Geriatric care company fills need

Alternative Opportunities Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides supports for people with disabilities, has added a fourth program to serve Springfield: Pathways Consulting.

The new geriatric care management program, run since July 31 by its sole employee, Pathways Consulting coordinator Sarah Kunkel, offers supports and solutions to the older adult community.

It is the only geriatric care management program of its kind in Springfield, according to Kunkel.

Other AO Inc. programs include Gateway Youth & Family Services, Pathway Supports, and A.O. Employment Services. The four programs service several cities in Missouri including Springfield, where it was founded in 1990. The company moved its headquarters to Denver in 1995 because of expansion.

"We all come from the same philosophy," Kunkel said of AO's different community strengthening programs. "We really want to help people in need and help them maintain their independence."

Kunkel's program is geared toward care for the elderly and specializes in personable consultation and assessment visits, she said.

"I know what's out there and I do an assessment of that person to find out what they need," Kunkel said of her in-home visits.

Kunkel is hired on an hourly basis by the older individuals themselves or a family member and is available to them seven days a week. She said her main job is to find out what the person is looking for and provide options to services in the community that may be of assistance.

"They tell me what they want, that way I'm not saying, Here I am, I'm going to take over.' I just want to assist them," Kunkel said. "So the family knows this is a personable thing, I say, This is what we've got, what do you guys want to do from there?' I allow them the choice because I think that providing that dignity and respect for your independence is really important."

Kunkel said that she also can act as a liaison for families that are at a distance.

"If you lived in Kansas City and your mother was here, you could hire me to be that mediator between the two," she said. "I become their care manager ... I become part of the family, and that's a good feeling because I really like that one-on-one relationship. I'm there for them as much as they need."

Kunkel said she dealt with this on a personal level with her grandmother living in Columbia, and that inspired her to incorporate it into her own program.

"If there was a care manager up there, I would have hired them without a doubt, because our family just could not do it all."

She said that her Web site, www.aboutpathways.org, targets such clients. Kunkel added that if a loved one is in her area she can be contacted and make arrangements for the individual in need. She will generally travel up to two hours for client visitation, however a mileage charge is added outside of Springfield.

Not only is she responsible for coordinating care, but Kunkel said she has been a marketing manager, Web designer and overall businesswoman since starting this new program. As business grows, Kunkel said she will add geriatric care managers to her Pathways Consulting division, located at 328 N. Boonville Ave.

Kunkel said she plans to push geriatric care management through a public policy committee for the local Alzheimer's Association to which she belongs. Kunkel said that the government does not consider skilled nursing care and therefore does not provide any coverage. One of her goals is "to get the government and local legislature to understand that the services for older adults by caregivers are needed." She said that geriatric care management is already popular on the East and West coasts, but not yet in the Midwest.

Kunkel previously worked as a social worker in long-term care after receiving a bachelor of science degree in gerontology from Southwest Missouri State University. It was that line of work that sparked her interest in a geriatric care management program, she said.

"(Clients) wanted someone who could tell them where to go, what to do, what resources were available. They felt lost." Kunkel said. "I was stuck because I couldn't do as much. I kept thinking, I'm going to start something on my own.'"

She did that with AO Inc., which provided the funding and office space in the building previously used by Quinn's Coffee Company. However, this first year is a trial period for her and the program. It will be reviewed July 31, 2001.

"(AO Inc.) took a chance on me and I really like that," Kunkel said. "There's no doubt in my mind it's going to work ... it has to. It is so needed and wanted."