As an elder law and special needs planning attorney, I am proud to frequently refer clients to ACM Care for consultation and advice as part of their life care plan. ACM Care does a wonderful job assessing the current situation of a person with care needs and of offering very practical suggestions for family members to follow toward enabling their loved one to be cared for in the least restrictive setting possible (preferably at home) for as long as possible. The clients whom I refer to ACM Care universally inform me that she is an absolute joy to work with. She is always very personal and caring, and at the same time, always knowledgeable and professional.

My personal measuring stick for professionals is their ability to offer advice and recommendations that seem really helpful and make perfect sense, but which I probably would not have thought of on my own. By that measure, ACM Care gets tremendously high marks.
A. C. attn

It was the best help I've had here in St Louis.
C.E.A.

ACM Care's biggest contribution to me was piece of mind. Being 2,000 miles away from my father it was hard to make arrangements and know that he was safe and looked after. With ACM Care, I had an on-site advocate and that was priceless
C. S.

ACM Care helped with a wide variety of non-medical tasks such as telephone and cable TV installation, moving, assisting with check-writing, and many similar tasks. Overall we were extremely happy with the results. We had been nervous at first about giving ACM Care such access to personal and financial matters. We quickly grew to trust her almost like she was one of the family.
C. F.

ACM Care has helped me immensely- I have always been very independent and resourceful but after a health crisis this year I became very frustrated very quickly. Just getting my bills paid became overwhelming to me, let alone some legal and financial problems. My ACM Care specialist helped me solve many of the problems I was facing which was a great relief and eased my stress. I appreciate the regular contact and I know that when something comes up that I need help with, she is ready.
M. S.

ACM Care has been working with us since my diagnosis in March. My ACM Care manager has reviewed my insurance policy and treatment plan, helped organize my thoughts prior to treatment, doctors' appointments & tests, helped me track my progress and provided a sounding board to discuss thoughts and feelings. She has given me encouragement and confidence. All this as I oversee the medical care of my elderly, disabled husband.

For my husband the case manager has been invaluable. He has many physicians, each with their own agenda and list of medications. The case manager, through her patience and understanding, has established a trust with my husband. She has been able to set up and coordinate his medications, help organize his doctors' appointments and has been guiding him gently. I have been unable to do this despite 25 years in the health care field. For the first time in years I feel confident that my husband is receiving the right medical care.

Words can not describe my gratitude for the help that we are receiving from ACM.
R. C.

ACM Care has been very important to us because we all live 300 miles or more from Dad. We had no knowledge of local nursing homes, so selecting one was the first task we had. Other key benefits from ACM Care were having an RN who was on our side looking at the care Dad was receiving, guiding us as to what was reasonable for us to expect from a nursing home, and having a local presence.
C. F.

Dealing with nursing home issues (especially from a distance) can be both daunting and frustrating, with a whole new set of jargon to learn in a short time - all while you are concerned about your loved one. ACM helped our family navigate that complicated path with expert advice and "street smarts" that were invaluable.
C. S.

ACM Care has been a God send for our family. We first became aware of this agency in 2002 when we were seeking a nursing home residence for our mother. I surfed on line for resources from the Area Office on Aging for the State of Missouri. I found an ad about ACM Care in the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, Directory of Residential Care Facilities. I called ACM Care and ACM Care came to my sister's home in MO and did an informal assessment of my mother's functioning to see if she was eligible for nursing home placement.

My mother was 92 years old, living with my youngest sister in Missouri, and attending an adult day care program 5 days a week. It had become too physically demanding for my mother to have to go out of the house everyday. My sister was working full time and truly in the "sandwich generation". She had grown children, grandchildren, and an elderly parent living in her home. My oldest sister and I live in Michigan, and were both still working full time. Long distance caregiving is very stressful on a family. I was up & down the road on all of my breaks from my job as a school counselor. I had very little down time for my own care, and I was slowly burning out. My mother had even lived between Detroit, MI. & Florissant, MO. and my sister and I had shared custodial care of my mother. The time had come to make a decision that was in the best interest of everyone involved. ACM Care made us aware of several nursing home facilities near my sister's home in Florissant. We did on-site visits and selected a nice facility 5 minutes from my sister's home.

My mother has resided in a nursing home since age 92 and she is 98 1/2. ACM Care has been a constant source of support. As my mother's care needs have changed, I have contacted ACM Care to monitor her nursing home care. Our ACM Care staff have been all trained nurses. They visit the nursing home, examine my mother, read her medical charts, and send me a report regarding her medical condition or any other care concerns that they feel need to be addressed.

The continued intervention by ACM Care has made a world of difference in the nursing home care my mother has received. ACM Care has also helped give me a peace of mind as a long distance caregiver. If I have any concerns about my mother's care, I know I can call ACM Care and they will go to the nursing home to check on my concerns and either e-mail me a report or give me a call. They are my eyes and ears. Their intervention and care recommendations have helped me make intelligent well informed decisions about my mother's care.

My mother was recently hospitalized for what I would consider in some part, negligence on the part of her nursing facility. An ACM Care nurse came to the hospital to examine my mother so that we would have a second unbiased opinion. An ACM Care nurse also sat in on the care plan meeting at the nursing home upon my mother's return from the hospital. The ACM Care nurse has continued to monitor my mother's care on a weekly basis during her recovery period.

ACM Care has been a God send and a blessing to our family. Thanks to their compassionate intervention, support, and expertise, I know we have provided the best care that we could for our mother during this phase of her life.

God Bless You,
C. M., LPC

ACM Care helped me investigate caregivers and make the transition to new caregivers

My family and I were extremely pleased with ACM Care! It would have saved me a lot of headache and heartache to hire ACM Care from the beginning of my mother's illness.
R.C. MD

My Story,

The most important thing I've learned in the past year is that "you can't do it yourself." My 23 years experience in the securities industry and my current management of twenty-four branch offices located in four states with 850 employees made me confident that I could handle my family's situation.

I live in San Francisco and my 83 year-old parents live in St. Louis where I grew up. In January of last year they were both found unconscious in their home from carbon monoxide poisoning. Although my Mom has recovered, my Dad suffered a stroke and was placed in a nursing home.

What I have learned from this situation is you must have an "advocate". Without one you and your family are at the mercy of a system that is overwhelmed by growth, with facilities that are understaffed, which can't meet the crucial needs of those in their care.

The contact I had with the home was by phone or monthly visits. Many important issues slipped through the cracks, resulting in a rapid decline in my father's health, which I realize now, could have been avoided with the help of my advocate, ACM Care.

We started working together in early July, six months after his stroke. At this point my Dad's condition had deteriorated and was very ill. ACM Care reviewed the records, assessed the situation, shopped and evaluated new nursing homes, assisted with his move to and from the hospital, and worked with the new nursing home staff to focus on his needs.

She became familiar with his doctors, attended care plan meetings, hung pictures in his room, made sure his radio was tuned to the station he enjoyed, had his diet changed when appropriate, and ensured we didn't run out of "Medicare paid hospital days," among many other things. She made sure I had all of the information necessary when making decisions about long-term care and hospice agencies, based on his individual needs.

My Dad has made significant improvements in the past several months due to her knowledge of health care and the system, her tenacity, and honest caring. My only regret is that I had not met ACM Care earlier.
M.G.