Not too long ago, I received a phone call from a social worker at physician’s clinic. The social worker had told me that the doctor was growing increasingly concerned about a particular woman living on her own. They told me that – originally – the woman was living with her parents, but recently, both her mother and father passed away. The woman was exhausted, stressed, and was in dire need of senior care. She was unable to live on her own any longer and they wanted to know if we could help her find assisted living.
This is always a scary situation because when there are no friends or family around to help or inquire about the person’s wellbeing, then the burden falls on strangers and professional acquaintances to ask the tough questions.
The social worker stated that he did not know what her income was but that he didn’t think it was very much. This is why he called us, because it doesn’t matter what the senior’s income is, we will make sure they get quality senior care. So, the social worker gave me the woman’s number and I called. When I spoke to her, she was confused and didn’t know how she would be able to move into a safe environment with a low income.
I wanted her to know that she didn’t need to panic and in cases where seniors have low or no income, the government will fund elders in need of subsidizing. I started speaking to her about the Medicaid process and what documents she would need in order to apply. Then, we would help her find assisted living with one of the senior living communities we’ve worked with in the past.
As I got into the more granular details, she mentioned that she had a lawyer that could help with the documents, so I asked if we could do a three-way phone conversation; this way, we could all be on the same page and she would have someone she already trusts on the line. I thought it was great that there was an attorney out there willing to provide pro bono work to help an elderly woman apply for Medicaid. With his assistance, no doubt we could find assisted living or some other senior living community.
When we resumed talking, now with all three of us on the line, the conversation changed dramatically! I quickly learned that she would not have any trouble with our steps to find assisted living because she had just received a HUGE inheritance. There was no need for Medicaid at all, and the attorney assured me that she would be moving into a safe assisted living community very shortly.
This was a rewarding experience and had such a successful outcome for everyone involved. Afterwards, I was able to spend time with that attorney’s office personnel and it’s an amazing law firm that has been in Des Moines for years!
Now, not only did she receive the help she needed, but she’s gone above and beyond and introduced us to this wonderful law firm. We all know how great it is to meet professionals that have the same heart and mind set we have, where the client always comes first!
