A Kennebunk, Maine-based social worker specializing in adult case management, Jill Lamontagne has worked as an assistant supervisor of adult case management at Waypoint in Sanford, Maine, since 2022. As an advocate and hands-on supporter for adults with disabilities, she helps clients meet their individual goals, monitors their health and safety, and coordinates community support and services. Ms. Lamontagne also regularly reviews case managers’ records and notes to ensure they are providing quality support, assists them in planning meetings and developing goal attainment practices, and oversees budget planning in cases when representative payee needs are required. Her additional responsibilities include conducting monthly Maine Integrated Health Management Solution checks and training new case managers. Outside of work, Ms. Lamontagne volunteers hundreds of hours each year with nonprofits committed to protecting the environment and providing care for people in need. She participates in annual Maine Coastal Cleanup efforts, organizing group cleanups of the state’s beaches and natural preserves, and volunteers at the Harvest Cafe soup kitchen. She supports other community programs as a member of the local Rotary Club, and coaches youth softball, basketball, and field hockey. Ms. Lamontagne holds a master’s in education from the University of New England and a bachelor’s in science and health sciences from the University of Southern Maine. She also studied nursing at the University of Maine.
America’s health landscape faces a myriad of major issues, from an aging population to multiple chronic conditions that have stretched the national health care system to its limits. While no one solution can change the picture of health and wellness in America, one important trend involves a shift to value-based care. In short, value-based care places a premium on collaborative, individualized care that accounts for a patient’s physical, mental, and behavioral health.
Value-based care is both more productive and more cost-effective than an approach in which each member of a health team provides their own services to each patient. The demand for this level of care has created new positions and elevated the status of established roles, including the role of the adult case manager.
A case management professional is a person tasked with managing a significant degree of the collaborative processes that define value-based care. Case management is a highly person-centric profession. Managers must consistently provide clients with quality, nuanced services that involve considerable time investment. They are charged with patient safety while pursuing optimal outcomes at home, school, and places of work.
Case managers work with many different patients who require support in a multitude of areas. That said, a few of the common services provided by case managers include assessing a person’s case, developing a care plan alongside the patient and their family, and ensuring that all relevant agencies live up to their end of the care plan. The latter is by far the most challenging and time-consuming aspect of a case manager’s job, as they manage elements of care coordination and advocate for unmet needs and services on behalf of clients.
Managers must also continuously evaluate their clients and the effectiveness of the care plan, especially after major life events and changes, and make adjustments as needed. To say an adult case manager’s job is never done is to put it mildly.
A case manager is a health care professional who primarily functions as a patient advocate. They may also collaborate with professionals working in the social services system, depending on client needs. Their coordination efforts often involve other health care professionals and agencies, though they are also tasked with making family members, educators, and other people in their patients’ lives understand the care plan and any role they might play. By working with doctors, nurses, school leaders, and other members of the community, case managers help alleviate challenges posed by acute and chronic diseases, along with numerous developmental and psychological disorders.
Case managers generally promote evidence-based practices that fall under one of four main strategies of service. Brokerage case management emphasizes client assessment. Following an accurate assessment, case managers focus on making a list of referrals to community service providers and resources. The manager’s overall task is to help clients understand where they can receive specialized care and how to begin.
Strengths-based case managers focus on a client’s strengths, building strategies and routines around the client’s existing abilities. In clinical case management, on the other hand, managers use a clinical model to outline a client’s medical needs. This is especially beneficial for patients who require a large degree of care coordination. Lastly, intensive case management is reserved for clients dealing with complex issues, such as those associated with severe mental illness.
