"I just wish it were a bit more equitable," Nothelle says. Private-pay professionals can be more effective since they work directly for the client, she says. She says hospitals and medical practices employ their own care managers, but they're often overwhelmed with patients. Stephanie Nothelle is a geriatrician and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "I don't have to worry about stressing, "Is my mom safe? Is she OK?" Everything like that. "And then she will send me a report at the end of the month," Tunstall says. Months later, Tunstall is able to relax a bit as the care manager handles her mother's medications, fields her anxious texts, and questions the living facility over extra charges that appear on the monthly bill. At the same time, "I was still learning how to take care of myself."Ī friend recommended a local care manager. Suddenly she was meeting with doctors, dealing with reams of paperwork, and becoming her mom's Power of Attorney. Tunstall is an only child, and her parents are divorced. "There's no guidebook for when this happens." Tunstall was in her first job after college, living away from home. Last year she had to move her mom to a memory care facility when her mother was diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of 60. No guidebookīut it's not just middle-aged children who seek this kind of help.Īudrey Tunstall is 24 and lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. "Peace of mind is an understatement," Dow says. Her care manager found her using a location-sharing app, and guided her home. Shortly after moving and while she was still driving, Dow's mother got lost in her new neighborhood and couldn't describe where she was. She now lives in an independent living facility. Her mother came to trust the care manager and eventually agreed to move. Their care manager lives close to their mother, and was "the outside third party who could come in and at times probably had a little bit more patience with my mom than my sisters and I did, because we'd been so in the middle of it," says Dow, who is in her 60s. Dow and her sisters were worried about her safety at home, especially as her memory began to deteriorate. Her mom, now 88, lives a few hours away and was reluctant to downsize. "I don't want to start to become dependent too soon."ĭiscussions about moving are partly what prompted Lisa Dow of Austin, Texas to find a care manager for her mother. "I'm trying to hold onto my independence as long as I can," she says. Still, she accepts that she may need more help at some point down the line. She says she tries hard to stay healthy so she can stay put. Daniell has no wish to move from her beloved and familiar surroundings. Sansevero meets with Daniell every few months to assess her and see whether she's OK to stay in her longtime home. "So far I'm lucky but I like having this in my hip pocket so that I know that someone will be there when things go awry," she says. She says her health is good, but she hired Sansevero because she wants a backup plan. She was briefly married when she was younger and didn't have children. The shelves are lined with framed photographs, some in color, others in black and white, showing her parents and brother over the years.ĭaniell had a long career in advertising and a tight-knit family, but they're gone now. She lives in a large, sunny apartment on Manhattan's East Side that she's owned since the 1960s. A private care manager is helping her do that.ĭaniell is spry and petite, with blue eyes and wavy gray hair. Libby Daniell, 86, hopes to stay in her apartment, living independently as long as possible. Some rugs may be easy to trip on and grab bars may be needed in the bathroom if the older person is going to be able to keep aging in place.Īfter assessing the client, Sansevero comes up with a care plan. She also scans the home for safety risks. She notes which ones the person is taking, and whether any are unused. "You have to look in the fridge to see what kind of food they're eating. They check the person's physical and cognitive state, as well as their environment. Sansevero or one of her team assesses a client at home. "So we will work with that family to do a deep dive and assessment on why they're having the problems they're having." It's the fourth fall, they don't know how to stop them from falling in the home, they're not taking their medications correctly," Sansevero says. "For example, their loved one has had a fall. Almost two decades later her company, HealthSense, employs six nurses and one social worker.
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