Know When It’s Time to Move Your Loved One into Memory Care
Ellen was struggling with the decision to move her mother, Jill, from her apartment in an assisted living facility to a memory care unit. As a case manager who’s helped hundreds of families through the years, I understood Ellen’s mixed emotions and the guilt she was feeling about moving her mother. We worked together to find a solution that ensured both her mother’s safety and quality of life.
Case Management: A Family’s Perspective (Part One, Teena’s Story)
What do you do when you’re 34 years old, preparing for your wedding, expecting your first child, working full time, and your widowed 62-year old father is diagnosed with early stage dementia?
Case Management: A Family’s Perspective (Part Two, Teena’s Story)
When you’re a caregiver, it’s common to feel guilty at times. There’s guilt that you can’t always be there for your loved one. There’s guilt that maybe you aren’t doing enough, and guilt about wanting to tend to your own needs.
We Needed a Geriatric Care Manager in Tallahassee
The Struggle Living an hour and a half away from Mom, I didn’t visit her as much as I wanted to that summer. It seemed there was always something going on at our house. When I wasn’t picking up my 11-year old son, Alex, from summer camp and juggling my...
Caring From a Distance
“Because none of the adult children live in Tallahassee, however, we did our best to fulfill the roles of advocate, supporter, and business manager from a distance of almost 2,000 miles. This work involved significant daily conversations with my mother and father-in-law, and with medical staff. Making contact with doctors was extremely difficult, and when we did make contact we sometimes forgot to ask important questions. As a result, there were times when we were not fully informed about my mother-in-law’s medical condition and options. With her deteriorating medical and mental condition, she was not able to handle this on her own. Facing a high level of stress and despair, her 82-year-old husband was also unable to handle this responsibility.
In April we employed Senior Transitions to assist us, and your involvement not only relieved the tremendous day-to-day stress of our role, but also improved the advocacy and oversight for my mother-in-law. You two helped our family negotiate the Medicaid system, deal with the almost daily challenges related to hospital and nursing home care, and consider medical options based on all the facts. Your liaison with the doctors and nurses, and your knowledge of the medical systems in Tallahassee was a tremendous benefit that provided a strong foundation of support that helped our family through a difficult time. It was a great relief to know that you were visiting our loved one regularly to make sure she was properly cared for.
Thank you for the support and assistance you gave us over the last few months. I can’t imagine how I would have gotten through it without you.”
– Barbara Floersch – Adamant, Vermont
Working With Elder Law Attorneys
“As an elder law attorney, I find Senior Transitions care managers to be an integral part of my Elder Law team. My clients who have hired them have been very pleased with their ability to work with the family to make for smooth transitions to different living situations, they have led family meetings to get everyone on the same page, they have provided mental health services to help clients adjust to no longer being able to do the things they once could, and they help the client and family evaluate all the options for where the elder can live.”
– Lauchlin Waldoch
McConnaughhay Law Group
Having Medical Expertise on Our Side
“Senior Transitions provides a case management service above and beyond routine case management. The care managers of Senior Transitions are all Registered Nurses and have years of nursing experience and care management.
Each visit to see our Mother includes personal time with Mother as well as a review of her Nursing Home case file. They attend the quarterly care management meetings with the Nursing Home staff and coordinate our Mother’s health care with her Primary Care Physician, as well as with us. Not being a nurse, we have heavily relied on their expertise and judgment in our Mother’s care. And, they have been right on target every time.
During our Mother’s hospitalization last May, they visited the hospital, reviewed the hospital case files and provided a course of care for our Mother. They worked with our Mother’s Primary Care Physician and Hospital staff to have Mother discharged to a Rehab/Long-Term Care Facility. The have excellent contacts with the nursing homes in the area as well as Assisted Living Facilities.”
– Connie D. Blackman
Can't Do it All Alone
“Without reservation, I recommend Senior Transitions to anyone who is attempting to care for an elderly person, especially one with special needs. With Debra and Mary Beth you don’t just get a service, you get two very caring individuals who handle things for your family members the way you wish you could yourself. When you can’t do it all yourself, it is a relief to know you have done what you can do (hiring Senior Transitions) to make sure your family member is getting the best care possible.”
– Barry L. Bumgarner
We serve the Big Bend area of Florida, including Tallahassee, located in Leon County, along with Wakulla, Jefferson and Gadsden counties in a 50 mile radius.