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This article is part of a paid Content Partnership with the advertiser, Waveny Care Center. Daily Voice has no involvement in the writing of the article and the statements and opinions contained in it are solely those of the advertiser.

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Overcoming The "Unthinkables" Through Geriatric Care Management

Waveny LifeCare Network’s Community-Based Geriatric Care Manager, Joan Merrill, says “The Unthinkables” of aging aren’t improbable or even uncommon. And, when they do occur, engaging an experienced Care Manager can help to transform impossible situations into workable ones.

A day in the life on Main Street at The Village, Waveny LifeCare Network's award-winning assisted living residence in New Canaan, CT.

Photo Credit: Waveny Care Network

Managing a loved one’s care can be overwhelming, to say the least. When situations move quickly and require immediate decisions, professional Care Managers like Joan Merrill, BSN, RN, CMC, can bridge the gaps between seniors, families and the healthcare system to streamline complexities, coordinate care and respond to emergency events.

“I know the system and how to cut through the red tape,” says Merrill. “I make it my business to know the right resources to enlist, professionals to engage, and direction to provide. It’s what I do.”

A seasoned Geriatric Care Manager who works with private clients throughout Fairfield County, Merrill has provided this service for over a decade now through Waveny LifeCare Network, a non-profit continuum of eldercare based in New Canaan, Connecticut.

She describes her style of Care Management as “multi-disciplinary by nature,” combining a thorough understanding of today’s ever-changing healthcare system with patient advocacy, counseling, social work and nursing savvy.

“What I do is especially important when ‘The Unthinkables’ occur – those things you hope will never happen, but which too often do,” she says. 

“The Unthinkables” may include a sudden illness, a change in health or cognition, an unexpected hospitalization or a hospital release without any clear discharge plan in place. “These situations are almost always complicated, highly stressful and emotionally exhausting for everyone involved,” says Merrill.

They’re also the right times to engage Care Management. In the midst of multiple clinicians, medications, legal and medical recommendations, differences in opinion and heightened emotions, she says a Geriatric Care Manager will take the lead in care coordination to make decisions easier for everyone involved.

Especially, she says, in circumstances when the family is far removed from the older adult. “When you add in a factor of distance, things can really get disjointed or lost in translation,” says Merrill, who adds that the degree of confusion, potential for miscommunication, and likelihood of re-hospitalization also become much greater. In these cases, having an objective professional present to advocate, oversee and coordinate is essential.

“In some respects I’m almost like a professional oldest daughter,” says Merrill with regard to her job’s dynamic. “Someone with a devout concern for the older adult, who always has their best interests at heart and a passion for achieving the right outcome.”

As part of Waveny LifeCare Network, Merrill can provide her clients with a unique, additional benefit – immediate access to Waveny’s comprehensive network of renowned eldercare services, programs, and living options. “Whether it’s home care, rehabilitative services, outpatient, short- or long-term care, Waveny has it covered, and I can facilitate access.”

“I have the strength of an entire network behind me,” says Merrill. “And that’s a pretty powerful thing.”

To learn more about Geriatric Care Management, please call 203.594.5396 or click here.

This article is part of a paid Content Partnership with the advertiser, Waveny Care Center. Daily Voice has no involvement in the writing of the article and the statements and opinions contained in it are solely those of the advertiser.

To learn more about Content Partnerships, click here.

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