MORE INFORMATION

There are many benefits to working with a professional. Here are some of the most common ways a Live You Best Solutions Care Manager can help:

  • Providing personal counseling.
  • Conducting a thorough assessment to identify the elder's needs and preference.
  • Educating the senior and family about the various healthcare and housing options.
  • Taking steps to start the care plan and keep it functioning.
  • Drafting a care plan tailored to the senior’s needs and preferences, adapting it as necessary.
  • Coordinating care services, including screening, hiring and monitoring care-giving services.
  • Working with, and providing referrals to, other professionals, such as an elder law attorney or home care agency.
  • Liaising with families who live at a distance from the elder to ensure the elder's needs are being met and update the family on any changes in the elder's status.
  • Managing or coordinating a move to accessible housing.
  • Acting as an advocate for the elder and the family.
  • Replacing the family caregiver when they are away with 24/7 support.
  • Finding appropriate solutions to avoid a family crisis.
  • Coordinating medical appointments and medical information.
  • Arranging transportation to medical appointments.
  • Assisting families in positive decision making.
  • Developing long range plans for future transitions.
  • And more...
How does your service differ from home health care?

Care Managers can assist individuals with all aspects of their lives, including medical, social, emotional, familial, and spiritual well-being. Care Managers help clients to locate the best possible services for them by being an advocate for the client and thoroughly researching the best choices for each client. Care Management does not replace the services of home health agencies, assisted living or skilled nursing facilities, or other care providers. A Care Manager can help to ensure that all of the involved parties are working together for the benefit of the individual. By coming to us the family is aware of all of the choices within Windsor Essex County.

Will my parents accept the help?

Most of the time we find that the client is relieved to have us involved. We help everyone retain the relationships they have had, parent-child, husband-wife, and not just client-caregiver. We treat clients with respect and dignity and they appreciate having an advocate who takes the time to understand their needs. Because of this and our Care Managers’ expertise in working with elders, we are able to help many families when a loved one is reluctant.

During our caregiver consultations, we often problem solve with families about the best way to approach the situation and offer elder-care advice on communication techniques. You can benefit from our years of experience, helping families navigate the emotions and practicalities of aging.

Why do I need Live Your Best Solutions?

Live Your Best Solutions knows the Windsor Essex  community and its resources. There are often services available through small companies or individuals that are unknown to the consumer. We are also aware of community reputations and keep up to date on the status of the elder-care services available.

Are the terms Elder Care Consultant, Systems Navigator similar?

Yes, they are similar but Care Managers bring additional skills to the table. Care Managers who primarily work with older adults bring more to their practice than an expertise in geriatrics. They bring knowledge of aging issues that allows them and their staff to overcome the myths relating to aging and to focus on the problems at hand. At the same time, they bring the experience of working with resources in your community. They are most aware of real life problems, health and otherwise, that emerge as persons age and the tools that are available to address those issues. They are also connected with a community of social workers, nurses, psychologists, elder law attorneys, advocates, and other elder care professionals who may be of assistance to you.

What is a Care Manager? 

A Care Manager is a professional, such as a social worker or nurse, who specializes in assisting older adults and their families. Someone that specializes in the process of planning and coordinating care of the elderly and others with physical and/or mental impairments to meet their long term care needs, improve their quality of life, and maintain their independence for as long as possible.

Why should I pay a Care Manager when I can get services for free from the government?

While you may be able to access free information through the government, there are often lengthy wait times to get the answers you need.  Live Your Best Solutions  takes the extra step to familiarize ourselves with you and your needs, and can offer a broader range of solutions and help you pick what is right for you and your family. We will work with you until you are completely satisfied that your care needs have been addressed and resolved.  Usually we are able to arrange meetings within a day or two, and will meet with you at your convenience. We are available to meet day or evening, can accommodate long distance telephone arrangements as well – and will even meet with you on the weekends or over holidays!

How do I know when it is time to call an Care Manager ?

