Others’ Experiences with Eldercare Advocacy & Management
Linda’s Experience: I was totally unprepared when Mother’s health failed so quickly. She was no longer able to live alone and I had not taken time to research what facilities our community had to offer. My time was consumed with caring for her needs during this crisis. Ellen helped me find a good solution for Mother, and counseled me when I was overwhelmed. Thanks, Ellen!
Jonathan’s Experience: Ellen’s abilities as an excellent listener and as a problem solver have impressed me deeply. She has a knack for developing creative solutions, and has strong interpersonal skills, an energetic determination, and a broad range of useful contacts in the region.
Pamela’s Experience: My mother, a feisty 94-year-old, has been living in Arizona for 18 years. My sister and I live in New York City. As it became clear that my mother could no longer live alone, we decided that it would be better for her to remain in Arizona to be close to her friends and remain in the more relaxed Arizona setting — but we knew nothing about how to find a suitable assisted living facility for her. Someone recommended Ellen Willis-Conger as a social worker who might be able to help us.
Our lives were transformed when we started working with Ellen. She met and evaluated my mother, who is very hard of hearing, severely visually impaired — yet is a retired lawyer, with a very sharp mind and a very strong personality, like a 94-year-old Judge Judy. Ellen was able to find a wonderful facility for my mother that meets her needs perfectly.
Ellen has counseled our family with great wisdom, compassion and empathy and has been a dedicated professional, who has stepped in to help our family numerous times, since we live so away from our mother. Ellen has truly been a godsend to my mother and our family in too many ways to count. We are very grateful Ellen is working with us and recommend her to anyone who wants help in meeting the needs of someone older.
Sharon’s Experience: If I had not discovered Ellen Willis-Conger and her Eldercare Advocacy & Management service when I did, I would likely have had a nervous breakdown. After my father died in 1999, my mother’s mental capacities went rapidly downhill with what is probably a non-Alzheimer’s dementia. I live out of state in California, and trying to find and coordinate decent care for her from a distance was nearly impossible. When Ellen took on our case, my mother did not have a doctor that was willing to deal with her mental condition, and if she needed any kind of urgent care it was almost impossible to acquire it. Ellen quickly changed all of that.
My mother’s house was her second-greatest love after her husband, so moving her to California would have been devastating for her. Thanks to Ellen I was able to keep her in her home for a significant amount of time. Ellen then handled everything necessary to move my mom into an assisted-living situation, then continued to visit and was able to alert me when the care my mom was receiving became questionable. When the time came to move my mother to a long-term care facility, she handled that as well. Throughout our association, Ellen has always seen that my mother receives the best possible care so that I don’t have to live my life in a state of constant anxiety.
Jerry and Cindy’s Experience: We very much appreciated that Ms. Willis-Conger was available 24 hours a day to handle crisis situations. When an emergency situation arose, Ellen reacted immediately; she made decisive, well thought out medical decisions that provided a coordinated medical assist for my father.
Time and again Ellen provided expert follow-up to assure that prescription drug changes were implemented in my father’s regime and that doctors’ appointments were met.
Juggling medical care provided by both the Veterans Administration and Medicare presented Ms. Willis-Conger with many unique hurdles. She managed to meet the challenge, and, in fact, she developed an easy working relationship with the nurses and administrator at the Veteran’s Hospital satellite office in Cottonwood, Ariz.
Ms. Willis-Conger’s compassionate and patient nature, coupled with the fact that she was able to make competent medical decisions and wind her way through a jungle of medical forms and formalities guaranteed my peace of mind.
We feel deeply that we could not have handled Michael’s situation without the expertise and compassion that you displayed. I hope that you get many more opportunities to help families whose loved ones are in a similar situation.
Ginny’s Experience: Working with you made a big difference. Your advice and assistance were invaluable to both of us.
Elizabeth’s Experience: I first met Ellen Willis-Conger in my capacity as an inexperienced and struggling caregiver. Her invaluable insights and direction enabled me to provide far better service and attention to my client. Ellen’s warmth, wit, dedication and positive approach to problem-solving have genuinely impacted the lives of many elderly and those caring for them.