Case Manager’s Role in Helping Aging Adults: Leaving the Hospital and Beyond
In order to better understand how to help aging adults in a health crisis, you need to understand the clinical side of things. Case managers provide the clinical expertise needed to establish a safe discharge plan. Longevity Income Solutions (LIS) had a discussion with one of its network partners, Eliseo Tajanlangit, registered nurse and certified case manager, on next steps after going through a health care crisis.
Tajanlangit works at the hospital doing discharge planning, where he observes a lot of his patients missing the clinical aspect of the care when determining the next steps of a care journey, which is crucial to any successful hospital discharge. With his background as a registered nurse, he is able to provide even better insight on how to refer the right network partners for aging adults needs. LIS provides the financial solutions , guidance and planning for such scenarios.
“For the most part, the social workers lean on their training with behavioral health and substance abuse and then the registered nurses lean heavily on their medical background, which is interpreting data and coordinating the medical issues of the patients,” he says.
When case managers meet families in the emergency room, it is typically a triggering event. “It can go from simple to very complex,” Tajanlangit says.
It could be simple – a daughter accompanying her 90 year-old mother who needs more community resources, causing the case manager to look into vetted community referrals.
It could be moderate – now they have additional care needs, causing the case manager to have to work with other resources to help them find appropriate alternatives.
Or it could be complicated – a 90 year-old who has outlived all other family members. With their longevity risk, they refuse to go to a nursing facility or they don’t want to let the home caregivers come into their house. This complicates the issue causing the case manager to invite the Department of Aging to come in and do a risk assessment to make sure that the patient does not experience multiple falls initiating multiple visits to the ER.
Essentially, when Tajanlangit works with patients, or their families, he makes sure they have layers of protection out in the community to ensure they get the care they need. When it comes to preventing future stress he says, “Planning is the key.”
It starts with looking into your insurance and making sure that while you’re still healthy, you’re still able to get the right Medicare supplemental coverage. Tajanlangit says he always hear the parents say they don’t want to be a burden to their children and believes if you use your resources well and pre-plan you can accomplish that.
For those who have resources, but are wondering what to do, creating a team can be beneficial. It can save you time, stress and confusion. Often times, in crisis mode, aging adults and families tend to shut down and are very confused about all their choices.
“Work with somebody that’s kind of comprehensive planning like LIS to holistically take a look at what your situation is,” Tajanlangit says. “It’s a one-stop shop to take a look at your situation and create a customized plan.”
LIS, in conjunction with nurse case managers, like Tajanlangit, can navigate what kind of policy a patient has, if they have one, and how to continue to use the benefits they have, making sure that their money continues to stay in their pocket. LIS finds the right approach to stretch and grow their assets in a safe and very well-thought-out plan by utilizing the expertise nurse case managers can bring into the case. They get compensation by the financial intuitions directly avoiding additional cost to you and your family.