Managing the various doctors’ appointments, treatments, tests, medications, lifestyle adjustments, and more is all in a day’s work for the many seniors living with health conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an astounding 85% of older adults have at least one health care need, and as many as 60% are living with two or more. The challenges may seem overwhelming. But there’s one crucial element to help older adults effectively manage health needs: care coordination.
Diagnoses such as diabetes, COPD, heart disease, and others are life-altering. They affect a senior’s mental as well as physical wellbeing, and it’s important to enlist help and support in meeting all care needs. Case managers are skilled registered nurses who perform care coordination duties and have an expertise in meeting a variety of client care needs.
Here’s how care coordination works:
The Assessment
An initial, in-depth assessment, performed in the senior’s home, allows the case manager to fully understand the senior’s particular concerns and challenges. The case manager will assess cognitive, physical, nutritional, and mental acuity, along with the overall safety of the home environment. With this in mind, a detailed plan of care is then implemented.
The Care Plan
The senior’s customized care plan will include a wide range of recommendations, such as:
- Training as needed to improve the senior’s care management
- Referrals to local resources
- How to ensure medications and other care needs are managed effectively
- Home modifications to improve safety and reduce fall risk
- And more
The End Result
Following the plan may include, as appropriate:
- Coordinating and collaborating with the older person’s health care team and network of support
- Problem-solving to remove any barriers to appropriate care and management of health conditions
- Advocating for the older adult
- Serving as the “eyes and ears” for loved ones living at a distance
- Accompanying the older adult to medical appointments to ensure doctors’ orders are both understood and followed
- And more
At Dakota Home Care, we’re pleased to have earned the reputation as the leading provider of care coordination and home care in Mandan and Fargo and the surrounding areas. Discover the peace of mind and higher quality of care our services provide. Contact us at (877) 691-0015 today for a free in-home assessment to help a senior you love enjoy a healthier, safer, and more independent way of life.