Frequently Asked Questions
We are nurses, social workers and gerontologists who all have specialized expertise in 8 core knowledge areas to assist our clients and their families or responsible parties. These include housing, health, disability, advocacy, crisis intervention, local resources, financial and legal concerns. Care managers are the only professionals who integrate all of these knowledge areas into their work and consultations with families and assessments of our clients.
It’s good to be proactive. Although families usually call us when they are in crisis, we’ve received many calls over the years from people interested in developing a relationship with an Aging Life Care™ Manager before they need us, so we developed a program called WellSenior™. Some callers are seniors and some are adult children with busy careers or who live out of state. Some clients have a chronic condition that’s currently well managed, but they anticipate future needs. Others are without family support. Our WellSenior™ clients find comfort in knowing that if their needs change in any way, they already have a relationship in place with professionals they can trust to guide and support them. We begin with an in-home assessment, check in periodically by phone and visit annually until additional services are needed from one of our social workers or nurses.
Families often find making decisions about care for aging parents to be a stressful and emotionally fraught process. Each sibling has their own relationship with their parents, and their perspective on and perceptions of the situation can vary greatly. Add into the mix the complexities of the financial costs of providing care and it can be very challenging to agree on an arrangement that satisfies everyone, including the parents. As Aging Life Care Managers, we have a comprehensive assessment process and multi-disciplinary team approach. We make recommendations about the care needs identified and then help families understand the various options that are available to meet those needs, whether it is a move or remaining at home. We are the neutral and objective voice in the discussion, sensitively facilitating a solution that feels right to all parties.
We understand your quandary. You know you should accompany mom to the doctor, but how can you, without cutting back on needed hours at work? You want to do more to keep dad active, but your children need attention, too.
Our care managers will first visit with your parents and assess their needs, then discuss options for ongoing care management support. We can take mom and dad to doctor visits, communicate with their physicians, advocate on their behalf, and manage their medications. We can also connect you with other essential service providers, such as caregivers, companions and legal and financial advisors. Whatever living arrangements your parents may need —from independent living to a skilled nursing facility—we can help them find, and transition to, just the right place.
Most of our clients pay privately for our services. An increasing number of our clients have long term care insurance and some policies have a “care coordination” benefit which can cover our services. Some employee assistance programs (EAP’s) also pay for our services. Care management services may be considered a tax deductible medical expense and we can provide an annual statement for tax purposes, upon request.
Like other professionals who bill for their time, such as attorneys and accountants, we bill in increments of an hour (6 minutes = 1/10th of an hour). We charge for care management time, which includes conversations and emails with families and other professionals, as well as our time visiting with our clients, accompanying them to medical appointments, etc. Travel time to visit our clients is billed at a lower rate than visits and care management. We bill on a monthly basis, and bills are sent out by the middle of the following month for services rendered. When we start with a new client, we are often engaged to provide support during a crisis, so the first month’s bill is often larger, while we work to stabilize the situation. We request a one-time deposit when we begin services with a new client.
Our care managers travel over 70,000 miles per year and spend over 3000 hours in their cars en route to visit our clients in their homes, at hospitals, and in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. Our travel fee covers the cost of gas, as well as the time they spend on the road traveling to meet with our clients.
Yes. Although many of our clients are in their 80’s and older, we also serve a large number of 50 – 70 year olds facing challenges of chronic diseases or illness, such as cancer. We also work with individuals of any age who have a disability, as well as with trust officers who serve as fiduciaries for this population.
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We follow the ALCA Code of Ethics, and do not have a financial relationship with any of the providers that we refer to. Instead, we base our referrals on the needs and preferences of our clients, and other clients' experiences with the providers. We also, at times, reach out to other local ALCA members to see if there is a service that they have experience with/can recommend. Our recommendations are based on positive experiences and outcomes that others have using these services---most often, we are involved and have a good understanding of the strengths of the professionals we refer to (and any potential challenges). If we make a referral based on something other than our direct experience with the company/practitioner, then we make this clear when telling a client/family about the service. We carefully vet all professionals and services we refer to and we do NOT have a financial relationship with any of the companies that we refer to.
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If you call our office, whoever answers the phone will ask a few questions and take down some pertinent information. Then one of our intake specialists, some of whom are care managers, will contact you by phone to get more information on your needs and answer any questions you may have. They will email you additional information on our company, as well as our fee agreement and related paperwork. As soon as we receive your signed paperwork, a care manager will be assigned to assist you and contact you to set up a first meeting.
Contact us if you need any more information.