What is the AHS Client-Directed Care INVOICING Option for Home Care Services?
INVOICING gives Albertans more flexibility and choice in home care service delivery
INVOICING is a collaboration between Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services, and Alberta Blue Cross
INVOICING makes it easier for Home Care clients to access funded care from their Preferred Service Provider
INVOICING requires an assessment of clients’ needs, and development of a care plan by an AHS home care case manager
With INVOICING, instead of receiving services from AHS contracted providers, clients can receive services from a registered Alberta Blue Cross Provider of their choice
With INVOICING, if your provider of choice is not an Alberta Blue Cross Provider, clients can work with AHS and Blue Cross to add their choice of providers to the directory
INVOICING allows a client’s chosen care provider to provide Home Care services and then directly submit electronic claims to Alberta Blue Cross
INVOICING makes it easier for clients to receive publicly funded care from their Preferred Service Provider
What does it mean to age-in-place?
Ageing in place is defined as staying at home despite age, health concerns or safety concerns that may make it difficult to do so. Home can be your own home, that of your children or other family members, a retirement community or assisted living. Wherever your home is, we at Manchester Rose can assist you there. We will help you maintain or regain your health and wellness, access support, and plan the services required to be safe and independent in your home and community, for as long as you wish and are able
www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/seniors/forum/aging.html
Why would someone want to age-in-place?
To maintain independence
Desire to stay with spouse/family
To be near friends/community
Freedom to choose
Improved health and happiness
Desire to stay where comfortable and settled
Life experience offers so much to the community
Moving is stressful
Moving requires personal and financial resources
Congregate living is costly
Wait lists are long for supportive living and long-term care
Why is it important to shift healthcare funding/policy towards ageing-in-place?
Not enough facilities and beds available for rapidly growing ageing population
Cost savings for families
To improve allocation of funds in health systems
Cost saving for government
Health and safety risks in congregate living during the pandemic and beyond
Benefits to community at large
To respect our citizen rights to choose
Is it possible to “age-in-place” or receive in-home assistance after hospitalization in Alberta?
Yes it is! Manchester Rose has multiple services that will help you or your family member safely remain at home for as long as desired. Contact us and request your free in-home evaluation today.
When is assistance in the home required?
Illness, injury, hospitalization, surgery, in addition to multiple other physical, emotional or social health issues can trigger the need for in-home support. This can be short-term or long-term in nature but should always remain focused on your individual needs and choices.
Who will help me in my home?
Manchester Rose is nurse-owned and operated with availability of RN case managers, visiting RNs and LPNs, health care aides (HCAs), and caregivers to help provide support for our in-home clients. We also have access to social supports, and holistic allied and alternative health professionals we will connect you with at your request. As we continue to grow, offering our services to a greater percentage of the population, our desire is to offer full time employment to all of the professionals mentioned above, and any other holistic, similar-minded caring professionals that our clients may request.
How do I know what assistance is required?
In Alberta, AHS often decides when short or long-term assistance is required, as well as whether this will be provided at home or in the congregate setting. Regardless, anytime that you or your family member feel that there is a need a call can be placed to 811 for continuing care case manager evaluation. Once complete, this evaluation will determine how much support will be funded by Alberta Health, and suggestions will be made regarding home care or facility living. However, it is every Albertan’s right to make their own decision about who will provide such care, and where they wish to live when receiving the care.
Whether or not a continuing care case manager has already performed an evaluation, we at Manchester Rose will always provide our own RN Case Manager to assess needs, desires, and to design a personalized care plan.
Why hospice, why now?
Any facility or agency that provides palliative or hospice care needs to ask this question of their clients as it is key to palliative case management overall. At Manchester Rose we believe that YOU ARE THE EXPERT IN YOUR CARE, deciding what you want and need, and when you want and need it. Our care plans are flexible, open-ended and designed specifically for you, where and when you need them. The quality of care that we provide will not only improve your quality of life, but also allow you to age-in-place and, if you so desire, to die at home. Whether you wish to plan ahead or are ready for palliative or hospice care today, please reach out to us and ask as many questions as you need to. Manchester Rose is here for your comfort and peace of mind.
Is there insurance or provincial funding for home care?
There is provincial funding for home care, based solely on the assessment of an AHS continuing care case manager. AHS will also help to arrange these home care services internally or through a contracted agency. Self-managed care is another option, giving Albertans the choice in their own care while providing a specific amount of funding for care, while leaving the responsibility and choice up to the individual in need of care. While this can seem complicated and overwhelming, at Manchester Rose we can and will help you to navigate this system to obtain as much funding as you are entitled to, while helping you to remain in your own home.
Aside from Alberta Health funding dollars, many private health insurance companies and employer insurance companies offer reimbursement for in-home services. In addition, veteran benefits, RCMP benefits and personal funds can all be allocated for such care. The healthcare landscape continues to change, and policies are now evolving to facilitate more personal choice and responsible allocation of healthcare dollars in Canada. We at Manchester Rose will strongly advocate for our ever-changing and ageing population and the need for improved access to funding that will allow all Canadians to age-in-place if they so wish.
I live too far away from my family member but would like someone to take them on outings, provide them with help around the house or with grocery shopping. Can you help with these services?
Manchester Rose is able to provide caregivers who can assist in the home, with transportation for errands, grocery shopping online ordering and pick-up, meal preparation, housekeeping, lawncare, as well as overnight, around-the-clock care. Contact us for more information today.
What is the difference between palliative and hospice care?
Palliative care is comfort care for anyone diagnosed with a degenerative and/or terminal illness, regardless of what stage of the disease process they are currently at. This comfort care is aimed at improving quality of life post-diagnosis, whether cure is being sought or treatment undertaken. Often, palliative care is provided less frequently than hospice or end-of-life care, but the goal is always patient comfort and choice. Hospice care is essentially under the ‘umbrella’ of palliative care, however with a slightly different goal of comfort and quality of life, for the remainder of life, when treatment is no longer an option or desired. Hospice can begin right at diagnosis, when healthcare providers have no other treatment options to offer, or when the patient decides it is time. Hospice is NOT about dying. Death is a part of life, and hospice helps those with terminal diagnoses remain hopeful and living without fear of what is to come, confident in the comfort care they will receive. Sadly, hospice is often misunderstood as end-of-life care offered in hospital or congregate living facilities, and often mistaken as being only available for patients with cancer, or those in the last few weeks/days of life. At Manchester Rose, we offer true palliative and hospice care for our clients, in their home, wherever that may be and whenever that may be. We also strive to dispel the myths often associated with hospice and palliative care, and provide education for the community and healthcare providers, and change policy and funding options in the process.
My parent needs a ride to a physician’s appointment, and someone to help advocate for them regarding their medical concerns and needs. Do you have medical professionals available for such a service?
Manchester Rose has outstanding RN case managers and visiting RNs and LPNs who are available to interact with any member of the interdisciplinary team supporting our clients. These nurses are also available for transportation to physician or clinic appointments, and assistance with health information understanding and mediating the patient-provider relationship if required. Request more information on our Contact Us page.