difference especially when
resources like time and money are in short supply;
the enterprise is fraught with all sorts of negative history and disagreements;
organizing for the future is mired in procrastination; and
quality of life is at stake---for everyone involved.
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