Merrily Orsini, Geriatric Care Manager

Merrily Orsini was a pioneer in the business of providing geriatric care managed in-home care. Her dedication to the in-home care industry is vast. Board memberships at a national level have included the National Association for Home Care and Hospice and the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers. She most recently served as the Chief Strategic Officer for Private Duty for the National Association for Home Care and Hospice where she was the past chair of the affiliate Private Duty Homecare Association, an organization where she had also served as a member of the Board of Advisers. She has a master's degree in social work and is a nationally known writer and speaker on aging, elder issues, and in-home care. She chaired two national conferences for the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers presented in conjunction with the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, was a delegate to the National Institute on Aging, and cofounded and co-owned a company that provided in-home care to frail elders from 1981 to 1998.

While working in in-home care, Orsini recognized a need for special training for those who provided care at home, so she created a state-licensed, certified elder-caregiver program. She also developed a training system to help caregivers better learn how to work with clients with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias. Her agency provided a unique model of care that used geriatric care management in conjunction with in-home care to allow frail elders to remain at home as long as they desired to do so. In her current role as President of corecubed, an aging care marketing firm, she brings the perspective of educating and solving problems as a way for agencies to gain differentiation in a crowded marketplace.