Aging Life Care Professionals

Living independently is something we all strive for, no matter if we are 24 or 84. A sense of independence is deeply rooted in all of us. But to live independently requires the ability to shop for our own food, to clean and maintain our home, and to take care of ourselves. Often, because of aging, our ability to do one or more of these key tasks becomes diminished or lost all together but that sense of wanting to remain independent remains strong.

As the child of an aging parent, you witness your parents striving to remain independent, however their health and safety can be in jeopardy. Reaching out to an Aging Life Care Professional can often help solve simple, or even complex, problems when your parents want to remain independent but you can’t imagine how that can be done . An Aging Life Care Professional can help you solve those questions that keep you awake in the middle of the night. How am I going to get mom to her medical appointments without using all of my vacation leave? How am I going to make sure that dad is taking his medication and that he is eating properly? What should I do about mom’s cat? All dad does is sit in front of the TV. How can I get him up and out moving where he can get some exercise and verbal stimulation? Reaching out to a Aging Life Care Professional can be like someone throwing you a life line in a sea of concern.

At Independent You our Aging Life Care Professionals (ALCP) are trained in assessing, planning, coordinating, monitoring, and providing services for the elderly. They are members in good standing of the Aging Life Care Association™. Our ALCP’s will meet with you and your parents to determine what needs must be met, provide a plan on how the needs will be addressed, and coordinate services such as medical appointments, transportation needs or caregiving needs. Once the needs have been taken care of, a ALCP can continue to keep in touch with you and your parents and get involved again should another need or crisis arise.

An ALCP can be extremely beneficial when parents and children live in two separate parts of the country. Our Aging Life Care Professionals can assist in moving parents to be closer to their children, working with other care managers at the new location to assess facilities and determine the best fit for your parents, coordinating and helping with the move, making arrangements for mail to be forwarded, disconnecting services and even helping your parents to say good bye to long-time neighbors and friends. When you and your parents live in separate cities, our ALCP’s can be your eyes and ears. Our Aging Life Care Professionals can coordinate care giving services and monitor those services so that your parent’s personal safety and financial matters are never in jeopardy. It can be a difficult transition for anyone to incorporate outside help into their home. Our Aging Life Care Professionals are there to help with that transition.

Our Aging Life Care Professionals services are charged on an hourly basis. Services start with a comprehensive needs assessment, a written plan of care, and an initial coordination of services. Your Aging Life Care Professional is available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You will be given your Aging Life Care Professional’s cell phone for contact should any need or crisis arise. Having a ALCP from Independent You will provide you with an advocate for your parents and provide you with the assurance that your parents are be well taken care of by someone who has their best interest at heart.

Crisis Response And Intervention

You can rest assured that we are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide our clients with crisis intervention and support when there are unexpected changes requiring urgent decisions or immediate attention, such as emergency room visits. This provides peace of mind to our clients and especially, their family members who either live at a distance or have busy work and home responsibilities and cannot be available on short notice.

Patient Advocacy

We have the best interest of our clients in mind at all times, and we will advocate for excellent treatment from health care professionals and institutions. We support and promote the interest and welfare of our clients by taking the time to understand their needs, wishes and goals. We can be a client’s voice when their health care status or changing cognitive status impedes their ability to advocate for themselves.

Comprehensive Assessments & Care Plans

Independent You can visit a home, hospital room, nursing home or other facility setting to perform a comprehensive assessment of a client’s physical and mental health, functional status, environmental safety, abilities to meet daily living tasks, and financial & legal issues. Once problems and concerns are identified, we will provide written recommendations and referrals for solutions to address each need. We can then provide ongoing monitoring and support of the plan of care.

Accompanying Clients To Medical Appointments

Aging Life Care Professionals can provide assistance with managing medical needs, including attendance at physician visits or tests, facilitation of communication between all involved health care providers, client understanding of and adherence to physician- prescribed medications and treatments, and comprehensive easy-to-understand reports to family members. They can also assist with medication management including pre-pouring medication, reordering prescription refills and supervising that clients are compliant with taking their medication regime.

Navigation Of Health Care System

Aging Life Care Professionals help clients and families make sense of the confusing maze of physician specialties, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, assisted living facilities and CCRCs. Experience in the community and the health care field provides our staff with special skills to solve the complex problems facing the aging population. With our extensive resources, we can help by knowing who to call and what questions to ask to make sure clients are receiving the best care available to them.

Community Resource Information & Referrals

Aging Life Care Professionals can provide trusted and reliable referrals for medical specialists, elder law attorneys, financial planners, and other professionals. We have developed an extensive list of community resources which are continually updated and evaluated for quality of care.