Elaine spent over $30,000.00 to furnish an eight, (8) bed group home. It was immaculate and possessed a quiet elegance that would rival the private residences of many upper middle class families. As prospective residents and their representatives toured, everyone saw the WOW factor in motion.
Within six, (6) months the home was full, within two, (2) years the home was empty for good. As committed as Elaine was to safe personal care, a highly functional environment and more, what she really lacked as did her key staff, was understanding key dynamics associated with the role of an assisted living owner as a care manager.
An owner needs to be able to manage the care and benefits associated with their residents. If you are unaware of how to apply for and access the benefits available to a U.S. Veteran you will not be a respected provider of care for this population. The same is true for those who seek to be reimbursed via auto no-fault law provisions. You need to know the law and its provisions, having read publications available to everyone, the most meaningful and simplistic being those offered by the Sinas – Dramis Law Firm in Lansing, Michigan, at least in our humble opinion.
Yes, care management is a part of care delivery. If an owner is not aware of how to penetrate and make usage of reimbursement resources, you are limited in terms of how valuable you can be to your residents. This is a serious deficiency that will send many families and guardians looking in another direction.
Unfortunately, in many smaller assisted living/adult foster care environments, existing owners will not offer quality advice or mentor those new to the business. This is not to say that many of them are literate in all reimbursement products, but for whatever reason the adult foster care community can be a closed community to one another for a number of reasons too numerous to cover in this blog.
Bottom-line is, it is up to each owner to maintain their own resource library and self-educate on these important dynamics affecting current and future residents. Here are a few helpful links:
Click Here for No-Fault Publications from the Sinas-Dramis Law Firm
Click Here for Veterans Administration Form VA 21-534 Application for Benefits and Instructions
Click Here for Veterans Aid & Attendance Amounts
Click Here for Physician Statement required when making application for Aid & Attendance Benefits
Of course there are blogs everywhere that can be incredibly helpful. You need to be able to shepherd your residents through these processes. We just have to make the commitment to be growth oriented and fully equipped to serve the needs of those whose care is entrusted to us.
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Direct Care Training & Resource Center, Inc.
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