Welcome Wisdom

Strategies for Long-Distance Caregiving

— by Felicia Juntunen, MA, CMC, Director of Care Management November and December include multiple occasions to gather, often resulting in family members traveling from a distance to spend time with aging parents and loved ones, whom they don’t see regularly because of geographic separation. These visits sometimes result in family members becoming aware of changes... Read More

The Gift of a Plan

— by Felicia Juntunen, MA, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management 2023 is drawing to a close and our year-long discussion about the challenges of aging concludes with the topic of End of Life planning. As the season of gift-giving approaches, we emphasize that having a plan and documenting end of life wishes is truly a... Read More

Care Coordination: A Care Manager’s Expertise

— by Felicia Juntunen, MA, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management The healthcare journey can be full of challenges for older adults (and their families) and further complicated by the management of chronic diseases or dementia – sometimes both. Patients often express frustration with providers who are unfamiliar with them, with the cost of care, and the... Read More

Advocacy to Optimize Health Care

— by Felicia Juntunen, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management Dealing with the physical and mental health challenges that can accompany aging begins with understanding and maximizing available support systems. However, finding resources, making connections, and then utilizing those resources can seem daunting – especially when time and energy are diminished because of the stress of coping... Read More

What role does a Fiduciary play in the aging process? 

— by Gail Arno, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management A fiduciary is an individual who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties. They are placed in a position of legal trust on behalf of another individual or group.  At times, professional fiduciaries are appointed by courts to serve in a... Read More

Partnering with those best prepared to support

— by Gail Arno, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management As we continue to write about the partnership efforts that we, as Care Managers find so vital, it seems prudent to share a few of the resources that we rely on both near and far.  We are often brought into the lives of our clients in the... Read More

Planning, Preparing, & Procuring… successful aging takes some effort! 

— by Gail Arno, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management Each day, our Care Managers meet our senior clients who are in the midst of their own crisis. Often, the issues we tackle are mild and manageable. Sometimes, however, the situation is serious and life-altering. As Care Managers, we accept these challenges and are honored to be able to step in to educate, support,... Read More

When the hits just keep coming…

— by Gail Arno, CMC, ECM Director of Care Management This time we revisit the experience of our client BettyJean and the challenges she faced being vulnerable, alone, and aging with both physical and cognitive challenges. BettyJean was living in her own home, had hired caregiving support with a caregiver who was slowly taking more and more... Read More