Behind the Scenes with a Health Services Case Manager

The Health Services team plays an integral role at MVES. Elisa Amara, a health services case manager, works hard to coordinate services for clients in many different programs. We talked with her in this edition of Behind the Scenes.

Editor: What is your primary responsibility as a Health Services Case Manager?

E. Amara: I manage the services of 70 clients. I ensure that clients receive all the needed services and resources available to them. My clients typically require intensive services and are enrolled in various programs. These programs include Enhanced Community Options Program (ECOP), Community Choices, Personal Care Attendant (PCA), and Group Adult Foster Care (GAFC). I manage a client’s services from the office and conduct home visits to make sure the services are working for the client.

Editor: Please describe home visits and why they’re important.

E. Amara: By going to a person’s home you can best judge how effective services are. You observe how clients are functioning in their personal environment. As I mentioned, Health Services clients need high levels of service and I carefully watch to see if clients are able to complete Activities of Daily Living (ADL), if they are socializing, and if they are content in their home.

Editor: How do you work with the MVES nurses?

E. Amara: I’ve acquired a lot of medical information and resources by working near the nurses. It’s great to have them nearby so I can ask questions about client concerns. We work closely in the GAFC program. One month I’ll visit the client in GAFC and the following month a nurse will visit. We share the caseload. We also coordinate the services for elders in the PCA program.

Editor: What is one program that you’ve found that really helps the clients?

E. Amara: All of our programs offer help to clients, but Community Choices, which is relatively new, allows more care for clients in their homes. It’s been very successful. It provides adequate financial resources to truly help a client live at home rather than be placed in a more expensive, unwanted nursing home.

Editor: Are there other new initiatives that MVES is offering?

E. Amara: The PCA program is starting to see success. The program gives the client control of hiring and managing care providers. Sometimes the client can hire a relative. I have two clients enrolled in the PCA program. It’s made a real difference to one woman who had to leave her job because she was caring for a relative. Now she can be receive some compensation for her continuing caregiving efforts.

Editor: What is the most challenging part of your job?

E. Amara: It’s probably getting families to recognize the needs their loved ones have and accepting services to meet those needs. It can be challenging to convince people that they need help.

Editor: And the most rewarding part?

E. Amara: Being able to offer Community Choices has been very rewarding. The program brings a lot of flexibility to what we can offer clients. One client, who had been in a nursing home, was able to return to her home because of Community Choices. The program allows for more services for the client and caregivers and, because of this, people can live in their homes where they want to be.