Our goal is to develop an appropriate action plan to meet the challenges of the immediate crisis or any probable future scenarios. Our comprehensive caregiving assessment is designed to gather as much information about the client’s caregiving situation as possible. The assessment is usually conducted at the client’s home or office and on average can take anywhere from 3-4 hours to complete. In some cases, we have spent as much as 6 hours meeting with a family. We know from experience that caregiving is a multi-dimensional experience. In order to accomplish this goal, we need to carefully examine with the client each of the "pieces" of their puzzle.

The assessment includes a complete demographic work-up, evaluation of health insurance coverage, medical history and prognosis, complete analysis of financial information including detailed asset inventory, review of insurance policies, history of asset transfers and gifts, review of all pertinent legal issues and a thorough discussion around perceived and observed care needs.

In our view, the caregiving assessment is much more than a fact finding exercise. We use the time that we spend with clients during the assessment to provide as much education as possible around all of the relevant topics. We provide a clear understanding of all the issues that are centering on their caregiving situation. Most caregivers have only had brief meetings with healthcare social workers, case managers and other professionals. And due to time constraints, they have not had the opportunity to fully discuss their parent or loved one’s needs or wants. In fact, most clients report that many of their questions have not been answered to their satisfaction.

Our assessment is not limited by time constraints. We are happy to spend as much time as necessary to ensure that our clients understand the issues, the risks and rewards and any other relevant information. When our assessment is completed, we know that our clients have been given every opportunity to learn as much as possible about their options and the action steps necessary to meet their unique challenges.

A clinical caregiving assessment can also be conducted by our geriatric nurse practitioner. This type of assessment is focused exclusively on clinical issues. The assessment includes a complete physical examination, a thorough review of the client’s health history and medical record, conversations and/or meetings with the client’s primary care physician and other health care providers and other tasks, as necessary. A post-assessment conference is arranged to review findings and recommendations.

The comprehensive caregiving assessment and the clinical assessment are billed on a flat fee basis. For more information about the assessment or to schedule an assessment, please call the office or send an e-mail.