By Julie Pfitzinger
For The Catholic Spirit
Navigating the wide range of support services and health care resources available for the aging population can be a daunting task, which is why a new year-long pilot program focused on parish-based care coordination could be an important step toward simplifying this process for local seniors and their families.
Sponsored by Catholic Senior Services of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis (focused on coordinating and enhancing Catholic, parish-based housing and services for older adults) and funded by Benedictine Health System, the first parish-based care coordination program in the archdiocese is set to launch in February at St. Ambrose in Woodbury.
According to Deacon Dan Gannon, CEO of Catholic Senior Services, interest in establishing this type of model grew out of discussions with affiliates in the CSS consortium, including BHS, Catholic Eldercare and Franciscan Health Community, then implemented with the full support of the CSS board, under the leadership of chair Bishop Lee Piché.
Taking the first step
“We want to provide the opportunity for better access to home and community-based services while promoting Catholic senior care,” said Deacon Gannon. “We like the idea of establishing this in a parish setting and understand the importance of caring for both body and soul.”
As the first pilot parish (St. Therese in New Hope is also considering launching a similar program), St. Ambrose will provide an office for parish-based care coordinator Sandi Krohn, who will begin working in her new position within the next few weeks. Krohn will be onsite several days each week; she will also spend one day a week at Cerenity Care Center-Marian of St. Paul, a care facility that is also part of the program partnership.
“I think it’s very exciting [to be starting the new position],” Krohn said. By starting out with a blank slate, it leaves the doors wide open to find out what seniors in the community need and develop good resources to serve them, she added.
“I think the challenge is how to get the word out that I’m here,” she said. “Folks often don’t even know that there are things out there that can help them. For example, if they need help buying groceries, do they know there are people who will shop for them?”
By keeping people independent and in the community, it allows them to stay in their homes longer.
“That’s where the church is, that’s where our friends are,” Krohn said. “I’m excited about the possibilities and I’m hoping that seniors realize that if they take small help along the way, they will be able to stay in their homes and in their communities. People often wait until the need is great, which is harder.”
While St. Ambrose is a large parish (approximately 12,000 members), its senior population is relatively small, said Father Tom Walker, pastor. However, he sees this new ministry as a way to impact the lives of many seniors in the Woodbury/Washington County region.
“The senior care coordinator will begin by assessing what needs aren’t being met and helping seniors access available services,” Father Walker said. “Not only will this benefit area seniors, but the rest of the parish will benefit by looking at ways the seniors who come here can put their many gifts to work such as volunteering in our school or early childhood education center.”
Bobbie Guidry, director of housing and community-based services for BHS, said the health care climate has changed greatly from the days when the family doctor was the sole go-to resource for those looking for answers to questions about managing care for themselves or for an older relative.
Parish is trusted resource
“Most people no longer have the same family doctor they have gone to forever,” said Guidry. “They may need assistance finding out how to get help after they’ve been discharged from the hospital, how to find home health care or how to remain in their homes while facing health changes and challenges.”
Having someone who can serve as a resource in a parish, which is already an established atmosphere of trust for the individual or his/her family, can make a significant difference, said Guidry.
According to a definition developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, along with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, “care coordination is the deliberate organization of (patient) care activities between two or more participants (including the care) services.”
“Care coordination is not a new idea, but it’s taken on a new life with health care reform,” said Guidry. “It is a means to help people access a cadre of resources within their community in order to help them find the services they need.”
Time will tell if this is a model that can be easily replicated in other parishes or possibly in regional groups of parishes.
“The pilot program at St. Ambrose is really a testing model to see if it can be viable and done affordably elsewhere,” said Gannon, who believes St. Ambrose provides a good starting point for the pilot due to the leadership the parish has demonstrated in its willingness to meet the needs of area seniors.
“As we gauge the success of the model in the coming months, we will be looking at parishes and assessing how the program may match with the parish’s own sense of mission when it comes to reaching out to their aging population,” he said.
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