Care Navigators: Helping You Find the Right Care for a Loved One with Serious Illness
Care Navigators: Helping You Find the Right Care for a Loved One with Serious Illness
Need help with a loved one who is seriously ill? Worried about what the future will look like? Wondering what services can help and what the next steps are? Navigating care options for a serious illness can be stressful, overwhelming and confusing. Gilchrist’s care navigators are here to help.
Our highly trained, knowledgeable care navigators are here to listen to your needs, answer your questions and discuss your options for care. We can quickly connect you to the right services and resources for your situation.
A One-stop Shop for All Your Questions
Through Gilchrist’s Care Counseling phone line, you can get answers to your questions about care for a loved one not only if they are at the end of life but also if they need care earlier in their serious illness. Anyone can call—the patient, family members, friends or physicians.
Care navigators are available to answer calls Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. If you call after hours, we will respond the next business day.
When you call, our care navigators will:
- Listen to your concerns
- Ask questions about your current care and help you determine your needs
- Explain your care options and assist you in deciding on the right services for you and your family, which may include Hospice Care, Care Choices & Hospice (concurrent care), Elder Medical Care, Counseling & Support or one of our other many programs
- Immediately schedule an appointment with the appropriate Gilchrist services
- Link you to community resources that may help
Taking the Time to Listen
We often hear from callers how much they appreciate the time we give them. Whether it takes only a few minutes or an hour, we will patiently listen to your needs, answer all your questions. Complex needs will often require multiple phone conversations, which is no problem because we are here to help.
Often, there are multiple Gilchrist services that may help not only the patient but the entire family. Care navigators discuss with you each option and weigh the pros and cons of each to help you make the best decisions. Sometimes the whole family participates in the call so everyone is informed.
What Our Callers Say
Sometimes people have misconceptions about end-of-life care or about Gilchrist. They may not realize Gilchrist has services for people who don’t need hospice but still need care for a serious illness. There are a few things we consistently hear from callers:
- “I wish we had called you sooner.”
- “We would have benefited from so many more of your services if we had known Care Counseling was available when Mom first started getting sick.”
- “You’re the first person to really listen and understand. You’ve helped more than you could ever imagine.”
It’s a big responsibility to be the first point of contact for the organization, and our care navigators truly live up to Gilchrist’s promise to provide quality compassionate care, counseling and support to people at every stage of serious illness, so they may live life to the fullest.
Contact Us
Take the first step to learning more about what Gilchrist can do to help your loved one by reaching out today.
- Phone: 1.888.823.8880
- Email: GilchristCareNavigat@GilchristCares.org
- Fax: 443-849-8304
To learn more about Care Counseling at Gilchrist, visit gilchristcares.org/care-counseling.