Geriatric Care Management

Care Management is the heart of Care For Life's services and is needed when an older adult has challenges associated with aging. A Geriatric Care Manager is a health and human services professional with specialized training and experience in aging and elder care issues. Care Managers help solve aging problems by identifying needs and coordinating affordable, individualized services.

Care Management is especially useful in the following situations:

• One spouse is overwhelmed by the care needs of the other spouse.
• A frail elder is alone, and the concerned family is out-of-town.
• An older person is having problems living independently.
• An older person has been diagnosed with a chronic progressive illness and needs assistance with future plans.
• An older person needs help in arranging for services.
• An older person needs to move.
• An older person is having difficulty managing his or her finances.

We believe that our Geriatric Care Management can make a profound, positive influence in the life of an older adult and their families.

Geriatric Care Managers are highly trained professionals who can help Seniors and their families who...

• are living independently or with care at home, and want to remain at home as long as possible.
• are temporarily or permanently residents of a care facility.
• may need help transitioning from home to an extended care facility.
• want to help aging relatives maintain quality of life but do not have the skills, knowledge or time to do the job alone.
• are long distance caregivers who need a local liaison to oversee care and notify them of problems.

A comprehensive assessment is recommended when a senior has problems and issues that need to be evaluated and addressed. Our care managers, Kristin Akins or Kerri Moore, personally visit the senior to assess physical and mental health, self-care abilities, the environment including safety and home maintenance, and adequacy of medical care, untreated health issues, need for physical or other kinds of therapy at home, and other needs. The care manager will observe family dynamics and how family members relate to the senior and vice versa. Based on information from the visit and information provided by the physician and other involved parties, a report is written detailing care management outlining the senior's needs. This document is often used by the family, client and others assisting them with long term care planning.

What Do I Do if My Parent Refuses to Go to The Doctor?

"Let our many years of professional experience give you the peace of mind you deserve. We care for your loved one like family. Our desire is to assure care that is professional but compassionate with dignity for every client. Call us at 843-852-9090."

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Kristin Akins, LPN, Director of Homecare Services,
Nurse Care Manager

Kristin comes to Care For Life with nine years experience in a hospital setting. For three of those years, she provided nursing assessments, treatment and medication administration. She worked closely with doctors to execute their orders and performed case management in arranging the discharge needs of patients. At Summerville Medical Center, she also worked on the highly skilled Wound Care team. Kristin previously worked for six years at Roper/St.Francis Hospital where she was entrusted with oversight of charting audits, quality assurance concerns, and other vital medical testing.

At Care For Life she works alongside the RN Clinical Director conducting medical and environ assessments. She creates written long term care plans in concert with the client and/or family members that will serve the client's best interests, safety and overall well-being. In addition, her follow-up quality assurance visits monitor our clients' conditions and our caregivers performance.

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