During the summer of 1998, Lenette Hamrn answered an ad placed by Kansas Advocates for Better Care (KABC) for the position of Office Manager. She knew and liked the staff who worked there, although she knew very little about long-term care topics. During her interview she discovered that the staff she had known had all moved on to other jobs, but Lenette took an immediate liking to the new Executive Director (E.D.). She accepted the job offer and started work for KABC on July 20,1998. That was the beginning of her journey into the complex world of long-term care services and homes for frail elders.

Lenette easily adapted to bookkeeping duties and learned about designing KABC's newsletter and other publications. The most difficult part of the job was answering the phone. There were hundreds of calls from people with many kinds of problems, such as: finding help caring for a confused parent; getting attention to neglectful care of a loved one in a nursing home; finding a nursing home for a parent being discharged from a hospital the next day. She felt overwhelmed at times, and sad for people facing such problems. Her E.D. reminded her that the need for an adult care home could happen to almost anyone, at any time. The E.D. encouraged Lenette to take special training about adult care home regulations. After that training, it became easier for Lenette to confidently respond to callers' questions. If only all of life was that simple.

Lenette's widowed mother, Irene, who lived independently and 30 miles away, suddenly started having health problems. After what should have been a routine doctor's visit, Irene became abruptly ill and was hospitalized.

Her mother's health declined rapidly; she needed a nursing home immediately! Thankfully, Lenette had already learned about and understood the long-term care system well enough to doggedly follow every step of medical care provided to her mother. She asked enough tough questions that the providers could see that she knew what good care could and should be.

Lenette realized that it pays to be a smart consumer when it comes to health care and long-term care. She now wants other "baby boomers" to do their homework and become knowledgeable, before they come face to face with an aging parent's long-term care and medical needs.

Join us, Call KABC in Lawrence at 842-3088 or toll-free, 800-525-1782.

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