Research by PubMed Central [1] has shown that seniors who receive care coordination services are less likely to experience hospital readmissions. That's only one benefit of working with a care coordinator.
A care coordinator serves as an advocate for you or a loved one, ensuring your care needs, wishes, and preferences are met. They'll see you through complex medical conditions, offer emotional support, guarantee your safety at home, offer legal and financial services, and many more.
Your care coordinator is like your life partner, ready to listen and understand you, answer any questions, simplify your health care, empower you, prevent problems, support your family, and coordinate care.
Every aging adult needs a care facilitator to make life more fulfilling, independent, and seamless. Now, let's give care coordination an actual definition below.
What is Elder Care Coordination For Seniors?
Elder care management is a comprehensive and personalized service that helps older adults and their families navigate the complexities of aging, healthcare, and daily life.
It involves the assessment of an adult's individual needs and the development of a coordinated care plan to ensure their well-being and independence and result in a quality life.
Care coordinators are professionals who provide expertise in various areas to address the unique challenges people face as they grow older. They may include nurses, social workers, physical and occupational therapists, gerontologists, psychologists, etc.
Below are the critical roles of a care coordinator:
- Assessment and Planning
- Healthcare Facilitation
- Social and Emotional Support:
- Housing and Safety
- Financial and Legal Guidance
- Advocacy
- Family and Caregiver Support
- Coordination of Services
- Crisis Intervention
- Continuity of Care
Elder care coordination aims to improve the senior's overall quality of life, promote independence, prevent health crises, and reduce the burden on their spouse and adult children.
What are the Benefits of Having an Elder Care Coordinator?
Care management offers a holistic approach to addressing the unique challenges of aging, ensuring that older adults receive the care and support they need to live with dignity and comfort in their later years. Among the many benefits of care facilitation are the following:
1. Peace of Mind
The first and most important benefit of having an elder care team by your side is the guarantee of peace of mind, knowing you have a professional overseeing you or your loved one's wellbeing, whether in-home or at an assisted living or nursing home. Care facilitators lift the burden off your shoulders and let you focus on other core aspects of your life.
2. Coordinating with Your Health Care Providers
Keeping tabs on all your medical appointments, multiple medications, and healthcare providers, including physicians, therapists, mental health specialists, pharmacists, etc., can be a tasking job, especially for adults with Alzheimer's or dementia.
A care coordinator will discuss your needs and availability, arrange for meetings with these healthcare professionals, and let you know when it's time for each one. The goal is to achieve the highest quality of life with ease by ensuring coordinated health care.
3. Mediating for Seniors and Their Caregivers
Care coordinators educate and support family members and caregivers, helping them understand the senior's needs and reducing carer stress and burnout. Your care facilitator will assist you and your carer to understand the kind of care you need, resolve conflict, improve communication, and alleviate stress.
If family members take turns caring for an older loved one, a care facilitator can mediate discussions to align everyone's efforts and clarify roles and responsibilities. This can help prevent misunderstandings and reduce family conflicts.
4. Offering Referrals to Doctors, Elder Law Attorneys, Care Agencies, etc.
To ensure all your needs are met, your care facilitator will refer you to the best professional services to guarantee your satisfaction. They have years of experience working with older people and know who the right professionals are to deliver the results you need.
Your senior care coordinator will direct you to the best law firm or law group, medicare provider, rehabilitation center, or living facility and suggest the best health insurance plan.
5. Easing Your Long-Term Care Journey
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [2], about 80% of older adults age 65 and older in the United States have at least one chronic medical issue, such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, or arthritis. But there's no need to fret if you have a care administrator.
Your care director specializes in creating a life care plan that sees you through every step of your healthcare needs, ensuring you are well-attended, treated, and safe. They'll access your current needs, review your medical history, identify future care needs, provide assistive devices and home modifications, and help manage your medications.
6. Offering Physical and Emotional Support
Beyond social work, your care director ensures you are physically and emotionally sound. To do this, they may help with home health care, pick out emotional support groups, and connect you with rehab for mental health conditions.
What Makes a Good Care Coordinator?
The roles of a care facilitator may be simple, but their involvement in making your life enjoyable requires several innate and learned skills. Kendal At Home members have a deep appreciation for our care coordinators because they possess the following skills:
- Strong Communication Skills
- Empathy and Compassion
- Knowledge of Healthcare Systems
- Organizational Skills
- Problem-Solving Ability
- Advocacy Skills
- Cultural Sensitivity
- Active Listening
- Patience
- Flexibility
- Attention to Detail
- Team Collaboration
- Time Management
- Ethical Conduct
- Respect for Privacy
- Knowledge of Legal and Financial Matters
- Resourcefulness
- Professionalism
- Adaptability
- Dedication to Client's Wellbeing.
This is the only way we can guarantee your care needs, and we do it with passion. Our care coordinators hold numerous certifications and have years of experience helping older adults, their families, and their carers. Contact us today to guarantee you or your aging loved one's care needs.
What is the Difference Between a Care Coordinator and a Caregiver?
The key difference between a care facilitator and a family caregiver lies in their roles and responsibilities. A care coordinator is a trained professional who specializes in managing and coordinating the healthcare, social, and support services for adults, often with complex medical or aging-related needs.
They work to ensure you receive proper care, resources, and support while also navigating the healthcare system and advocating for you.
A caregiver is a professional carer or family member who provides direct care and support to a senior or loved one. They often handle daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, and meal preparation and provide emotional and companionship support.
While both play invaluable roles in a person's care, care directors focus on coordination and management, while family care aides provide hands-on care and personal support.
What is the Difference Between a Geriatric Care Manager's Service and Kendal At Home?
The main difference between Kendal At Home's services and a geriatric care manager (GCM) is that Kendal At Home offers all the services of a GCM and more.
GCMs provide comprehensive care management, addressing the holistic needs of seniors, including medical, social, and emotional aspects. They create individualized care plans, coordinate medical services, and act as advocates for their clients, collaborating with various healthcare professionals.
Kendal At Home, on the other hand, doesn't simply step in when things go awry. We don't wait for the health issues to come before making moves. We begin with a comprehensive plan that covers every aspect of your aging process, including care coverage and management, home enhancements, etc., to help you thrive in your retirement years with confidence and peace of mind.
