Elder Care Coordinators Provide a Calming Presence During a Crisis

This might be a blog post about hubris. Alternatively, it might be a story about having terrible boundaries with your co-workers. (Just kidding, Jennifer!) Either way, even if you know how the healthcare system “works”, navigating a medical crisis can quickly become overwhelming. What I know for sure is that this is a story about getting by with a little help from your friends.

Some of you know that a loved one of mine recently had a major medical emergency. After a long hospital stay, they were finally cleared to go home on a Friday afternoon. Because of my professional background in elder law, I thought I had covered every base. I worked with the hospital team to set up a home health agency days before discharge. I made sure insurance covered us. And, I confirmed that weekend onboarding for a new patient was workable.

I asked very specific questions: When would they contact us by? What number was best to reach them? When should I call if they haven’t yet reached out to us? Who should I call if we need to make a change? I was told everything was in place and a weekend discharge would not be a problem. Everything was confirmed.

By Saturday morning, however, the plan fell apart.

A home care nurse was scheduled to arrive that day to handle medical tasks I was not trained to perform. When 10:30 a.m. passed with no word, I called the agency. I was met with what sounded like a general, unmonitored voicemail box. By noon—the latest the nurse was supposed to call—panic set in.

I then tried calling the hospital discharge team, only to hit another dead end. The number we received routed to our former hospital unit, where the limited staff was kind, but sent us back to the operator for the discharge team. Those calls also ended in a voicemail.

By 3:00 p.m., I was completely overwhelmed. In desperation, I reached out to my colleague Jennifer Quintero, an elder care coordinator at our firm. She, very kindly, agreed to field my panic-induced questions. What could I do next? Had I tried everything? What had I missed in my setup?

Jennifer gave me the two things I needed most: calm reassurance and practical advice. She confirmed that I had taken the right steps and suggested reaching out to the hospital’s main social work number if we heard nothing further. Just having a knowledgeable expert to validate my situation cut through the panic.

I thanked Jennifer profusely both as my coworker and as a friend. Luckily, within maybe an hour of speaking with her, the home health nurse finally called to confirm an evening visit.

My takeaway was simple: medical stress and love can cloud your thinking, no matter how much you think you know. And Jennifer didn’t even advocate for me or my loved one… she just provided a sounding board and a little bit of additional guidance. Having a professional care coordinator in your corner isn’t just about managing logistics. It’s about having a trusted guide to steady the ship when things go off course.

So, imagine what she or any one of our wonderful elder care coordinators could do for your family. For me, life care planning isn’t just a way of practicing law. It’s a way of supporting families. Including, it seems, my own.