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From the
Executive Director:
Consultants help
with long-term care options
One of the first
hurdles most seniors face when they decide they need
long-term care services is information. What
services are available? Where are they? How can I
get them? Can services be brought into my home? How
much do they cost?
Thanks to the work
of the Long-Term Care Task Force, seniors can work
with specialists called long-term care consultants.
These consultants visit with seniors and help them
decide which services best meet their needs and
which services are available in their area.
The consultation is
free and can easily be arranged simply by calling
your county social services office. If you’re
unsure where to call, give the Senior LinkAge Line®
a call at 1-800-333-2433, and they can help.
Each county in
Minnesota has a long-term care consultant on staff.
These consultants are public health nurses or social
workers. They help seniors and their families wade
through the spectrum of options, choose services
that meet their needs and find resources to make it
work.
Here’s how it
works. You’re a senior living in your home, but
you think it may be time to get additional help.
You’ve heard about assisted living, but you
don’t know much about other types of services. You
call a long-term care consultant, and he/she sets up
a consultation.
Anyone you’d like
to participate – your children, your friends or
neighbors – can be involved in the consultation.
The consultant will ask you a variety of questions
about your general health, your daily routine, your
home environment and the help you receive from
family and friends.
The long-term care
consultant will gather the information and make
recommendations about service options. Maybe
assisted living is a good idea, but there may be
services that can be brought to you in your home
that will meet your needs and save you money. And,
you don’t have to follow the consultant’s
recommendations – you have the right to decide
what care best meets your needs.
Getting good
information fast is important to seniors and their
families. That’s why the Minnesota Board on Aging
promotes the development of a long-term care system
that is easily understood and navigated by seniors
and their families. Being able to work with experts
such as long-term care consultants is important.
– Jim Varpness,
Executive Director,
Minnesota Board on
Aging
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