New Sonoma company helps families with elderly relatives

We’re the daughters and sons who are here to advocate for your loved one when you can’t be.” That’s how V. Lynn Cox describes EMPower Eldercare Management, the consulting company she started last May with two partners, Dana Folse, a registered nurse, and Diane Hamberger, an insurance specialist.
The three have been friends for over 20 years, and grew up in southern Louisiana, though they met in California. “We’re passionate about aging in place and motivated to help people age safely and happily at home,” Cox adds. It’s also personal. Her grandmother suffered with Alzheimer’s for ten years, and both Folse and Hamberger are currently dealing with aging family members.
Cox, who has a master’s degree in counseling, completed the online Geriatric Care Management Graduate Program at the University of Florida last April, and will take the certification exam given by the National Academy of Certified Care Managers later this year.
Another reason is that people are living longer – by the year 2030, one in five Americans will be over 65, Cox says. What EMPower does is evaluate the living situations of older adults, both singles and couples. Every case is unique, she says, but an assessment includes evaluating medical and functional status, home safety, the social support network, and financial, insurance and legal issues. Then the firm recommends appropriate care and services – from needing to be accompanied to medical appointments, to fulltime care at home, or in an assisted living facility, when staying at home is no longer feasible. A comprehensive assessment takes four to six hours, for which EMPower charges $95 an hour.
Cox emphasizes that EMPower neither provides care givers nor places people in facilities. Rather, it helps families find and manage the care their loved ones need. Recently, Cox has been overseeing the care of a Sonoman in a nursing home because no family members live nearby. She’ll also help the client resume living at home, coordinating physical therapy and other care.
She helped another family select an assisted living facility here for a family member from Texas. This can be a daunting task, because Sonoma County has 150 such facilities. Cox took the family on a tour of the ones she recommended and helped them choose an appropriate one.
Often, Cox points out, a daughter is the sole provider of care for an aging family member. In such cases, she helps find ways to get all the siblings involved, so they can share the responsibility.
EMPower Eldercare Management, LLC, P.O. Box 158, Sonoma; 707.938.3935; e-mail
lcoxempowereldercare.com; www.empowereldercare.com.