How Seniors Experience Higher Quality of Life Through Case Management Software

The average age of the United States’ population has been steadily increasing over the past several decades. As a result, the number of Americans entering a phase of their life that will require assistance is growing. In fact, according to the 2020 U.S. Census data, there are roughly 50 million Americans over the age of 65 and that number is expected to double by 2060.

The assistance that this population requires, whether it be financial, emotional, medical, or physical, is something that families and social work professionals are navigating more and more frequently. A variety of non-profit organizations, social workers, and government agencies have sprung up over to help increase the quality of life of these aging populations. This is the role of aging programs in our society.

What are Aging Programs?

Aging programs work to address the needs of senior citizens, typically 65 and older. Aging programs are run by community and non-profit organizations dedicated to helping their local elderly populations. The scope of these programs can vary but they typically provide a support system that can include:

Counseling
Transportation
Advocacy
Elder abuse prevention
Education
Financial assistance
Nutrition planning

Bettering the lives of the aging population is a noble goal and is one that must executed with care, attention to detail, and patience. With the United States, as well as many other countries across the globe, experiencing a rapidly growing elderly population, the demand for the services of aging programs is only expected to increase. Another factor playing into this increased demand for aging services is an ever-increasing average life expectancy which is requiring more years of care per person.

In fact, with the aging population expected to double in the next 40 years, the industry and funding that supports these organizations will have to grow in scale. More families will be seeking case management professionals to navigate this unfamiliar terrain.

Which Families need the Help of Aging Programs?

A variety of scenarios exist in which families and senior adults may seek out the help of a senior care aging program. These situations are as numerous and nuanced as any combination of family structures, dynamics, and health histories. Some of the most common examples where an aging program case manager becomes involved in the care of a senior include:

A lack of family or family support in the day to day life of a senior adult
A senior adult is unable to manage finances, health, and housing on their own
Families who are involved and wish to help but are not quite sure where to begin
An overwhelmed and frustrated family who may no longer be in the best position to help their senior family member
A disagreement amongst family members on the best path forward
A mix of complicated health and legal issues put a senior adult or their family in a position where they need assistance
A decline in the mental health of an aging adult

There are varying degrees of support that can be provided. While some senior adults may only be seeking counseling for a specific area of their life, others may need a much more robust care plan that would include daily in-home visits, meal planning, and transportation. The good news is that there is help for any senior at any level of need.

What is an Aging Program Report?

Organizations that help the aging population and use government funds are responsible for a specific set of data and reports that assess their efficiency, progress, and their appropriate use of funds. As with many federal and state-funded programs, future funds, and the success of the organization, are often dependent upon the timely and accurate submission of a complicated data set. You could say there are strings attached to taxpayer money – and rightfully so.

The United States Administration for Community Living is one of the primary issuers of grants for aging programs. The administration outlines very specific qualifications for reporting on their website including, but not limited to, the format, font size, and specific sections that must be included. The guidelines even extend to what the table of contents should look like in the report. It is safe to say that these mandatory progress reports about the state of an organization’s efforts are taken quite seriously. The over-arching goal of these reports is to see how the grant that was issued has been applied thus building accountability.

Given the specificity in the report guidelines, aging program organizations must devote considerable resources to the development of these reports and ensure that they are submitted with a high degree of accuracy. Their very existence may rely on it!

These reports not only inform the federal and state agencies that are issuing the funds, but they also act as a check and balance mechanism for the agencies themselves. This helps to foster an environment where client care, efficiency, and attention to detail are highly valued qualities. In the end, if these qualities are central to the way an aging program operates, senior adult clients will have a happier and better quality of life.

Case Management Programs for Seniors

So, what exactly do case management programs do for senior adults and their families? Generally speaking, they help to manage the care of these individuals so that seniors can live their lives to the fullest.

