Nursing Care Coordination for Seniors

Eliza One provides occasional or routine support through holistic nursing care coordination to maintain healthy independence at home.

Services Include

·         Attend Medical Appointments:  Provide escort, advocacy, follow up communication and documentation.

·         Evaluate and monitor medical needs, review medical information, insurance requirements and coordinate information so you can make good decisions for yourself or family member.  

·         Safety:  Helping your loved one to be safe and secure at home, including review of home environment, medication review with the physician or pharmacist for accuracy and a weekly set up for clients as needed.  

·         Companionship * Respite Care or Customized services available based on individual needs and requests. You may have a special request for assistance for your family member that requires a nurse or just a responsible adult to allow you an opportunity to take some personal time.

The Story

As the eldest daughter with a nursing background when the time came that my parents needed help I was able to coordinate their medical care. Blessed with 3 sisters we worked together to support my parents, balancing their needs with the complexities of the medical system and a wide variety of disconnected provider services. Loving my parents I found the role of nursing care coordination both fascinating and challenging as we all worked to advocate for what they needed and also what they didn’t need so they would always be treated with dignity during illness and end of life.

 Do you know your Parent’s Health Status?

Posted by Mary on September 8, 2009

Are you up to date on your aging parent’s medical history, what about their medications?  Do you know if they are taking their medications on time, the right dose, are the pills expired or should some be discontinued?  Perhaps they need assistance and doing the medication set up for them on a weekly basis is one of the best ways to gently start monitoring their health needs, it’s a great touch point for noticing changes that you just can’t put off anymore.  We set up my Dad’s pills using a medication container  for the week, he liked being able to pull out the daily section and just putting it in his pocket if he was going out for the day. 

One of the simple things my Dad asked us to do was create a current list of all his medications so when the nurse asked him what medications he took he would pull out his list which he kept in his wallet.  This allowed Dad to maintain his dignity and it was so much better than having him be embarrassed because he couldn’t remember the names of his medications.  My Dad would also record his Blood Sugar (for his Diabetes) and his weight due to his CHF (congestive heart failure) into a small spiral notebook that he kept in his shirt breast pocket so he could show his doctor the results for the week or month.  I kept all his information in a word document; Dad’s doctors, clinics, medical history, medications and his recent vital signs so it was helpful when my sisters called me with a concern or if I had to call the clinic with a question about his care needs.

This September 2009 is the one year anniversary of Dad’s passing and on Sunday I was reminded of how much I miss our time together at Sunday Breakfast.  Every Sunday my husband and I would drive to St. Paul to pick up Dad and then drive to one of his favorite restaurants, usually Perkin’s or Joseph’s Restaurant where he knew the waitresses by name.  We would buy the Sunday Pioneer Press for Dad because he loved to keep up on local news and he would organize all the sale ad’s for my sister Lisa when he got home and settled in for the day.  Sundays were a good time to catch up and he would tell me about his friends and if he had any new appointments at the Veteran’s Medical Center that I needed to attend.  Dad was clear about his body and his care but he was also aware of when he needed help; Dad let us be his advocates for health and financial issues because he knew it was hard to “remember” every little detail and he knew he could depend on his daughters. 

Perhaps this is a good time to talk to your aging parent about a “little” assistance with their health needs and if you should need a little assistance to get this started then give me a call, I look forward to helping you and your parents.  Like a daughter, sister, friend… easing life transitions.

Remembering you with Love Dad!

Mary Elizabeth