Your WISE care professional acts as a helping guide throughout the aging process. Every person’s circumstances and needs are different, and your dedicated WISE professional will always look to you as the expert in your life, your wishes, and your strengths. While the services we provide are customized for each person, below is a list of ways your WISE care professional WISE can help. Learn more about our services. Initiate the care plan and keep it moving at your customized pace. Help ensure your home environment is safe and modified as needed. Help mediate family conflicts and navigate family dynamics as they relate to your goals for aging. Advocate for the care recipient and the family caregiver Manage care for a loved one for out-of-town families Conduct ongoing assessments to monitor progress and meet new challenges Provide meaningful support and, in some cases, personal counseling Help with Medicare and health insurance applications and navigation Connect to legal, financial, chore and other personal services Provide assistance with transitions to assisted living facilities or nursing homes Monitor the care of a family member in a nursing home or in assisted living Work with you to Solve “every day” challenges before they become emergencies Coordinate medical appointments and medical information Arrange for transportation to medical appointments Assist families in positive decision making

While family members may always want the best for loved ones, they don’t always see eye to eye. WISE can help mediate family conflicts within a solution-focused framework to help you find common ground and preserve relationships, even as we navigate disputes. Careful, objective evaluation of the issues and a presentation of options for action are key elements to a successful resolution.

By conducting a WISE assessment, we will better understand your wife’s health, the safety of your home and your goals. Once we better understand what’s in play, we’ll propose solutions and work with you to implement them. There is no charge for an assessment. Click here to learn more.

Yes, even if you’re not nearby, you can still be connected to your loved one’s daily care with the help of your WISE team. We can visit your loved one and provide you with updates. If your elder family member can’t travel alone to their appointment, we can arrange for accompaniment and, with their permission, share notes and information from the visit with you.

Any changes in your health that are “unusual or unanticipated” are always best checked out first by a doctor. If food preparation is the driving force, WISE can help with a variety of nutrition services. Often, people overlook how mood may impact appetite, energy and interest. So we would also recommend a quick screening for depression or anxiety to better understand what factors are in play and how we can help.

Caregiving is one of life’s most demanding jobs and caregiver strain is very real. WISE can help connect you to respite care, which will allow your mother some time for herself. There are also support groups which many caregivers find helpful. In some cases, adult day care services are available and could provide a safe place for socialization and stimulation. Contact us to learn more about your options.

Try participating in some activities at "WISE @ the J," where opportunities for socialization and enrichment include options for exercise, lectures, outings, classes and a lunch program.

The cost of a care manager in the WISE Advantage plan is often shouldered by the family, but sometimes it is covered by supplemental or long-term insurance. Policy language usually refers to care management as care coordination. Contact us to learn about our different options to develop a plan that fits your budget and coverage. For low income older adults, the WISE Safety Net offers many important services for a sliding scale fee or no cost.

It can be very arduous to manage a staff of people working in a parent’s home. They quit. Or you have to fire them. The client, who is so dependent, becomes almost an emotional hostage, needing the aide so badly they may be afraid to complain or offend. It is imperative to have eyes and ears available locally. This is not a process that can be managed long-distance, even as in-touch as we are with cell phones, text messaging and video conferences. We always work with another care manager in the other location to have an independent individual assess the facility and situation.

Hiring a WISE care manager can allow the children of the elderly person to be children again, while someone else manages the situation. When a son or daughter is providing the hands-on care to the parent, the quality time they have to be there emotionally for their parent is limited. The care manager can handle the difficult interpersonal issues, address the immediate problem, remain connected once the crisis passes and get back involved as the situation requires it.

Yes, we’d love to be your eyes and ears and are trained to do just that. With your parent’s permission, we can work with you both to make sure that they have everything they need and you have peace of mind. As overwhelming as this feels, rest assured this is something that we help with all of the time.

Working with WISE care professional can permit family members to take a step back from “the business” of the relationship, knowing there is a trusted ally to help. Often, when an adult child (sometimes with kids of their own) is in a caregiving role, the quality time they have to connect emotionally with their parent can be limited. With a WISE professional handling immediate problems and regular hurdles, more time and space may be freed up to renew a loving connection.

Yes. Our networks are far reaching and comprehensive. We will help you build the supportive relationships you need, even when you are far from home.