The following are signs to look for:

  1. 1. Is your loved one refusing assistance or making decisions that could jeopardize their safety or well-being?
  2. 2. Is your relative losing weight, for no known reason?
  3. 3. Have they recently fallen?
  4. 4. Is the home unkempt and becoming unsafe?
  5. 5. Is meal preparation becoming difficult?
  6. 6. Is money management becoming a concern?
  7. 7. Are they able to (and do they) maintain a neat appearance?
  8. 8. Has drinking become a problem?
  9. 9. Is it safe for your parents to drive? If not, who does the driving for them?
  10. 10. Has there been a sudden memory loss or increased confusion?
  11. 11. Are they having difficulty with managing their medications?
  12. 12. Are they looking for housing alternatives?
  13. 13. Have they become increasingly frail?
  14. 14. Are they having problems finding or keeping appropriate home care workers?

If you answered yes to the above, it is time to talk to a  Live Your Best Solutions  Care Manager.

Eight Reasons to Hire a Professional Care Manager

  1. 1. We are professionals who have the knowledge, training, and experience to give your loved one the necessary care that you are trying to provide
  3. 2. We are able to significantly shorten your workload.
  5. 3. We know how to get around that “I’m saving for a rainy day” syndrome, when your folks are drowning in their problems.
  7. 4. We can provide advice on which nursing/retirement residence is right for your parents.
  9. 5. We can make your parents hear what you have said over and over again, but they refuse to listen because they still see you as a child.
  11. 6. We have helped families cope with similar problems that your family is currently facing.
  13. 7. Your parents cannot push our buttons.
  15. 8. We are always available when there are times that you cannot be.
Does OHIP cover the services of Live Your Best Solutions?

Care management is a private fee based service. Our services are tax deductible and without HST and we are often able to identify free programs that the older adult can apply to.  

Social work counseling services are not covered by OHIP.  However, most extended health insurance plans through your workplace will have coverage for social work fees.  Please check your insurance package to see what your health coverage plan includes.  

Assessment - What is It and Why do We Need It?

There are several other words that could be used, such as audit, observation, evaluation, or the like.

What  Live Your Best Solutions  means by assessment is a thorough look at the current living situation of an older adult who has requested (directly, or through a loved one) some assistance in determining whether they are safe, secure, comfortable and content in their surroundings for now and the future; or whether there are indications that a change may be needed in order to live their life to the fullest degree possible.

The assessment requires skilled observation, open communication and recognition of medical or clinical symptoms requiring immediate referral to physician, community nursing services, outreach teams or other related services

Sometimes the assessment reveals family dynamics or relationships which are impeding the health and safety of a client.

Financial distress, real or imagined,  may be causing the client to avoid acting on some useful and life-improving activities: not filling prescriptions, buying less nutritious food, putting-off home repairs which affect safety, refusing social invitations, closing memberships, or hibernating.

From those findings, Live Your Best Solutions then creates a list of options which we feel are realistic and acceptable to the client and family, and from there move to a set of recommendations for their consideration.

Together we will create a care plan. 

What is the difference between a assessment and a care plan?

After the initial assessment information is gathered from multiple assessments often completed by different sources, a comprehensive list of the client’s problems and interventions should be generated. This list is called a care plan.

What is a care plan?

A care plan is a strategy to repair the holes in your senior's  safety net. Your senior is experiencing problems because the safety net support or his or her own functioning has deficits or holes. The care plan suggests a way to repair those holes by recommending the right services at the right time for the right amount of money.

How is payment made?

The older adult is receiving the services and having them pay for the care may increase their sense of independence. Often the caregiver is handling the finances and wants to keep the accounting simple. For these reasons Live Your Best Solutions uses PayPal and checks to compensate for the services provided.

  • A comprehensive psycho-social assessment  with printed documentation can be purchased to help the family plan for the current and future needs of their loved one.
  • Care Coordination can be contracted and a monthly fee is billed.  
  • Special projects are quoted.
  • An hourly rate is charged for system navigation and family meetings.
Why hire a Care Manager,  I've got everything under control?

A Care Manager can help save your sanity as a caregiver. Family caregivers often try to take on too much—either out of guilt, a feeling of being obligated, or just love and good intentions. A Care Manager  can not only share the burden of weighty decisions, but gently suggest ways you can pay attention to your own needs. Live Your Best Solutions is  able to recommend sources of caregiver support , respite care, caregiver counseling, and adult day service centers. GCMs may also be able to guide you through the process of building your own “circle of care” in which you let other family members, friends, and community members help with caregiving duties such as driving, grocery shopping, or just spending time with your loved one.