“I was living in an area nursing home due to illness and was visited by a representative of the Money Follows the Person Program (MFP) from our local Area Agency on Aging. MFP is a government grant program that transitions nursing home residents back into the community by arranging and providing funding for home modifications, groceries, assistive devices and etc.
In late September 2016, the MFP Counselor contacted McIntosh Trail Management Services’ (MTMS) Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program (EDWP) Care Coordination staff and told them that their assistance was needed ASAP to help with my transition. The MFP Transition Coordinator had located a home for me to rent, but the residence would only be available for the next two weeks and we could only financially secure the residence if my approval for EDWP was assured, as it would not be safe for me to leave the nursing facility without having home support services.
An EDWP nurse came to the nursing home, did my assessment and I was admitted to their program. I was assigned a Care Coordinator (CC) and she arranged for my in-home services. I have a personal support aide, home-delivered meals, and an emergency response system (you know, ‘I’ve fallen and can’t get up). My CC now checks with me regularly to make sure everything is going ok.
My thanks to everyone involved. There’s no place like home!
NOTE: After receiving this information, the EDWP staff rallied together in an attempt to quicken the process. After the MTMS RN performed the initial assessment with the client, the In-House Care Coordinator contacted the Department of Community Health (DCH) to ask if the Georgia Medical Care Foundation (GMCF) would expedite the client’s assessment. Due to the housing situation and need to transition, GMCF had good cause to expedite the assessment and certified the client for care. Through the actions of all involved, the process was quickened. Usually, the process to admit a client into EDWP can take over a month, but through the good communication skills and prompt actions of the EDWP, GMCF, and MFP staff, I was approved and enrolled into EDWP within seven days and within the time frame needed to secure housing.
MTMS/EDWP Franklin Office / Addie Boyd, Program Supervisor / Nicola Denney, Care Coordinator / Three Rivers Area Agency on Aging
“I love the EDWP Consumer Directed Care program. The program gives me the flexibility to control the care that my mom needs. The best part about the program is that I am in charge of the care and I do not have to touch any of the money, as the funds are handled by the fiscal agent.”
MTMS/EDWP Macon Office / Doris Carter, Program Supervisor / Middle GA Area Agency on Aging
“Through the assistance of EDWP, I have been able to avoid admitting my mother to a nursing home, allowing her to maintain more of her independence. My mother does not have the finances that would allow her to go to assisted living, and would, as a result, have to be admitted to a skilled nursing facility. Through EDWP, she is able to have an assistant come into the home a few hours a day and cook for her, assist in her personal care, shop for supplies, and provide transportation to doctor visits. Thanks MTMS EDWP"— Caregiver daughter
MTMS/EDWP Macon Office / Doris Carter, Program Supervisor / Middle GA Area Agency on Aging
“When the EDWP Care Coordinator came to see me for the first time, I was in my bedroom lying in a hospital bed, wearing a hospital gown. I was weak and short of breath but kept saying, ‘Thank God and you people for helping me come back home to my wife.’ I also said I was glad the nursing facility staff was able to get me back on my feet, but also how glad I am to be back in my own home. You just don't know how good you have it until you have to go to a nursing home. You have to eat and sleep on someone else's schedule. Someone else tells you when it is time to do what needs to be done. You don't get to decide when you want to get up in the mornings. You don't decide when you want to take a bath. You don't decide when and what you want to eat. You don't decide if you want to walk to the bathroom by yourself. All of those decisions are made for you. I was at the nursing home because I could not walk and I needed therapy, but every time I tried to get up and walk a nurse or aide was asking "What are you doing? You know you can't walk by yourself”. But here I am, at last, home. I know when the care coordinator made her first I was pretty down and out; however, her last visit with us was a big surprise. I was sitting up in a wheelchair in my living room! I had on my own clothes! The first thing I said to her was; ‘Thank you people for all you do. Without EDWP, I would still be in the nursing home. I can walk better now and I am home with my wife. My aide comes every day for 4 hours; helps me get up and out of bed, helps with my bath and getting dressed.’ I tell everybody about the EDWP program and how much they helped me."
MTMS/EDWP Franklin Office / Addie Boyd, Program Supervisor / Amanda Chapman, Care Coordinator / Three Rivers Area Agency on Aging
"Thanks to EDWP, we have been able to remain at home together with an aide who assists us with our daily needs. We also receive home-delivered meals; we have the use of an emergency response unit, and through EDWP/Money Follows The Person, my wife has received home modifications, a wheelchair ramp has been built, her bathroom door has been widened and her toilet has been moved so that it is more accessible. We were assigned a Care Coordinator (CC) who keeps a check on our well-being on a regular basis, arranges our services, and is always available if we need her assistance.
Recently our CC, whom is also a nurse, was notified that my wife’s confusion had increased. The CC immediately came to visit and found both of us in need of medical attention. Without hesitation, we were transported to the hospital. My wife was diagnosed with an infection causing paranoia and an inability to recognize her surroundings. I was diagnosed with a case of Cellulitis. We both received treatment and soon improved sufficiently to return to our home and each other again."