Field Notes
The telephone rings. On the other end of the call is a waiver service provider who has just walked into an adult client’s home filled with feces, urine, vermin, flies and standing water. On another occasion, a home video is provided by a member of a client’s individualized support team. It shows the young client having a seizure while his waiver service provider, apparently unconcerned, remains seated on the couch casually using a cell phone. These are…
Read More
I began working from home full-time last spring, two weeks before my kids started e-learning for the rest of the school year. I had found the balance of calling clients, going on home visits, and not missing events with my kids in school. Then COVID-19 shut everything down. My kids still had schoolwork to do…
Read More
They say that it’s the little things that make a difference, and for our clients and caregivers, this is no different. Everyone’s victory is their own. Sometimes the victory is a client taking a first step following a stroke or someone going an entire month without a fall or hospitalization. Sometimes the victory is in finding…
Read More
July 26, 2014, began as an ordinary, beautiful summer day. But in an ordinary instant, our lives changed dramatically. It was about 4:00 p.m. that Saturday when I received a call from my son’s girlfriend that she couldn’t rouse Matt. She had tried all day and couldn’t get a response. She asked me what to do.…
Read More
Putting Person-Centered Care into Action CICOA’s Flourish Care Management department places great value on practicing a person-centered approach to care management. What exactly does this mean? To me, person-centered care means viewing each client as an individual with different wants and needs. It also means that the client should be highly involved in every decision…
Read More
One thing I have cherished about CICOA in my first six months with the agency is its core values, because they are similar to my own. In particular, I appreciate that we pride ourselves on diversity and inclusion. I have attended diversity trainings, and I have numerous clients on my caseload from diverse backgrounds. I’ve…
Read More
Indiana Division of Aging Provides Greater Flexibility to Meet Needs During COVID-19 Pandemic I always look for the silver lining in situations or times that seem difficult, so it should come as no surprise that I have been searching for that silver lining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each week I spend hours and hours…
Read More
Across America and throughout the world, people are working from home. Some, like the care managers at CICOA, have had this privilege for some time. Some are new to it. However, if you are like me, the fact that we cannot go out makes me want to explore that much more. While the times are…
Read More
This is a question I’m repeatedly asked. Since January 2013, I’ve been working as a care manager. During my second maternity leave, our family decided to move from the north side to the south side of Indianapolis. My first concern was how I was going to handle my north side caseload? While I was on…
Read More
As a care manager assistant, my job is to complete various tasks for other care managers. Since being hired, I’ve particularly noticed the heartwarming impact home modifications have on our clients and caregivers. At first, home modifications were daunting tasks because of the numerous steps involved. Now that I’ve mastered and seen the positive outcomes…
Read More