Life Care Management: Where it Begins

As we begin the journey into life’s later years, we look forward to spending more time with family and friends, more opportunities for travel and leisure, and more time for the activities that give us personal fulfillment. We will find as our age increases, so does frailty and often the associated complexities of life and healthcare. We will also discover a healthcare system that is more challenging to navigate than ever before.

Life Care Management Looks at a Person Holistically

Health makes up only part of an individual’s overall well-being. A person’s happiness, living conditions, and finances all contribute to a well-rounded quality of life. As Life Care Managers, we take all aspects of a person’s life into account when helping them plan for the future.

Our process starts with an assessment to understand the client’s medical, environmental, psychosocial, and financial needs. The Managing Director and Registered Nurse Advocates have special training to help them fully assess the client’s situation and determine what services will help them live the fullest possible life.

The Managing Director is the foundation of the life care management team. The Managing Director watches over each client’s case to ensure the plan of action is being implemented appropriately and consistently with the client’s wishes. To handle the client’s day-to-day needs, or should the client require assistance with their finances, our Client Care Specialist is the skilled expert handling these matters for our clients. To meet the medical needs and navigate our clients’ healthcare challenges, an experienced Registered Nurse will act as our client’s patient advocate. In addition to serving as a patient advocate, our Registered Nurse Advocates are often called to perform various assessments. These assessments can range from cognitive assessments to safety assessments to medication assessments. We currently have 35 assessment tools that we can use to help our clients maintain their independence and quality of life for as long as possible.

Life Care Management Assesses Home Safety & Living Environments

One of our most important responsibilities to our clients is to ensure their living arrangements meet their needs and are safe. During an environmental assessment, we determine the client’s optimal living situation by evaluating their mobility, physical strength, cognitive ability, and other factors to ensure the highest degree of safety and best possible quality of life is being achieved within their living environment. If a client’s living needs are best met by residing in a community setting, we will consider the client’s financial situation, personality, and preferences when making a recommendation. Our work with the client doesn’t end once we have helped them find community living arrangements. A Registered Nurse Advocate, or Managing Director, will routinely check in with the client to support their adjustment to their new home. Additionally, we will perform unannounced quality assurance checks to ensure the staff is consistently and appropriately honoring the client’s wishes while addressing their physical, psycho-social, and medical needs.

Life Care Managers Coordinate the Delivery of Services

Service coordination is perhaps one of the most important life care management services we perform. While service coordination has typically meant coordinating healthcare services between providers, life care managers look beyond a client’s health needs and coordinate all the services that help an individual maintain a high quality of life. Our Client Care Specialists and Managing Director know many of the service providers in the community, and we can help clients or their families vet a wide range of service providers. From providers to care for the yard, provide home repair services, or make upgrades to the home, life care managers will manage the delivery of all essential life services. We know the local home care providers and can help select a home care agency to prepare meals, arrange transportation, and provide any number of in-home care services a person may need.

When a client can safely age in place, a Registered Nurse Advocate or Managing Director will help select necessary services to support independent living. This can range from hiring a home care agency for companion care services to finding a service provider to remove snow during the winter and tend to the lawn in the summer. Our Registered Nurse Advocates can help with minor home changes, such as adding non-slip pads under rugs or moving cords out of the way to minimize tripping hazards. Should more intensive home modifications be required, our Client Care Specialists can assist in vetting contractors, collecting bids, and performing on-site quality assurance as the work is being done.

Client Care Specialists Beyond Care Management: Our Client Care Specialists

Unlike many care management or case management providers, we go beyond helping clients manage their health — we work with clients to manage their finances, too. Understanding our client’s financial situation enables us to make recommendations suitable for the financial situation. In some instances, we can help clients enroll in government benefit programs or get them assistance with their prescription medications. Our financial assessments can also uncover financial abuse or exploitation or help individuals take steps to avoid becoming a victim of predatory behavior. These services don’t take the place of the services a financial planner can provide, and in some instances, we may recommend a client work with a financial planner to ensure they have a financially sound future. Life care management varies from person to person. Still, regardless of our client’s needs, we always adhere to our core tenet: helping older adults and individuals with disabilities live life to its fullest potential and with dignity.