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In spring of 2008, Aster Evangelista couldn't speak a sentence without crying. She was in tears all the time, juggling work and full-time caregiving duties, not for one, but for two loved ones. She reached out to her pastor. She spoke with a friend who's a nurse. At the insistence of a concerned coworker, Aster began to make calls to the 800 numbers listed on her insurance policy. One call reached an office in Florida that directed her to another 800 number. It was all very vague. She was sent an application and a survey to fill out. Nothing ever happened.

Months went by. Aster grew desperate. "I was thinking of getting in my car and driving to nowhere," she told me. "I don't know how I got through it…so many emotions, so many mixed feelings…I've been doing it for a long time for my husband, and now I feel inadequate to take care of my mother too. She has so many chronic illnesses. I just have to talk to somebody about it."

Aster was at the end of her rope when she happened to be reading a newsletter, "Renew," put out by Evercare Solutions for Caregivers, a national care-management service. She saw the promising words: "You don't have to do it alone." Aster made the call, pleading to talk to a mental health counselor. She reached a call center in Oregon and was given yet another number. This time, she reached the headquarters of Evercare in Minnesota. The officious voice on the other end of the phone said, "It will be a two-week wait."

"No!" Aster wailed. "I have to talk to somebody right today or tomorrow at the latest."

"Why, are you having a lot of problems?"

"Yes, I'm contemplating leaving my husband of 44 years!"

The gatekeeper came to life. "Yeah, that will qualify you—either contemplating suicide or killing somebody or leaving your husband of 44 years."

Aster had cracked the code. She got an appointment for the next day and spoke to Kathy Hawke, a registered nurse at the Minnesota office, who is a care manager.

"Yes, we have a program called 'Solutions for Caregivers,'" Kathy confirmed.

"Oh my God. I need help!" Aster cried. "I want to leave home!" She gave a thumbnail sketch of the burdens of caring for both her immobilized mother and her unappreciative husband.

When Kathy immediately responded, "We can help you," Aster dissolved in grateful tears. "I can't believe somebody understands me."

Kathy said, "I will send you a registered nurse who can assess your needs as a caregiver."

"But you're up in Minnesota," Aster sputtered. "I'm out in the desert, in California."

"We can find you resources locally."
 

Aster remembers, "It lifted a whole ton of bricks off my shoulders."

Working remotely with her Evercare Care Manager, Aster found out that both her husband, Damaso, and her mother, Felicitas, were Evercare health plan members in California, and their particular plan allowed each of them to receive 40 hours of a home care aide, annually.
 
Kathy scheduled the on-site nursing assessments and suggested resources to help each family member. She then found local providers for each recommended service. Resources that Kathy recommended for Aster's family included:

• Transportation to and from doctor and lab appointments (12 round-trips a year)
• Meals on Wheels
• Adult day care center for Aster's mother
• Physical therapy
• Primary-care physician with a background in sports medicine, since Aster's mother had a hip fracture and also suffers from diabetes, anemia, and joint pain
• Home-care aide

Aster arranged with the local agency to spread out the home care over the year, about 4 hours a week. Aster's husband is the cook in the family but tires easily, so the agency’s housekeeper, Jessica, helps him with the food preparation. Aster's mother took advantage of the Evercare preventive program for the elderly, "Silver Sneakers," where exercises are done on a chair to music. Her mom loved it.

Most valuably, Kathy, the Evercare care manager, became a trusted adviser and an advocate for Aster, helping her to navigate local resources and sorting out what various health plans would cover. Kathy talked to Aster about the importance of maintaining her own health and wellness, and she gave Aster peace of mind that her choices were well researched and were the best for her family. Kathy said she could hear the difference in Aster's voice. "It's like talking to a different person," she remarked.

Evercare™ Solutions for Caregivers

Evercare Solutions for Caregivers is a national care-management service. Care advocates like Kathy offer expert advice and help guide caregivers through the complexity of choices to best manage a loved one's changing medical and non-medical needs.
 

Your employer may offer the program to you through your health care plan. Ask your employer, spouse's employer, or group retiree benefit manager if you have caregiving services in your health plan.

Confused? Here are a few calls to make that will let you know if you already have any benefits as a family caregiver.

If you are employed, call your human resources office and ask if your benefit plan includes Evercare Solutions for Caregivers or any other services for caregivers. If your employer does have the Evercare Solutions for Caregivers, call 866-896-1895 (seven days a week, 8 a.m.–8 p.m., and say: "I need help." Please note: If you call this number and they don't have you listed, they will give you another number where you can purchase the care management hours.

If your employer doesn't include benefits for caregivers, if you are a freelance worker, or are not employed, call this toll-free number, 866-463-5337 (seven days a week, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. EST) and say: "I understand there's a benefit program called 'Solutions for Caregivers,' and I need help."