A Care Manager is a professional hired to assess a person's medical and social needs, with the majority of clients elderly or disabled. After assessing needs and when assistance is needed, the Care Manager can arrange services and monitor care as needed. Utilizing a Care Manager allows a person to remain as independent as possible, while giving family members peace of mind that their loved one is being cared for. A Care Manager can be as involved as you like and can assist someone living at home or guide and oversee transitions into supportive housing or assisted living facilities.
A Care Manager is often a family’s local support when family members can’t physically be here on a daily basis. In addition to assisting with physical needs such as attending doctor visits, assisting with in-home care needs or handling long-term care insurance claims, the Care Manager becomes your communication resource, so you are assured to be informed of any changes that occur.
FAQs:
What is the first step in possibly getting care management services? Whether needing our help immediately or just planning ahead, we welcome your phone call to setup an initial meeting which includes a home visit and care plan assessment. A copy of this assessment will be shared with you and/or family as requested. If it is determined you might benefit from some immediate assistance, we can provide external resources or have a Care Manager from our team reach out to discuss needs. If nothing further is needed at this time, you will have a contact to call when you need additional help, or we will reach out to you annually to schedule an update to the care plan.
What is the cost for your services? Our team can be as involved as you like with your care. The initial care plan assessment costs $250 for an individual and $400 for a couple. If it is determined you would like additional help after the assessment, the cost is $100/hour during business hours and $200/hour after hours or holidays/weekends. Mileage is an additional cost.
When is a Care Manager needed? Maybe no family members live nearby but would like reassurance from a professional about abilities/lack of abilities with aging relatives. Or maybe when the stress of providing care to an aging relative conflicts with a family members' work and make it impossible to be as involved as much as needed. Sometimes there is a crisis, such as a fall, surgery or death of a spouse, which requires a temporary need of additional support. Or maybe a neighbor sees behaviors that make you question the safety of the current living situation and knows there is no family to assist.
What Services do you Provide?
- Home visits to create care management assessments to share with Healthcare Power of Attorneys and family as desired;
- Facilitating communication with a healthcare team and client or family member;
- Scheduling and possibly attending health appointments;
- Researching and assistance with moves to appropriate long-term care housing;
- Connecting with community resources available for older adults;
- Intervening and offering assistance when a crisis occurs;
- Assisting with long-term care insurance company communication to file claims or learn benefit processes;
- Preparing pre-needs;
- Sharing knowledge and resources to assist with daily living and the aging process;
- Review of insurance and Medicare needs;
- Coordination of Medicaid benefits with the Caregiver Support Services Medicaid team;
- Personal financial management assistance wtih the Caregiver Support Services Finance Management team.
Housing Transition Services
Are you downsizing and overwhelmed by the details? Give us a call and we can coordinate using our resources to help with estate sales, home cleanout and cleaning and selling of your home. One of our team members can assist someone living at home or guide and oversee transitions into supportive housing or assisted living facilities. Contact us at 828-435-2546.