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Meet Blanca

Blanca was born, raised, and currently resides in the South Bay area of Los Angeles with her husband and 3 children, and grew up in a multigenerational household with her grandparents.  She knew at a young age that her grandparents’ role in her upbringing would influence the path she would take in her professional life.  Having this special connection with her family’s elders has fostered her passion for working with older adults. She is now one of the most well-known senior care consultants in the South Bay area.

Blanca is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who brings over 15 years of experience working with older adults and families to her role as a geriatric care consultant.  She received her Bachelor’s degree from Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles where she graduated with a double major in Sociology and Gerontology. She went on to attend California State University Long Beach where she earned a Masters in Social Work while specializing in working with older adults and families.  She considers herself a lifelong learner, and also earned a certificate and advanced training in Bioethics at Loyola Marymount University.  As a Licensed Clinical Social worker and Geriatric Care Consultant, she routinely pursues training and continuing education opportunities to offer valuable knowledge and senior care resources to clients.

With her training as a medical social worker, Blanca has had the unique opportunity of being able to help people through major illness and life transitions, while offering compassionate and comprehensive support.  Blanca has experience working in acute care settings, outpatient mental health clinics, and has a wealth of knowledge of the issues facing older adults experiencing chronic illness, cancer, and neurological issues such as dementia, ALS and stroke.  She prides herself in meeting clients where they are, and using a holistic approach to work collaboratively to meet their needs and goals.

Blanca considers it a privilege to work with older adults in the community, and looks forward to being able to discuss how she can help you as a Geriatric Care Consultant.

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Why choose us

Health & Disability
When a person faces a chronic illness, or changes in health, Blanca can help navigate the health care system and assist in making sense of what these health changes mean to an individual on a personal and practical level. From exploring services like home health or hospice a Blanca will help develop a plan to help the individual age in an optimal way.

Advocacy
Blanca is able to effectively advocate for their client’s needs and desires across the spectrum of care including among the healthcare team and other providers. As a Geriatric Care Consultant, she has the tenacity and resourcefulness to give her clients the best possible services for their specific needs. She also suggests services that get you what you need sooner and better.

Families
Blanca has the skills and experience to help families cope and develop a Care Plan to adjust to the challenges and hardships her clients may face. Many families struggle trying to care for their aging loved one from a distance.  Blanca can work with clients locally or from a distance and offer technology or in-person care solutions that support clients’ families.

Local Resources
Blanca knows the resources in the community and the details about how to link her client’s to services that may help them meet their aging related goals and care.

Housing
Making choices about housing can be a daunting and time consuming task. Blanca can help clients evaluate their options and assist them in optimizing their current home or transitioning to a new residential care setting.

Financial
Blanca is knowledgeable about state and federal programs that seniors may be entitled to and can connect them to services when appropriate.  Blanca can assist clients by working with their Power of Attorney and financial professionals to advocate for her clients.

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My approach

Prepare
With a simple and informative assessment, I get to know the specific needs of my care recipients and their families.

Avoid the hassles of filling out separate intake forms for each service provider as I’ll simplify the process and advocate your unique needs with all of them.

Plan
My Care Plans are designed with your family’s unique medical and financial needs in mind, backed by reputable research and a great support network.

With your Care Plan, we can better advocate your senior’s needs and get them access to the best possible care for them

Perform
We put your Care Plan into action with personalized support and resources, to ensure your elder’s health and family’s happiness are my top priority.

It’s about creating a positive and fulfilling experience during a complicated phase of your family’s life.

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Affiliations

AgingLifeCare_Member_Logo_TM
Blanca is a licensed and registered member of the Aging Life Care Association and offers services that comply with the fundamental policies and duties of an Aging Life Care Professional®.

