Coushatta’s journey as a caregiver for her grandmother was filled with love but also uncertainty. Struggling with an advanced illness, her grandmother was enrolled in Compassus’ Advanced Care Management (ACM) program.
Advanced Care Management helps address patient needs early on in their care journey with a goal of improving their quality of life through proactive, transitional case management that considers curative care, palliative care, hospice, advance care planning and more, depending on their condition and goals of care.
At the outset, Coushatta admitted to having reservations, a common sentiment shared by many when confronted with such a pivotal decision. She couldn’t help but wonder if her grandmother’s enrollment in the program signaled the end of her life journey. As she candidly confessed, “it felt like you’re expecting someone to die then.”
However, the Compassus team changed her perspective by focusing on pain management and providing unwavering support to her loved one. “I can’t say enough good things about the team. I don’t think I would have been able to get through this process by myself. They relieved the pressure and stress of having to make all the decisions,” Coushatta recalls.
Throughout this challenging journey, the care team was a constant source of guidance and support. As Teresa Collins, a palliative care registered nurse case manager at Compassus, explains, “Coushatta began to feel more comfortable when I explained that Advanced Care Management focused on improving her grandmother’s quality of life rather than just extending it. Our conversations reassured her that she could still seek hospital care if necessary while having a dedicated support system to answer questions and advocate for her grandmother’s needs.”
When the disease progressed, the seamless transition from Advanced Care Management to hospice care ensured continuity and comfort for Coushatta’s grandmother, and she was able to spend her final moments at home as she desired.
About Advanced Care Management at Compassus
Advanced Care Management (ACM) is a care model focused on improving care and clinical outcomes for patients with serious illness. The foundation of our ACM model is palliative care, which includes symptom management, advanced care planning, goals of care discussions, medication reconciliation and hospice transition support if needed. In the ACM model, Compassus uses predictive analytics to identify high risk patients who could benefit from palliative services, initiates patient outreach through multiple engagement channels, and provides home-based palliative and care management services with an interdisciplinary team.
With ACM, our partner organizations have experienced total cost of care reductions in the last year of life of up to 35%. These cost savings are achieved through increased access to high quality hospice care and reductions in unnecessary emergency department visits and inpatient stays.
