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When you are hospitalized, you and your family often need support. This support can take a variety of forms. From arranging for a transfer to a long-term care facility, to making arrangements for home health care, the St. Mary’s Medical Center Case Management Department can help.
Each unit in the hospital has a dedicated case manager assigned to its patients. These case managers work closely with physicians and the rest of the health care team as liaisons and advocates to ensure our patients receive the highest quality of care and support.
Meeting Your Needs
Here are just some of the services provided through the St. Mary’s Case Management Department:
Counseling: Everyone reacts differently to illness and sometimes patients and/or family members have a hard time coping with what is happening. A trained social worker meets with patients and family members to provide compassionate support and help them adjust to the circumstances they are experiencing.
Discharge Planning: Case management works collaboratively with physicians to facilitate timely discharge or transfer to an alternative level of care. When a patient is able to be at home but requires extra help, case management can assess the patient’s needs and eligibility for home health and other community resources. If a patient is unable to return home immediately, case management can help plan a transfer to a skilled, intermediate or residential facility. Arrangements also can be made for patients with special needs in the areas of rehabilitation, mental health, substance abuse, etc., to transfer to appropriate facilities for follow-up care.
Information, Education and Referral: There are a number of community agencies which can provide special services. The Case Management Department has access to many types of agencies and can refer patients and their families to agencies that may be helpful for support and education. Case Management also can provide information on advance directives, living wills, and durable powers of attorney for healthcare decisions, if appropriate.
Rehabilitation Support: Case Management works with patients in the hospital’s rehabilitation units undergoing extensive physical, speech and occupational therapy who often need a unique level of support. Dedicated case managers are available to provide emotional support and coordinate conferences with the patient, family members, therapists and nurses to discuss the recovery program and the transition to home.
Maternal/Child Support: The birth of a child can be an overwhelming period for a new mother and family members. The Case Management Department provides parents and single mothers in need with nutritional information, counseling and assistance with financial concerns. Case managers also attend to the special needs of birth parents who have made an adoption plan for their child.
When an infant passes away or is born with a health condition, it is a traumatic and uncertain time for the whole family. Case Management provides compassionate, emotional support to families as they cope with the illness or loss of a newborn.
Call Us
There is no fee for case management services. If you or a loved one is hospitalized and don't know where to turn, call the Case Management Department at St. Mary’s at 816-655-5614 and schedule an appointment to talk with a case manager.