Golden Journeys Inc

Getting clothing and other personal items labeled keeps them returning to the rightful owner when the client lives in a care facility.  Petty cash for the individual is important too.  GJI's physical inventory and oversight serves the client and family well.

Several client families use us between intermittent trips to see their parent so that we can physically see and interact with their loved one when they cannot.  Demands of work and family keep these family memebers from being as present as they want.  We save plane tickets and hotel fees by providing outstanding, compassionate and consistent advocacy for their parent.  The resultant peace of mind - as the commercial says - is priceless.

A client was transferred from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility.  Upon transfer, it was determined that diet, medication and therapy as ordered by the physician were not communicated appropriately and in a timely manner from one facility to the next.  An ADVOCATE to monitor items such as this in a time of transition often matters a great deal.  GJI stepped in.

In consultation with our client, we processed paperwork and connected the client with a pharmacy that fills their medisets and delivers them weekly.  We monitor the medication process to insure changes are incorporated in a timely and accurate fashion.

Jayne Feathers, GJI President and Professional Geriatric Care Manager, participated in the 2010 National Asssociation of PGCM's conference in Albuquerque, NM.  In depth topics of the 44 hours in class included:  Needs of Multicultural Society; Lies, Truth Telling and Dementia; Slow Medicine:  the Compassional Approach to Caregiving; Incontinence:  A Manageable Challenge; Ethics in Care Management; Emerging Trends in Dementia Care, including Alzheimer Disease; Value Based Solutions and more.

We helped a client provide for their safety in various ways this week.  First, we removed fall hazards and set up the room in which they spend the most time with an open floor plan. Second, we provided several clothes hamper choices so that contaminated items that needed hot water washing were segregated from other items.  Third, we educated the home care giver about the special cleaning technique and agent to be used for this client's specific illness.

Staff spent an evening with visiting out-of-town family members to see where our client lived for decades and to understand her family life in years gone by.  The joy of this time spent with loved ones gave valuable insight into the heart and home of our client.  Golden Journeys Incorporated strives to meet the client's needs in the way the client desires...we adjust to them, they don't adjust to us.

Helping clients understand how their benefit(s) from Medicare applies to their current situation is a service that GJI provides regularly.

A new client with a very sophisticated audio/visual system had been without television for several months.  GJI found a recommendation for a specialist who got them up and running again!  The days are now brighter when the client can enjoy this special part of his home.

Staff accompanied a client to a medical appointment.  The client asked questions of the physician and we recorded the answers for the client and family members.  We also secured the client's medication list and helped in the scheduling of additional tests so that we could accompany the client to these appointments, as requested.  A Medical Release was signed by the client to allow us to participate in the client's care management at this confidential level.

We recently managed mail for a client.  This included sorting through bills and preparing them for the client to pay,  and discarding marketing pieces and other non-business mail.  By sorting the mail, the client was then able to handle their own bill paying and was not overwhelmed by the volume of "other" mail.

Golden Journeys Incorporated works with the client's home care provider of choice and educates the Care Giver on the issues necessary to meet the specific needs of the client.  Everyone is different and as an ADVOCATE for the client, GJI melds client needs with direct providers that the client has chosen.

A client was frustrated and embarrassed by the manner of verbal instruction from their Physical Therapist, and as a result progress was declining.  Golden Journeys spoke with the Director of Therapy and communicated the client's discouragement and detachment, which were related to the therapist's style of coaching.  When the therapist began explaining exercises fully, in appropriate tone of voice, using specific medical and scientific words,  the client's engagement and progress turned around dramatically.  So instead of being told to "feel the little balls in the play dough", the client was advised that his fine motor skill level was being assessed due to his neuropathy...intellectual dignity does matter.

Golden Journeys worked with the client to secure an accurate list of medications prescribed by several physicians and created a safe, organized system of home management to remove chances of mistakes, including missed medication or duplicated medication.

While agencies can often be the answer to a client's in home care needs, on occasion people wish to hire a non-agency personal care provider.  How do you do that?  How do you pay the provider?  What are the tax implications?  What about consistency of care?  GJI helped a family get their arms around this option.

GJI coordinated with the client's Westminster Village Assisted Living Nursing staff to set up an appointment with the client's personal physician, then took the patient to the visit and reported to the family and Assisted Living Nursing staff.

Today GJI helped a client's family secure tax documents for 2009 with the family accountant.