From the plate of Vicki Coyle, CEO:
Hello! Today is Friday August 2nd and it is the end of a busy week here at MOWGLV. For one, we’ve had a major staff change: Our Chief Financial Officer, Cindy Hay, worked her last day on Wednesday July 31. She gave MOW 19 years of dedicated and professional service. She started as a dietician and then moved into finance. In my first year, she was extremely helpful with her vast institutional knowledge. It’s so helpful to start a new job with someone like Cindy available to provide some guidance. She is off to a warm and wonderful retirement in Arizona and we wish her great health and happiness.
Our new CFO will start on August 12. I will update you on her background later that week, so stay tuned!
We are always looking for ways to improve our services to our clients. As I’ve said before, we know that our clients are especially vulnerable due to age and disability. Part of our philosophy is to enhance our skills in order to provide the best service.
To that end, I encourage you to check out the new credentialing after the names of our Case Managers– Dana Kenney, Brandy Padilla, and LaCrisha Vasquez. They are now Certified Dementia Practitioners.
“How does that play into better service?”
I’m so glad you asked! For starters, let me explain how our Case Managers (CMs) operate: After a client calls, or is referred to MOWGLV, the CM is the first face that a client sees. The CM visits the client and performs a general assessment of eligibility for services by doing the following:
- Explains all MOWGLV services and fee structures;
- Explores the client’s health conditions, medications, and ability to manage daily tasks around the house;
- Assists client with referrals and support to age in place. This could be help in accessing other benefits such as SNAP, transportation, food banks, utility assistance, Life Line, referrals to county services, etc. The CMs want to support client safety and health in the home;*
- May assist in helping the client to access other services to address certain living conditions, such as hoarding, or other physical living conditions that may affect the client’s health and safety;
- The CM conducts a visual assessment of the living situation
- Are the premises safe for our volunteers? Is there a pet?
- Are there client safety concerns? Throw rugs that are trip hazards? Cords across the floor? Infestation?
- The CM puts all this information into our client data base which handles notes about the client, meal preferences, directions for volunteers, and billing;
The CMs see each client at least once annually, though visits are increased based on client need. When a volunteer reports a change in a client’s condition, the CM may go out to further investigate.
As you can see, a CM’s visit to the client is filled with a substantial exchange of information. The CMs assess the client’s ability to understand the conversation and adjust their interviews accordingly. With this additional training, our CMs are better positioned to assist those clients who may have, or be in the early stages of, dementia.
While this credentialing may not get the same attention as the fireworks after a run at an Iron Pigs game, it is critical to the high level of care that we commit to providing to our clients. I’m very pleased to be part of a team that believes in pursuing professional education to elevate their ability to serve.
*It’s important to note the MOWGLV CMs will offer general resources, but will not endorse any specific provider. The client, and the client’s family, make independent decisions about which providers to engage. MOWGLV does not endorse, or have a financial relationship with—unless there is a specific written contract for meal service—any other entity.