These case managers do important work that improves not only their client’s lives but also the lives of their family members. Senior care managers are often the primary advocate for the well-being of their clients. They give a voice to those who may not fully understand their situation, health status, or how to even articulate their needs. Many times, these case managers help to interpret the very tangled web of health care services, government assistance, and the mountain of physician information that is thrown their client’s way.

Senior care managers are special people who do some of the most important work in our society. Families and senior adults entrust them with the care of their loved ones. This is a tremendous responsibility.

Some of the more common projects that senior adult case managers perform are:

In-home safety and wellness checks – Ensuring that living spaces are safe from tripping hazards, fires, and other physically straining situations. This is especially important for senior adults who may have pre-existing health conditions leaving them vulnerable to falls.
Long-term care planning – Working out the details of a long-term care plan can be a daunting task. A case manager can lay out options and advise on the best course of action. This is often an emotionally loaded decision that families struggle with. Case managers are a steady hand that can guide them toward the best fit for their situation.
Helping to coordinate doctor appointments, prescriptions, and medical follow-ups is a key task for aging program case managers. Even escorting clients to physician visits or providing transportation and company during physician visits to be an extra set of eyes and ears and also to advocate on behalf of the client.
Creation of individualized care plans – No two individuals’ situations will be the same. This requires specific plans for each client that address their individual needs and services. As mentioned previously, while some clients may need assistance with a very narrow set of tasks, others may require an intensive and complicated array of tasks. These care plans are invaluable in managing and measuring progress.
Communication with families of clients – Acting as a go-between for families and their senior loved ones so that all parties have a full understanding of the situation is a core function for aging program case managers. These individuals are able to be a voice that sees situations dispassionately and honestly.
Establishing in-home care, meal planning, and cleaning services – In addition to ensuring the safety of the home, case managers can help plan out weekly meals and organize cleaning services to make the home suitable.
Legal assistance – This can include consultation on consumer issues, housing complaints, medical benefits, and much more
Nutrition education and counseling – Working with a licensed nutrition expert, case managers can facilitate a diet that is best suited to the individual senior adult.

Case Management Solutions with Aging Program Reporting

There are myriad tools available for non-profit and non-governmental organizations working with senior adults. A considerable amount of documentation is required in case management and the best tool for collecting, organizing, and accessing that information is a powerful case management program.

So what exactly can case management programs provide to non-profit organizations? In short, they provide efficiency and accuracy. These flexible and deep case management systems do away with time-consuming manual processes and automate common tasks for case managers so that they are able to spend more of their valuable time working with the senior adults who need their help each and every day.

PlanStreet’s Unique and Flexible Case Management Solutions

The case management software that PlanStreet offers is uniquely situated to help the needs of aging programs across the country. A robust and flexible case management system is an absolute necessity for organizing intake data, scheduling, resource allocation, and the various other tasks that go into making an elderly care program successful.

Some of the features that make PlanStreet the ideal tool for these teams include:

Flexibility: PlanStreet’s case management software can serve a variety of specialty areas in addition to aging populations including re-entry programs, homeless population case management, and health and patient services.
Custom form creation: No two organizations have the exact same processes and needs. The ability to customize forms based on specific organizational needs is invaluable.
Security: Data protection has never been more important. As organizations begin moving more and more toward a virtual, cloud-based work system, sensitive data must be protected. PlanStreet takes this seriously and works to ensure that your client data is secure.
Work anywhere: Case managers have a lot on their plate so the ability to work on the go, input data in the moment, and collaborate over long distances is a growing priority. PlanStreet’s cloud-based case management software arms case managers with the resources they need both in the office and in the field.
Ease of use: PlanStreet is intuitive, plain, and simple. Accessing information, creating custom reports, and tracking client status and progress is a breeze.

When it comes to aging program reporting, these very features make PlanStreet ideal for non-profit and community organizations. Aging program reporting requires a high volume of accurate data organized according to a very specific set of guidelines. PlanStreet’s case management software pulls statistics, the status of progress, and demographic information about the populations that your team is serving effortlessly.