Care Advisory - Eldercare Case Examples

Read Case Example #1 — This case is about an 87 year old woman who lives alone in her home. She was recently hospitalized with a fractured hip after a home fall. Her daughter works full time.

Close Case Example #1

This case is about an 87 year old woman who lives alone in her home. She was recently hospitalized with a fractured hip after a home fall. Her daughter works full time.

Employee Benefit - Jane works for a Massachusetts employer that provides its employees with unlimited access to the Seniorlink Online eldercare portal and Care Advisory service.

Presenting Problem - Can Mom return home? Jane knew that she needed some help thinking through what to expect and how to plan for her mother’s needs.

Family Caregiver Educaton - Jane spent an hour on the Seniorlink Online site, focusing on articles about the formal and informal types of service that might be available.

Identification of Elder Needs - Jane completed an Eldercare Planning Worksheet, which indicated her needs:

• Sub-acute Rehabilitation following Hip Surgery
• Need to identify the best Skilled Nursing Facility for sub-acute services
• Understanding Medicare coverage
• Options for Home Care Services

First Conversation with Care Advisor - 30 Minutes

• Overview of the rehabilitation process
• Characteristics of what to look for in a facility
• Medicare coverage and length of stay expectations
• Discharge planning

Care Advisor Follow Up - Research on Sub-acute facilities and services for Jane’s mother

Second Conversation with Care Advisor - 60 Minutes

• Planning for transition back home
• Discussion of mother’s current level of functioning, especially her difficulty with walking and standing. Determination that a return to home was reasonable with home care services.
• Information about Home Health Aide services, expected costs, how to evaluate agencies
• Names of reliable, high quality agencies in the area

Outcome

• Elder - Mother returned to her home, with the services of a private caregiver
• Daughter - The service had saved her a lot of time and effort as well as affording peace of mind that her mother was safe in her home with the assistance she needed

Read Case Example #2 — This case is about an 80 year old man who lives alone in Florida and is in generally good health. His son lives a long way away and wonders how he can prepare to help his father.

Close Case Example #2

This case is about an 80 year old man who lives alone in Florida and is in generally good health. His son lives a long way away and wonders how he can prepare to help his father.

Primary Concern - Bob began to worry about what to do to prepare for the future especially as he was living in Massachusetts and his father was in Florida. He realized that he knew next to nothing about elder care and wondered what would be the best and easiest way to get an overview of his father’s options.

Internet Research - Bob is fairly savvy with technology and used several Internet search engines to find out more about eldercare, but found himself lost in links and without answers to his questions and concerns. It confirmed for him how complicated the subject of eldercare really is for family members.

Expert Guidance and Advice - Bob visited the Seniorlink Online site and learned about service. He liked the professional approach and experience in helping people just like him and purchased a 3 month subscription to the premium Care Advisory service.

First Conversation with a Care Advisor - Bob decided to call the Care Advisor directly. Using the toll free number posted for premium members, they spent 30 minutes talking about his father’s situation and discussed actions that Bob could take himself to address immediate and long-range needs. They covered:

• Dad’s health issues
• Suitability of his living environment
• Availability of local resources
• Essential legal needs, i.e. paperwork such as a health care proxy and durable power of attorney, and referral to an Elder Law Attorney

Outcome - Bob was able to take action on immediate needs. He definitely planned to contact the Care Advisor again with questions and in the future as his father’s situation changed.

Read Case Example #3 — This case is about an 79 year old woman who lives alone in her own home and has been resistant to family input and concern.

Close Case Example #3

This case is about an 79 year old woman who lives alone in her own home and has been resistant to family input and concerns about isolation and other problems.

Presenting Problems/Risks - Mom is isolated in her home, not interested in preparing meals, and unsteady on her feet.

Family Dynamics and Concerns - Ann is worried that her mom is no longer able to live independently. Ann thought that assisted living might be the perfect solution. When she brought the subject up, her mother flatly refused to consider it. Ann was becoming increasingly frustrated and angry that her mother was rejecting a plan that seemed ideal.

Ann’s friend told her about Seniorlink and suggested that Ann call to see if some help were available. When Ann spoke with a Care Advisor, the situation was scoped out briefly, and Ann was informed that an inexpensive consultation could be purchased through the Seniorlink Online web portal. Ann went to the site, liked what she saw, and purchased a premium membership. She immediately submitted an Eldercare Planning Worksheet that emphasized Ann’s worry that her Mom was failing and at risk for more rapid deterioration.

First Conversation with a Care Advisor - Ann asked for the Care Advisor to call her at work at a pre-determined time when she would have 20 private minutes. They discussed the following:

• Review of the Eldercare Planning worksheet
• Review of elder’s lifestyle and preferences
• Discussed Mom’s fit with an assisted living environment from the perspective that it is not suitable for everyone. Ann’s mother had always been a bit of a loner and felt uncomfortable in large groups. She also loved her home and was determined to stay there as long as possible. Ann acknowledged that she hadn’t been thinking along these lines and just thought that assisted living would make it so that she wouldn’t have to worry any more.
• The Care Advisor suggested ways to approach a discussion of care, dealing with her mother’s resistance and developing workable options.
• Ann knew nothing about home care services so the Advisor explained the basics and offered to help locate suitable providers.
• It was also suggested that a physical therapist evaluate Ann’s mother’s unsteadiness and the process of obtaining a referral was explained.

Follow-up - Ann and the Care Advisor exchanged several e mails over the next few weeks. Ann was seeking clarification and reassurance that her plan was on track.

Outcome - Ann called back to let the Care Advisor know that she had been successful in developing a plan acceptable to her mother. They had agreed that a home care worker would provide some meal preparation and companionship and this was working out well. A physical therapist had come to the home and was helping to assess the mobility problems. Ann felt that the advice she had received from the Seniorlink Care Advisor had enabled her to stop worrying about her mother and to quit wasting time on a plan that had little or no chance of success.