Care Navigation Helps You Care For Yourself, Your Parents or Other Family Members When Healthcare Issues Demand Attention
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Pamela Dombrowski-Wilson, MS, BS/BA, CG and CSA, Certified Senior Advisor, specializes in working with individuals and families to navigate healthcare and aging issues to reduce stress resulting from the necessity to make decisions around uncertain and emotional situations. This includes navigating situations of immediate crises where decisions must be made quickly and also making subsequent plans to meet the requirements of each situation. Ten years of experience in the aging field has resulted in Pamela becoming one of the top experts in this field. She provides one-on-one counseling, crises and long term care planning in addition to ongoing coordination and management. Additionally she is an accomplished speaker, educator and author and provides her expertise to corporations.
The Care Navigator is retained by clients, healthcare providers and corporations. This means that no compensation, referral fees or other financial rewards are received when The Care Navigator recommends companies or providers to assist in relevant or specific client situations. This eliminates all possibility of bias or preferential treatment for companies seeking to pay for business referrals and ensures that recommended companies are of similar ethical standards. Clients can be assured they are receiving services with the highest quality and ethical operating standards. In today's environment this is especially critical in situations where individuals and families are vulnerable.
Pamela grew up in a community that valued family, responsibility and high moral principles. Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1961, she grew up in a small neighborhood where generation after generation of families raised their children and remained for many years. It was easy to know who lived in each house on each street. The church was the anchor of the community and a place where everyone gathered on weekends after mass at the bake sale to have coffee and visit. There were two small corner grocery stores that sold penny candy and two bars, or "beer joints" as they were called back then, where men gathered to play cards and watch television. Her mother, Rose, was the caregiver of the family and because of this Pamela often found herself in the company of older family members; aunts, uncles and grandparents.
In her senior year of high school she was awarded a geriatric social work scholarship to the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Years later she recalls finding a list of "things to do" and at the top of the list was "help older people". After working many years in business and completing an undergraduate degree at the University of Nebraska, a graduate degree from Colorado State University and a certificate in gerontology from the University of Denver she started a local company to provide direct care services to the older adult population.
The loss of both parents in the 90's grounded Pamela in the desire to make a difference in the lives of older adults and their family members. Pamela volunteered for various organizations, starting with Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Marina del Rey, California. There, she "adopted" a woman named Billie whose care ultimately became the reason for Pamela to start her own company supporting older adults in the community. According to Pamela, "It was impossible to find paid help for Billie, a homebound woman who had many health issues. Caregivers would not show up at all or would bring their children with them to Billie's home. They could not communicate with her in English and took no responsibility for the fact that Billie was depending on them for assistance. Finding reliable care for Billie was a significant challenge that many families still experience today." This experience led Pamela to believe that there must be a better way to support older adults and their families in the community..
In 2000, she began a local company to provide direct home care services to the older adult population. Through this experience she became involved with families needing significant support and education about aging and healthcare needs. The company grew to support families throughout the Denver metro area. While operating the home care business, Pamela started The Care Navigator, a company providing information and counseling about aging and healthcare issues. When demand for this service grew, she sold the home care company to focus on the need for broader education, planning and counseling.
Pamela added the title of Certified Senior Advisor to her list of credentials. She also serves as a court appointed guardian. Additionally, Pamela is a licensed in Life and Health insurance and she is an expert in long term care insurance having worked directly with provider companies for ten years. In 2008, she was appointed the State Policy Liaision for the National Patient Advocate Foundation, a non-profit organization assisting low income individuals with healthcare and insurance issues.
She has over twenty year's business experience including ten years in the healthcare field and is an expert advisor providing support at the beginning of the planning process and in the "thick" of issues during hospitalization or nursing home stays when decisions need to be made. She is well versed in the special needs of Alzheimer's and other chronic conditions and advocates for families in crises and planning situations
