This was mentioned on another thread and I thought it would be interesting to compare notes. Has anyone used a care manager, what did it cost, did you feel it was worth it/what are benefits, etc.?
Check this site for information on what they do, how to find them, and all information related to them - http://www.caremanager.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=76 I can tell you that it's not cheap. There is a also a link at the bottom of the left side of my home page -Elder Care at home that gives a lot of information. I wrote a blog about my meeting with the director, Elayne Forgie, but the links in the blog are now broken, and I cannot find the video she did on a home meeting she demonstrated. Sorry. I will try to get it for you this week.
A care-manager has just been hired for our area, but I am not sure yet what she will charge. I don't think she has fully decided. I'm not using her yet, but may consider it after I see what she does.
I think we are using a Care manager - at least he's visited us twice and answered a few questions - but really hasn't done anything for us just yet. My dh isn't far enough along yet to need many of the services listed on the National Association of Care Managers yet, but the basics are on the list. I sent our CM an email this morning after reading the NACMA site and asked many questions and asked for the responses in writing. I do know that his fee is $120/hour, but I don't know if that includes travel, mileage, etc; those questions are in the e/m I just sent and I will report back to all of you. I do know, from our experiences with him (granted only 2), that he doesn't seem to be so good at follow-up. As I'm a stickler for that kind of thing (after all, $120/hour should buy me quick response), we may be looking for someone else. Our daughter works with a woman whose father and father-in-law have AD and she has used a particular CM and likes her very well - I will interview her. We do live an hour outside of Seattle and I think that may be too far out of this man's territory for him to serve us well - I'll find out. More when I find out.
I just received a letter from our medicare advantage co. offering a care manager for my husband.When I called the number the person was on vacation 'til next week.I'll call then and see what's up.I guess with his 7 hr. surgery and 2 week hospital stay they're worried about their outlay for him.
We use a care manager (private pay) who were got through the website Joan mentioned above. Actually she is the second manager we've used. Based on our experience I would recommend interviewing several and then decide which one shares your goals and objectives about your LO's care. The first CM decided that due to my own disabilities, I could not care for DH at home (stage 4 ath the time) and would not help me make any arrangements for home care. Another thing to beware of is their relationships with certain ALFs - you want to make sure they are truly independent because the first CM was receiving a placement fee and would only recommend the facilities which were giving her placement fees (found this out later). Our current CM is a nurse (not a social worker) and has been very responsive to my needs to have DH stay at home as long as possible. It is a good fit for all 3 of us. Yes, they are expensive ($100+/hr; travel time @ $50/hr) but in our case she has been well worth it. Now that DH is settled in back home we really don't use her much but we have her in case we have another crisis which gives me great peace of mind.
I just sent a note to our CM and asked some very specific questions about his services and fees. I'm not sure I like his responses - he's probably going to be history. He is very expensive $120/hour + .55 cents per mile and the hourly rate starts when he leaves the last clients home. I think that's excessive. I really don't want to be a lpoor widow when this is all over, I just want some help when I need it. It seems like everyone is out there trying to take a piece of your hide when you're down.
I need to ask the question - why are/would you consider using a care manager rather than the services which are available for free - alz org, office on aging, medicare, etc? Our situation necessitated the use of a care manager - DH was admitted to psych hospital and involuntarily commited. Would not release him to home because he was physically violent to me. I hired a care manager to negotiate with the psych hospital staff and find a facility appropriate for him either on an interim (respite) or ft basis. That first attempt failed because she had her own "formulaeic" agenda - he would be better off in a facility which she received a placement fee. The current CM has worked in both of our best interests - convinced the psychiatrist that he would be better at home (even tho he didn;t think so), arranged an interim trial period where DH could return directly to psych hospital without arrest/commitment and has remained involved the past 2 years DH has been at home and has plateaued. CM said she owed it to all of us to try and keep him home. I cannot stress enough to interview any care manager and ask how they would hanlde various scenarios which are/maybe important to you. We no longer require alot of assistance at this point but we use her to find responsible elder law attorneys, financial experts, experienced home care people, etc. And of course she's familiar with our situation that if an emergency occurs she will help us through that situation.
To tell you the truth, I don't think I really need a CM at this point. Our ElderCare Attorney suggested that we get a baseline and the CM showed up and came again and I began to wonder why. So, not really knowing what they do I started asking this forum to find out. I do think that it's a good idea to find out answers to specific questions and to have a CM fill our adult kids in on what to expect with this disease. They know it's going to be hard on me, but, they know not much of the details. I have looked at the AD websites and there is almost too much info for me to process at this point so I'm just taking one step at a time. I plan to keep dh home as long as I can but I need to know what's available to help me get away from him once in a while. I do plan to visit our local AD chapter in the near future to find out what is local. And, I also want to find a good geriatric doc who specializes in this disease so that he can fill in blanks and not be fooled by dh or intimidated by him, either. I do have a referral for someone who has been used by other people in my daughter's work circle and I believe she can be helpful in finding us the right doc. I just want to know that I'm on the right track.