For the past eight years, I have been working with the elderly in an inpatient hospital setting. During this time, I have worked with thousands of families who have loved ones hospitalized with severe illness stumbling through a complex health care system. I assist with understanding how to find the appropriate long-term care settings for them

I have a vast amount of experience in practicing from a Systems Modality and showing compassion, understanding that every client has a unique situation. A Family systems Modality looks at the entire family as a system with its own roles, beliefs, rules and patterns, and I believe each family member has a particular role in the system that affects his or her relationship within and outside of the family. This is helpful when treating and guiding the whole family when making the decisions of how to care for your elder family members. During my consultations with families I give my clients the tools they need to help to maximize quality care for their loved ones, taking into account these needs.

Common barriers and issues that family and friends face when advocating for their loved ones:

•Knowing the right questions to ask Healthcare Providers

•Finding a Primary Care Physician that meets your individualized needs

•Understanding Medicare and its various programs and coverage

•Maximizing Benefits from commercial and private insurance

•How to access DSHS resources, such as COPES, and other Public Health Resources

•Familiarizing themselves with a plethora of community resources

•Understanding what level of care is really needed for their loved one

•Getting in touch with the right community liaisons and people that will advocate for them

•Learning about their loved ones’ individual disease process and the most appropriate Long Term Care placement for their unique situation, and finding access to resources for that particular illness

Typically, my consulting sessions are two hours. I spend the first hour assessing my client’s situation and really spending the time that is needed to evaluate each person in his or her own environment. Then, I utilize the next hour making recommendations to my clients and educating to my best ability in how to be advocates for their loved ones by giving them the necessary resources in order to navigate through the multitude of challenges that are presented at each level of our healthcare system.

$150 per two-hour session, $75 for each additional hour. We will start with an initial 20-minute phone consultation free of charge to establish the goals of our meeting and take an adequate health history.