Geriatric Community Health

Geriatric Community Health

Rebecca Hutchinson

Graceland University

Geriatric Community Health

As the Geriatric population continues to grow the need for care will also continue to grow.  With medicine and science advancing the average life expectancy is increasing as in the need for more in depth care; leaving the population with a greater need for services in the community.  Adult day services are one option provided to the Des Moines, Iowa area and its surrounding communities.  In this paper we will discuss Wesley adult day services and all of the benefits it provides to patients’ in the community.      

Wesley Acres        

Wesley Life Is a Christian based company that works with the elderly population in the Des Moines and surrounding areas.  The mission of Wesley Life is to support the independence, health and well-being of the elderly population using the Christian set of values.  The mission of Wesley life is guided by a set of core values; Quality, integrity, dignity, community and stewardship.   Quality to provide excellent service with high standards, integrity to guide the staff ethically by valuing and demonstrating honesty and fairness, community to value the input of everyone, dignity by listening and treating everyone with respect and promoting independence and choices.  Last is stewardship by using the resources that are given to Wesley Acres.  The objectives of each area of Wesley Acres are all pretty much in sync; keeping the elderly in a place that they call “home” wherever that may be by focusing on the potential of an individual and the power of health and well-being (Wesley Life, 2017).  

According to T. Kelderman “funding of Wesley Life is provided by many donors and donations throughout the year, Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and private pay.  Staffing consists of many different types of occupations; administration, clerical, physicians, medication technicians, nurses, pharmacists, and nurses aides (personal communication, March 21, 2017)”.  

Services Provided

Wesley Acres (Wesley Life) provides many different services to the Polk county community.  The services that are provided are; independent living, assisted living services, rehab, therapy, adult day care, a memory loss unit, skilled nursing care, in-home health care, hospice services, and meals and wheels.  Obviously the value of a company such as Wesley Life is that it reaches a vast number of people with different needs and different health concerns.  If a patient needs a ride to and from appointments, they offer it.  Perhaps they can’t make it out of the house for meals/groceries; they will deliver the food.   They provide a great number of services to meet just about any need.  The number of centers that offer adult day services is very limited and helps give families the option of caring for the patient at home while still maintaining a full-time job or career while their loved one is being cared for during the day.  There are other companies in the Des Moines area that offer adult day care to the patients and their families and are spread out over the city.  However, most of them only offer the day services.

Population and Fees

“The targeted population of Wesley Life is individuals greater than 45 years of age or those with disabilities and illnesses (T. Kelderman, personal communication, March 22, 2017)”.  The fees for each entity are different and can vary depending on the care or number of entities the person is receiving.  For example the fee for Adult Day services is $60.00 per full day if the person attends the day program and the wheels program it will be more expensive than those just receiving adult day services.   The Cost of a local round-trip ride ranges from $30.00 to $35.00.    Each service is slightly different and the cost may vary depending on the amount of care a person is receiving.

Confidentiality of all patients is to be upheld by all staff but can become an issues when several patients are in the same area together.  Many of the activities that happen at Wesley Acres are done in group settings; family members are often present and this can lead to a breach in confidentiality.  Patients often intermingle with each other and don’t often realize when they are violating confidentiality rules.    Staff is to follow confidentiality laws and guidelines with each patient or resident they are caring for.  

Marketing and Access

Marketing for Wesley Acres happens in several ways “they market on the television, billboards, news papers, hospitals, and internet.  Many of the ads that are run on the television are run on local channels and new stations targeting the adult population (T.Kelderman, personal communication, March 22, 2017)”.  

        The internet is a key tool for marketing these days, so at Wesley Life, they have each service listed on their website at www.wesleylife.org along with plenty of info and contact information.  The family or patient can access each individual service which provides a description of the service, payment information, frequently asked questions (FAQ’s), and contact information.