A Son's Story
"'Solutions' gave me a third pair of ears and eyes that helped us in providing the best care for our mother."
– Dr. Marc R.
The program called "Solutions for Caregiving" as it relates to this article refers to PacifiCare's A Solution for Caregivers, a program that is now called Evercare™ Solutions For Caregivers.
News Article written by JANE GLENN HAAS
Originally published in The Orange County Register July 18, 2004
Dr. Marc R. is a regional medical director for Orange County and Long Beach and, sure, he knew his health-insurance plan offered him a program called "Solutions for Caregiving."
But knowing and using are two different things.
It took a mini-crisis with his mother - who lived in Philadelphia - for the physician to use some of the services that were available and free to him.
Like most good sons, Marc R. and his brother Frederic felt they could monitor the needs of their mother, Mildred. Indeed, it was relatively easy to assess her care when Frederic R. lived in Philadelphia.
But when he moved to Boston, the situation changed.
"Mother was left with no relative in Philadelphia, and here I am in California and my brother in Massachusetts," Marc R. says. "We would see and talk to her, but not as often, and there was no one from the outside to check up on her."
In January, friends told Marc R. that his mother was not doing well on her own. Using the "Solutions" program, he found a geriatric-care consultant who began visiting Mildred R.
"She provided me with a detailed analysis of my mother's physical, psychological, and social situation. I needed somebody on a regular basis to give me this assessment."
The physician has learned "what happens is our individual bias clouds our judgment when it comes to a family member. We need a third party for an unbiased report."
Although he had approached his mother earlier about moving to Heritage Pointe, a retirement and assisted-living facility in Mission Viejo, Mildred R. consistently said, "I'm not ready."
When her other son moved to Orange County, however, she showed greater interest. Then, the geriatric-care manager called to say, "You need to get your mother out there as fast as possible. She should not be living alone."
By now, the care manager was "a kissing cousin," says Mildred R. She accepted her assessment.
She also let the care professional monitor the move West.
"We worked as a team in getting Mother transitioned," Marc says. "And I was saved many days of missing work because my immediate response to my mother's increasing problems would have been to get on a plane and go to Philadelphia."
Today, Mildred R. lives cheerfully in Heritage Pointe, counting on her two sons and their families to visit.
"Do I miss my old friends? In a way, yes," she says. "But I keep in touch by phone." Since its inception a year ago, PacifiCare's "Solutions for Caregivers" has aided more than 3,500 families, including 250 in Orange County, says Janet B., director of the Cypress-based program.
