Category: Change On Blog (Professional)

It isn’t enough to just hand a few brochures to seniors or give them a list of home care providers to choose from if we aren’t first asking them: what are your goals after you leave here? Here being the transitional care unit, hospital, physician office, or emergency room. As the discharge planner or social […]

Lifespark is moving on … location that is, to St. Louis Park. We have a busy week ahead moving our main office on November 16 with plans to be fully settled in our new space on Monday, November 19. Our new address will be: 5320 W 23rd Street Suite #130 St. Louis Park, MN 55416 According […]

Lifespark was given permission to share this blog from Elizabeth Hogue, a home care attorney. We share this piece because it resonated with us, we know that many care managers and discharge planners take their role as advocates to heart. This is about rethinking how you care for seniors – you think you are protecting […]

New Directions in Care Management This was a big year for growth at Lifespark with the announcement of a partnership with Intermountain Healthcare, a not-for-profit healthcare system in Utah. And many behind the scenes efforts of aligning with the right people, the right services, at the right time to deliver a seamless experience for seniors […]

The New York Times wrote an article on ‘Too Little Too Late’ about a growing epidemic among older Americans: bankruptcy. What does that have to do with healthcare and discharge planning?  A lot, actually. The article shared the story of a senior with Parkinson’s disease whose wife was battling cancer and how, when he lost […]

Minnesota, according to Inc. Magazine has the highest amount of business revenue growth in the country. The 85 companies who made the Inc. 5000 list in Minnesota had a combined growth rate of 321.4 percent and Lifespark was among this list of those fastest-growing companies in America for the second year in a row, earning […]

Doris’s story could have been a failed discharge.  Her situation had the makings of a perfect storm of unforeseen events that would have landed her in the emergency room or worse, lying on her floor for days from a medication error. It almost happened. Medication adherence is one of the main reasons seniors readmit to […]

Medication adherence – it’s not a diagnosis but it is an issue affecting many of our senior clients. It’s one of the main reasons so many are heading back to the hospital after being discharged home. According to a New York Times article, medication adherence is an ‘out of control epidemic in the U.S. that […]

Angela Nelson, BSN, RN PHN, is one of our community Life Care Managers caring for seniors in their home.  Nearly 35 years into her nursing care, she considers this role the ‘frosting on my career.’ She explains what this means in a recent interview with Elizabeth Scala, MSN/MBA, RN, host of ‘Your Next Shift’ a […]

Cost is the elephant in the room.  Many seniors ultimately choose senior care providers based on hourly cost alone – it’s a dangerous gamble. Choosing a lower cost option upfront may actually cost them more long-term.  But we all know that because we’ve seen it – especially with clients who discharge home only to return […]