Berkshire Senior Online

Yes, We CAN Help You- with Case Management for All!

by Catherine R. May, Executive Director

Effective immediately, Elder Services will offer limited case management services to Berkshire elders in need of this assistance, regardless of the elder’s income. The agency calls this new service Case Management for All.

Until this time, Elder Services’ skilled geriatric case managers were prevented by both state funding and regulation from working with those sixty and above if one’s annual income was more than $20,069 for an individual, or $28,399 for a two person family.

Thanks to new flexibility and resources resulting from the Executive Office of Elder Affairs’ implementation of the new National Family Caregivers Program, case managers can now respond to requests for help from those who were formerly over-income for case managememnt assistance.

Under Case Management for All, a case manager will meet with an elder at home, or in the hospital, to talk with the older person and his/her family, to make an assessment of the elder’s needs, and offer supports and guidance about how to set up the specific services that are necessary. Elder Services will not be able to pay for services that are set up through Case Management For All, such as homemaker or personal care, but can do the important geriatric assessment and evaluation to help the older person and her/his family decide what services are necessary so that person can continue to live comfortably and safely at home. Once needs have been determined, the geriatric care manager will provide information on appropriate services, their cost, and how to access them. In addition to the initial assessment and service needs determination offered by a geriatric case manager, Elder Services will offer one follow up visit, as necessary, within six months of the first visit, to make certain all is going well.

These increased case management services will be provided to those who need professional assistance and guidance as they develop a plan of care, but are not income eligible for the state funded services available to those with lower incomes. Those in need of this assistance can get it by calling Elder Services. It is our hope that Councils on Aging, physicians, Visiting Nurses and hospital staff will tell elders of this new service, Case Management for All.

Actual assistance offered will include provision of information on programs and services, an in-home assessment of needs, care planning, short term advisement, assistance with linking caregivers and elders to appropriate services, including training and support groups, community services such as Adult Day Care and Social Day Care, in home personal care or homemaker, home health aide services through a certified home health agency, transportation and lifeline.

Case Management for All will include an initial visit and the implementing of preliminary steps to address presenting problems, with a second home visit only as necessary, both to be provided within a six month period. Those who require on-going geriatric case management assistance beyond this six month model may purchase it, on an on- going basis, through Elder Services Private Pay Case Management Program.

Elder Services’ skilled geriatric case managers have a wealth of knowledge and experience in determining what kinds of services one needs to remain living at home.

They also know all the services available in the Berkshires that can help an older person maintain independence and the highest possible quality of life. Call Elder Services at 499-0524 or 1-800-544-5242 to ask about Case Management for All.