Serving southern New Hampshire, Vermont and northern Massachusetts.

"Life planning for families and their loved ones to ensure dignity and support independence."

Chrysalis Case Management facilitates independence and eases life transitions for persons with disabilities, elders and their families through in home assessment, care planning, coordination of services and advocacy.

Chrysalis Case Management will assist persons with long term care needs to maintain the highest level of independence by providing customized support services. Services are planned jointly with the individual and their family and caregivers.

Contact us today to take the first step.

Thought for the Day

"Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."  Samuel Ullman

Article of the Month

 Choose the best Medicare Part D Plan for you.

If you are helping your loved one with making Medicare choices, we recommend that you consider the Medicare Part D Plan for 2010. Can you save money?

The average monthly premium for the Medicare drug benefit in 2010 is $31.94. You may find that this is a significant increase over last year's cost. Has the plan raised its premium? How does the cost compare to other choices. If you are satisfied with the current plan, you should evaluate it for what it will cost in 2010 and at least look at some other plans in order to find if you can ......

To read more of this article, please click here

You realize a Geriatric Care Manager is needed when:

• an elder needs advocacy in dealing with an overwhelming healthcare system
• family of elders have limited time, resources and expertise or live at a distance
• the family or caregiver is exhausted and needs support and guidance
• there are repeated hospital or Emergency Room visits
• family dynamics require objective consultation, and third party involvement
• end-of-life issues require sensitive coordination of all servicing entities
• responsibilities for coordination of care falls on other professionals, such as doctors, nurses, financial advisors, or attorneys that may go beyond the scope of their services or expertise
• home care staff are taking responsibilities that exceed what they are hired to do
• a change of living situation may be necessary and an objective evaluation with recommendations is needed
• conditions in the home are deteriorating such as insufficient food, missing doctor appointments, filth in home and on the elder, home repairs are not being done
• there are changes in the elder's health or mental status
• there are multiple diagnoses/difficult situations, complicated decision-making and care coordination
• an elder or involved family need a 'road map' after new diagnosis or hospitalization
• there is limited or no social support
• there is need for support and resources to maintain independence
• there is disagreement among family members about next steps
• there is a need for consistent, unbiased, accurate communications
• existing caregivers need supervision and on-going training
• elders or family are struggling with balancing safety and independence

Statement of Goals

To help elders stay in their homes for as long as possible by:

• Long-range planning, to prevent crises from occurring.
• Planning financially, so that client's resources last as long as possible.
• Strengthening clients and their families to allow them to achieve the goals they have set for themselves with the assistance of the Case Manager.
• Using an interdisciplinary approach that addresses all of the client's needs as fully as possible.
• Providing assistance in creating, implementing, and monitoring a Plan of Care to ensure it continually meets the needs and desires of the client.
• Providing assistance with choosing and monitoring of alternative arrangements when remaining in the home is no longer practical or appropriate.

Mission Statement

To ensure the dignity of people with long term care needs by providing services that help maintain self determination and maximize independence.

Newsworthy Items

Cynthia Ward was recently designated an Excellence in Care Specialist by the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. The Alzheimer's Foundation of America selected Ms. Ward to join the team of experts committed to enhancing the quality of care and excellence in service to individuals with dementia and to their caregivers and families. She will be assisting the Alzheimer's Foundation in partnering with programs that provide services to persons with dementia. As a partner, the Excellence in Care Specialist evaluates the programs against a set of standards of care. Programs that meet the standards will be recognized as a "Program of Distinction in Dementia Care".

The Alzheimer's Foundation Program of Distinction was implemented in 2007 to recognize programs that meet quality of care standards. You can visit the AFA website at www.alzfdn.org for more information about the quality of service review process or to find programs of distinction, or call 1-866-AFA-8484.

Area news from Chrysalis Case Management

Chrysalis Case Management exhibited at the Monadnock Wellness Festival. Cynthia Ward, M.Ed, Certified Case Manager was available to talk with caregivers, family members and seniors, and made information available to festival participants about Alzheimers Disease, caregiver survival tips and planning for long term care.

Chrysalis Case Management exhibited at the Working Women’s Expo in Manchester, NH. Working women from communities in southern New Hampshire stopped by to discuss strategies for how they could deal with eldercare concerns while balancing work and family life.

Cynthia Ward was a wellness presenter at the Henniker Congregational Church as part of their health ministries program. Attendees learned techniques for initiating caring conversations about long term care planning and advance care directives.

Work Life Seminars

Chrysalis is available to provide seminars and workshops on "Balancing Elder Care and Work Life" and on the challenges facing the disabled, elderly and their caregivers. Presentations can be arranged for businesses, employer groups, organizations and professionals.
 

Caregiver Testimonials

"My sister and I really appreciate all of the great work that Chrysalis did to help us find the appropriate placement for our father.  As you can imagine, we are very happy that he is out of the nursing home and in a more normal setting where he has more privacy and can retain his sense of independence and dignity."  ~ Leslie M. 

Helpful Links

National Association of Geriatric Care Managers
New England Association of Geriatric Care Managers
AARP American Association for Retired People
National Family Caregivers Association
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Department of Health and Human Services - Sources of information on services.
National Council on Aging - State and Federal benefits analysis.
Service Link - Connections for Independent Living and Healthy Aging in New Hampshire
HealthGrades - The Healthcare Quality Experts
Professional Care Managers Database - Nationwide listing of care managers.
National Institute on Aging - Offers information about doctor/patient communication, end-of-life care and alzheimer's disease. This is also an excellent resource site for caregivers.
National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information - Information about long-term care options/costs, etc. This site, which is sponsored by the federal government, targets people in the 45-70 age range, many of whom assume they will never have to face long-term care options.

NAPGCM - Provides resources for caregivers.

Alzheimer Association - Provides caregiver support and education; they provide a 24/7 helpline at 1-800-272-3900.