Frequently Asked Questions

Aging Life Care Professional Services or Geriatric Care Management

When does hiring a geriatric care manager make sense?

It may be time to contact Independent You if:

• Care giving for your loved one has become overwhelming, confusing or beyond your expertise
• You are concerned about your loved one’s safety
• You have questions about navigating the maze of health care and community resource options
• Caring for your loved one is requiring more time than you are capable of providing
• You live at a distance and need someone to check on your loved one and provide accurate and detailed reports as to their status
• Your loved one has made frequent 911 calls or has had frequent hospital admissions
• Your loved one needs someone to call on in an emergency situation or if their health status suddenly changes

How do I initiate care management services?

A phone call to our office is the first step for a consultation with a care manager. The care manager will review your family situation and provide you an overview of our practice, and discuss how we may assist you.

What geographical areas do you cover?

Independent You serves the Northern Virginia area, providing services in Arlington and Fairfax Counties, and portions of Prince William and Loudoun Counties for Geriatric Care Management Services.  This includes the cities of Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Ashburn, Burke, Centreville, Chantilly, Clifton, Fairfax,  Falls Church, Great Falls, Herndon, McLean, Oakton, Potomac Falls, Reston, Springfield, Sterling,   Tysons Corner, Vienna and Woodbridge.

Are your geriatric care management services covered by Medicare or Long Term Care Insurance?

Medicare does not cover care management services. Long-term care insurance may provide coverage for some aspects of care management services. Consult your insurance company or review your plan to find out the details of coverage.

How are services billed?

Care management services are billed on an hourly basis, or fraction thereof. Care management fees are billed for the time spent providing support to the client and your family, travel time, phone calls, emails, correspondence, and costs incurred directly for the client such as purchases for medications and medical supplies.

Caregiving Services

Will my parents be able to understand the caregiver?

Yes, of course.  All of our caregivers speak and understand English clearly.

What if my mom doesn’t like the caregiver?

Shortly after care giving services are started you will be contacted by the Independent You staff to see how the services are meeting with your requirements.  If you feel that the caregiver and your Mom are not a good match, by all means, let us know.  We want to find the right person for your loved one and are happy to make any changes necessary.  A caregiver and a client spend a great deal of time together, it’s very important for the relationship to be a good one.

What type of “light housekeeping” can we expect?

Our caregivers are happy to do their client’s laundry, cook for their client, and clean up after their client but we do ask that you keep in mind, our clients are not maids.  They won’t scrub floors, wash windows, clean gutters or perform any heavy lifting.  If you need those types of task done, we suggest you hire a cleaning company.

What are ADL’s?

ADL’s are basic activities of daily living; dressing, bathing, toileting, feeding, and medication reminders.

What’s the difference between personal care and companion care?

Personal care is when a caregiver is providing hands on assistance with a client’s activities of daily living.  A companion caregiver can be there for a clients safety but the client is still able to primarily handle the various task independently.  Personal Caregivers or Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) are licensed by the Virginia Board of Nursing after having completed 120 classroom hours of training and 40 hours of supervised hands on training in a nursing home facility.

Driving Services

How do I arrange driving services for my parents?

You can arrange driving services for your parents by calling the Independent You office on 703-999-3006.  You will be asked to complete a contract for services and a client profile sheet.  Then when your parents need transportation, they can simply contact our office to schedule their driving appointment.

Why do I need to complete a contract?

Our contract does not tie a client to any specific duration of time, rather it simply states these are the rates that will be charged for our services and you agree to pay for those services when billed.  We do not collect any money prior to the services being performed.

Why do I need to supply personal information in the client profile form?

We collect personal information on each client that we drive in case of any emergency.  The information allows us to provide EMS with information concerning any medication that our client might be taking, any medical issues, and who to contact in an emergency.  This information is HIPAA protected so it is not information that we would share with anyone, other than emergency personnel in a life threatening matter.

How is my mileage calculated?

Our drivers calculate the mileage from your house to your destination and then from the destination back to your home. Our mileage rate is in keeping with the current government reimbursement rate which is currently .56 per mile.

Am I allowed to go to only one place while I’m with my driver?

When you have scheduled a driving assignment we do ask for a general idea as to how long you estimate your driving assignment to take.  Many people will schedule multiple stops during one assignment; Costco, bank, hair salon and dry cleaners.