What Is Life Care Planning?

A well-organized and proactive approach to long-term and complex care situations can help increase a person’s overall quality of life and the potential for successful outcomes in many cases. Life care planning helps individuals who are dealing with chronic illnesses or the aging process support this organized, proactive approach to care management and other considerations.

Some elements of good life care planning include client advocacy and personalized care coordination.

What Is Personalized Care Coordination and Why Is It Important?

When someone is dealing with a chronic illness — or multiple conditions — they are likely balancing many considerations at any given time. This can include the need to coordinate care between multiple providers while attending to financial considerations. Personalized care coordination services step into this type of scenario to provide much-needed support for individuals.

Some aspects of personalized care coordination can include:

• Understanding your goals and needs. A professional elder care coordinator will take time to speak to you and your loved ones to understand the specific needs and preferences for care. This way, they can better customize the services they provide.
• Locating the right services. After working to understand the needs and goals of an individual or family, care coordinators work to find the right solutions. For example, in an elder care situation, the coordinator may work to help the family find an assisted living, nursing home, or day outpatient care options or in-home care providers. They might also help locate appropriate clinical providers for specific conditions or medical complaints.
• Coordinating assistance. In cases where it is relevant, care coordinators may assist in finding the right assistance programs and ensuring the family can apply for them. That can include completing and following up on applications and being a point of contact for service coordination.
• Working on insurance or Medicaid claims or applications. For many families involved in a care situation, financial stress is a burden. Legal care coordination services can include working as a proxy to help establish coverage or ensure claims are being paid appropriately.

This level of administrative, legal, and communication assistance can be critically important to caregiving families as well as individuals who are dealing with long-term chronic illnesses. In situations involving elder care, the aging individual may not have the cognitive capacity to continue to manage all of these factors on their own. When older individuals are suffering from dementia or other cognitive health issues, the burden of all of these tasks and decisions can weigh heavily on loved ones.

Professional, personalized care coordination services step into these situations to lift a bit of that burden. That can free families up to spend quality time with their loved one or otherwise support them in a more appropriate manner. It also allows families to rely on people who are familiar with care coordination processes, ensuring that family caregivers don’t have to spend time constantly educating themselves on what is required, what programs are available, and how to appropriately advocate for their loved one.

Who Might Need Personalized Care Coordination Services?

Personalized care coordination and other life planning services might be right for a variety of individuals. For example, due to common challenges in primary care for older adults and other obstacles elderly individuals and their families face, seniors are a prime demographic for this type of service. If your older loved one is dealing with chronic conditions and/or cognitive decline that requires ongoing care from a variety of sources, personalized care coordination may be able to streamline those processes and make life easier for you and them.

However, these services aren’t only for the elderly. Some other times when personalized care coordination services might be helpful include:

• When someone has suffered a serious injury that has led to a disability. For example, if someone was involved in a car accident and suffered a serious traumatic brain injury, they may have complex levels of care requirements and benefit from care and resource coordination.
• When someone of any age is diagnosed with a serious condition such as cancer. This type of situation can be frightening to deal with, and care coordination services help remove some of the immediate burden and ensure the individual is receiving the right care and support.
• When someone is unable to care for themselves for any reason. A disability, mental or cognitive health issue, or other condition that makes it difficult for a person to handle their own care can leave them open to a variety of risks. Care coordination services help reduce those risks.

Find Out More About Life Care Planning

Life care planning covers a wide array of services that may be appropriate in a variety of situations. If you are not sure if life planning or personalized care coordination services are right for you or your loved one, legal guidance for life care plan development at Bratton Estate & Elder Care can help you understand your options and what might be right for you.

Because life care planning can include services to help with resource location and management, financial planning and protection, and coordination of care, it can significantly reduce the burdens you are carrying while providing greater flexibility and quality of life in the future. To find out more about life planning services or to get started with these services today, call Bratton Estate & Elder Care Attorneys at 856-770-2744.