At Newcastle Place, senior living community one of the primary goals is to help residents maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid admission to higher levels of care. The compassionate staff includes a Health Care Navigator that simplifies health and wellness to help residents every step of the way.
What is a Health Care Navigator?
Each resident of Newcastle Place has access to a Health Care Navigator. Working under resident direction, the Navigator guides in preventative wellness services such as fitness and exercise activities and healthy food choices, and acts as the liaison to coordinate health and medical-related appointments and services as well as assist with transfers and paperwork should a resident need to head to the hospital.
Should a resident’s health care needs change, the Newcastle Place Navigator will assist in securing the appropriate level of health services, whether in the home or at the on-site Highlands Health Center.
How the Navigator Helps
Diana Jacoby, Director of Resident Health Services at Newcastle Place, is a nurse as well as the community Health Care Navigator.
“I navigate and assist residents through the health care system, whether it’s our continuum of care or going to an outside hospital, helping order labs and X-rays, or coordinating care between different specialists,” said Diana, noting that Newcastle Place brings in specialists in the areas of audiology, podiatry, chiropractic, and ophthalmology.
“I also help residents coming back from the hospital to set up any plan of care they may need, whether it’s home health, outside physical, occupational, or speech therapies.”
Because Diana is a nurse, she has extensive knowledge of many medical issues and can often provide direct assistance.
“It could be a quick check up because you aren’t feeling well, or setting up monitoring equipment, or just being there if a resident needs you on any given day.”
She also works with physicians and can order labs, arrange physical therapy, or set up home care.
“Residents can have blood drawn right in their apartments. If you need an X-ray but are too ill or can’t get out to the doctor, we have an X-ray company that comes here.”
Ensuring resident wellness is more than just taking care of symptoms and issues that arise. At Newcastle Place, Diana and the other health care team members provide preventative care and education as well.
“We do presentations on everything from high blood pressure to Medicare,” she shared.
“Recently we did an entire series on navigating the health care system. Let’s say a resident becomes ill and needs hospitalization or decides to have elective surgery, and I explained how we would help them through the hospital stay to rehab to home and then check on them there.”
Even specialists from outside of Newcastle Place have come to talk to residents.
“We’ve had dentists come. We’ve had individuals speak about ocu-vitamins to benefit and maintain vision as you age. A chiropractor did one lecture about stretching before exercise to prevent injury. We’ve had quite a few different speakers,” said Diana.
When Changes Occur
Newcastle Place’s health care team works hard to keep all residents as independent as possible for as long as possible.
“Being a Life Plan Community, with different care options, residents can move through the continuum as necessary. But if they want to stay independent, I work with them to stay in independent living… whether it’s helping them get stronger or providing them with 24-hour care,” said Diana.
Uniquely Newcastle Place
Diana shared one very important benefit that is uniquely Newcastle Place.
“One thing we have at Newcastle that other communities don’t have is rapid responders 24/7.” she said.
“We have pendant alerts as necklaces, bracelets, and even on the walls. If someone would fall or have an emergency, they would press that, and the rapid responder comes. They are all trained in emergency treatment, first aid, CPR, all of that. A lot of them are ENTs or nursing students,” said Diana.
“They also can work with me and we coordinate a resident’s care or follow-up as needed. We have very good, cohesive communication. Our goal is to keep residents independent and out of the hospitals.”
Diana says that her favorite thing about being a Health Care Navigator at Newcastle Place is, “being able to help keep our independent residents safe and healthy, and going home knowing I’ve helped somebody every day.”
To find out more about how Newcastle Place senior living community can help guide you or a loved one through a healthy and vibrant senior life, get in touch with us at 262-421-9050.
