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LifeCare Solutions is the leading care management service in the Birmingham area and specializes in helping families care for older adults, or people of any age, who need help navigating serious health and lifestyle challenges.
Older people have numerous health needs, both mental and physical, and others (including young people) may face complex care challenges they don’t know how to navigate.
They all need someone they can trust to help them find their way through a bewildering maze of healthcare challenges.
LifeCare Solutions is there with a holistic, client-centered approach.
The caring, well-trained staff at LifeCare Solutions can assess the client’s current needs and help create a plan.
They can also help educate carepartners; help clients and families plan for crisis care; and get clients connected with local resources and providers, including help with legal and financial matters.
“We help our clients navigate their care journey, and we cover basically everything they need help with,” said Taylor McElmurry, Director of Marketing at LifeCare Solutions. “We recommend all kinds of outside resources, from caregiving, home health and physicians to counseling, hospice and living facilities.”
Founder Christy Baynes started the company in 2012 when her professional and personal experience showed her the need for true continuity of care focused on the whole person.
“Care is our calling, not our job,” Baynes said. “Our own families and loved ones have endured many of the same hardships and challenges that our clients face.”
LifeCare Solutions marked its 10th anniversary recently and has helped more than 600 clients manage their care and life situations.
The company also rebranded in 2022, changing its name from the original LifeCare for Seniors, to reflect the company’s expanding client base.
“While geriatrics is still our specialty, we have been helping younger and younger individuals who need the same help as older adults, whether it involves a chronic illness, traumatic brain injury, substance abuse or mental health,” Baynes said. “We want to serve those of all ages, backgrounds and conditions no matter how complicated.”
LifeCare Solutions has grown to a staff of 15, including its Care Managers, who have about 200 years of combined experience working with people living in complex care.
“We choose team members with the right educational background, years of expertise in the industry, personal experience and most importantly the heart and passion to serve our clients and their families,” Baynes said.
The staff at LifeCare Solutions also works with a network of other professionals to broaden the services they can provide clients.
“A huge part of our role is providing expert recommendations to local resources based on each specific situation we are presented,” McElmurry said. “We have first-hand experience working with most of the resources we recommend. We also never take referral fees — we simply make these recommendations based on the need of our client.”
A client and their family may need caregiving, home health, a respite program or an attorney, or such everyday needs as housekeeping, plumbing and construction.
“A lot of our clients are still living in their homes, but can’t do things like lift heavy boxes or change a light bulb, so we created a Home Repair Concierge (HRC) service,” McElmurry said.
The HRC Coordinator is a Certified Home Safety Specialist®, and can conduct a Home Safety Assessment. The HRC team “can help you accomplish those everyday home maintenance activities which seem overwhelming,” she said.
People also still need and want personal, hands-on care, even in an age of technology.
“Aging or living with complex care is extremely emotional, and a big part of what we do is help our clients and their families work through these highly emotional situations,” McElmurry said. “We often say aging or being cared for is a very intimate process.”
This is why each client at LifeCare Solutions has just one Care Manager. “We want to build that relationship of trust between the Care Manager, the client and the client’s family,” McElmurry said.
Maintaining continuity of care for clients is critical for LifeCare Solutions because they help people at all stages of care.
“Some individuals use our services for the short term, but for the most part, they use our ongoing services because situations progress and can change in a heartbeat,” McElmurry said. “Continuity of care is extremely important in order for us to make the most accurate recommendations for care.”
The Thoughtful Engagement® Specialists at LifeCare Solutions work with those suffering from dementia, loneliness or depression. The Thoughtful Engagement® Program features one-on-one personalized activities that “bring a client joy.”
For example, one woman with dementia loves to collect antiques so her Thoughtful Engagement® Specialist takes her estate sale shopping, McElmurry said.
“However, most of the time our clients just need someone to talk to and to be there spend time with them,” she said.
LifeCare Solutions is also the first Positive Approach to Care® designated organization in the state. The PAC® designation means their staff has been trained on dementia education and approach. They can also train client’s families, caregivers or the staff they work with at their facility.
The work at LifeCare Solutions is very gratifying for the staff.
“The majority of the time, our families come to us lost, overwhelmed or in crisis mode because the healthcare industry is so complicated, lacks unified communication or there are just too many decisions to make,” McElmurry said. “On top of all of that, caring for a loved one is difficult. We get to meet our clients at whatever stage they are in, and relieve them of their stress and burden so they can simply be family. Being able to see the relief that our service brings to our clients and their families makes LifeCare Solutions what it is today.”
LifeCare Solutions is both owned and operated by women. “We are so proud of the women that work with us, and the care and compassion they provide for our clients,” McElmurry said.
For more information, call 205-848-8400 or go to lcscaresolutions.com.
