Older Adult and Caregiver Services
Older Adult and Caregiver Services is specifically designed to support older adults and their families as they wrestle with aging related issues. Aging related concerns are present in everyone’s lives – it could be concerns over your aging parents memory or physical health, an older adult unable to afford their medical care, a widow struggling with the loss of her spouse/home/community, an adult caregiver caring for her parents and her teenage children while working full-time. Our care managers are experts in the field of aging and support a “Positive Culture of Aging.”
Because of our commitment to serving vulnerable older adults who often have limited financial resources or support networks, our services are provided through a sliding-scale fee structure based on income or, if funds are available, at no change to the client. These fees are subsidized through federal, state and private grants and from generous gifts from churches and the community.
Programs Include:
Care Management Services – Assessments/On-going Care Management support.
Our care managers start with a comprehensive assessment of the older adult and his/her family. We examine the current support system, living environment, medical and mental health conditions, financial and legal situation, assisted devices in use, needs for other assistance and current goals for the older adult and his/her family. From this assessment, we develop a “Care Plan” where we make recommendations for services needed to assist the older adult with their living goals. If the older adult needs ongoing help implementing the care plan, we will stay involved until the care plan is completed. While care management services are often brief in nature, we occasionally provide ongoing care management services throughout the older adult’s life, depending on the nature of the client’s needs.
Care Management Services are provided through a sliding-scale fee structure based on older adult income and, depending on available funding, can be provided at no charge. Services are available in the client’s home.
Care Management Services – Consults
Consults are sessions with the adult children of older adults or older adults looking for guidance on a specific situation. Through pointed questions and information gathering, our care managers make recommendations to meet the needs of the older adult. Often these sessions are around issues such as: when/where to move when an older adult can no longer live alone, how to talk with parents about aging related issues, financial and legal considerations related to Medicaid or other financial benefits.
Consults are provided at a low hourly rate and are only provided in the LFS office.
Caregiver Support for the African American Community
Caregiver support provides respite care, home visit, caregiver training, caregiver support groups and counseling services in the North East Denver region to African American caregivers caring for their aging parents. This program is provided at no charge to the individual and has been servicing this community for 12 years.
Counseling services
The counseling program serves older adults and/or their families. Our counselors are experts in grief and loss issues, transition to higher level of care, working with families and medical professionals on understanding aging related issues related to significant mental illnesses.
LFS bills most insurances (including Medicare) and also offers a sliding scale private pay option. In some situations, we are able to visit clients in the home (travel costs are assigned based on income and ability to pay).
Programs available in the following areas:
Counseling – Ft. Collins/Loveland area and Metro-Denver area at the LFS office and can sometimes be provided in the client’s home.
Counseling is offered at Augustana Lutheran Church on Thursday afternoons and evenings. To make an appointment, please call Mary Kennedy at 303.217.5843.
Care Management – Metro-Denver area
Caregiver Support – Northeast Denver area