The goal of the Area Agency on Aging's (AAA) Care Management staff is to assist older adults to remain as independent as possible. Care Management is an integral part of long-term care and includes all activities in the provision of care management services based on the outcome of the comprehensive assessment, consisting of the following:

• Care planning and implementation activities
• Ongoing care management, monitoring and follow-up activities

Care Planning

Care planning and implementation activities include:

• Development of the care plan based on the needs of the consumer identified through the comprehensive assessment
• Activities in the exploration of services needed to include those available through the AAA or other non-AAA sources
• Calculation of projected service cost sharing in the care plan, if appropriate
• Communications and referrals to service providers, both formal and informal, regarding services to be rendered to the consumer as part of the care plan
• Care plan adjustments or modifications

Care Management

Ongoing care management, monitoring, and follow-up activities include:

• Case coordination with other service providers including:

  1) sharing/obtaining copies of other care plans or service orders
  2) case conferences
  3) joint visits with consumers with other service providers

• Quality assurance to ensure satisfactory delivery of services
• Follow-up contacts by the care manager with the consumer to ensure appropriateness of services and/or well-being of the consumer