Aging Life Care™, also known as geriatric care management, is a holistic, client-centered approach to caring for older adults or others facing ongoing health challenges. Working with families, the expertise of Aging Life Care Professionals® provides the answers at a time of uncertainty. Their guidance leads families to the actions and decisions that ensure quality care and an optimal life for those they love, thus reducing worry, stress and time off of work for family caregivers.

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What Are Aging Life Care Services?

YouTube video

The following are excerpts from the Aging Life Care Association and intended for informative purposes only. Please visit the ALCA website or contact ALCA directly for further information.

Aging Life Care™, also known as geriatric care management, is a holistic, client-centered approach to caring for older adults or others facing ongoing health challenges. Working with families, the expertise of Aging Life Care Professionals® provides the answers at a time of uncertainty. Their guidance leads families to the actions and decisions that ensure quality care and an optimal life for those they love, thus reducing worry, stress and time off of work for family caregivers.

“Aging Life Care Professionals” (sometimes called “Aging Life Care Managers™”, “Aging Life Care Specialists™”, “geriatric care managers” or “GCMs”) – have emerged as resources for families – they are able to relieve the caregiver burden, are often engaged by families separated by distance, and understand the complexity of the healthcare system.

The Aging Life Care Professional is educated and experienced in any of several fields related to Aging Life Care / care management, including, but not limited to nursing, gerontology, social work, or psychology, with a specialized focus on issues related to aging and elder care.

The following services are commonly provided by Aging Life Care Professionals, as described by the Aging Life Care Association.

Positive Impacts of Aging Life Care Professionals

ALCA is excited to release new findings from research conducted by the Florida Chapter of the Aging Life Care Association. Florida researchers first studied how care recipients valued the services provided by Aging Life Care Professionals. The results from the second phase considered the value of services as viewed by the “responsible party” authorized to pay for Aging Life Care™ services on behalf of an individual.

aging life care positive effect research

Overwhelmingly, the survey indicated that engaging Aging Life Care Professionals had positive effects for the responsible parties and the clients served. 

Most respondents reported they engaged the professional because:
• family did not live near the client so that they needed a local contact for care,
• concerned about changes in the client’s status,
• client was experiencing a crisis at the time the professional services were sought,
• seeking a professional assessment to explore options for the client’s care.

The responsible parties’ perceptions can be valuable in the field of elder care, by showing which professional services are most important to informal caregivers – in this case, often family members who live at a distance from the older adult. Since Aging Life Care Professionals may be experienced in one or more of several fields – including social work, nursing, gerontology or psychology – they can assist with a broad range of services (ALCA, 2016). The ways responsible parties use and value the Aging Life Care Professionals’ services can have a significant impact on the older clients and their families, as well as on service providers.

An unexpected finding was the extent to which Aging Life Care Professionals work outside the client’s home — in an assisted living facility or nursing homes. According to our survey responses, many families depend on Aging Life Care Professionals even after the client has left home for a facility. In fact, almost half the respondents (47%) said the clients with whom they are associated do not live at home.

While 7 out of 10 adults are expected to need assistance as they age, scholars in the aging field perceive it is unrealistic to continue to rely so heavily on family caregivers because of their declining future numbers, the complexity of the healthcare system, and competing responsibilities for modern families (Bragg, 2015; Redfoot, 2013).

The value of Aging Life Care Professional services is evident. With the increasing aging population and the emphasis on continuity of care, Aging Life Care Professionals are poised to play a larger role in coming years.

Phase Two study results – How responsible parties value Aging Life Care Professionals’ services by Mary Ann Horne, MHA & Judith Ortiz, PhD, MBA – were published in the Journal of Aging Life Care, Vol. 27, Special Edition, March 2017.

Phase One study results – The Role and Contributions of Geriatric Care Managers: Care Recipients’ Views – were published in Professional Case Management, Vol. 18, No. 6, pages 286-292, in November/December 2013.

Content on this page has been extracted from material created and produced by the Aging Life Care Association (https://www.aginglifecare.org/). No copyright is intended. Please contact the site owner for removal of content.

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