About Us
Tina Buchanan, MSW, ALCM
Administrator and CEO
Hi, my name is Tina, I’m an Aging Life Care Manager and I have been helping people like you for almost 15 years. An Aging Life Care Manager helps older adults and their family members maximize and manage resources for their family members.
How long have you been doing what you do, and how did you become an Aging Life Care Manager?
To answer this question, it’s probably best that I share with you a defining moment, and a resulting “compelling story”, that brought me to where I am today –coaching people like you on exactly what to do to help older adults and their family members maximize and manage resources for their end of life planning. That defining moment in my life happened in late 2016. I come from a very tight-knit family. We were always very close spending most holidays together especially Christmas. These extravagant gatherings were the doing of my grandmother and grandfather mostly. They always went above and beyond and made these times so memorable for all of us. My Grandfather and Grandmother fell ill a few years back and eventually signed onto hospice early 2017.
In leading up to this moment, I watched them struggle endlessly. The Veterans Administration, the policies behind long term care benefits, the overwhelm of deciding if they wanted Advance Directives and of course the red tape. aI stepped up and became their Care Coordinator in my mother’s sheer overwhelm. She was aggravated by the systems and all of the paperwork that came with the end of life planning.
When I realized the fragile nature of my grandparents’ condition, I knew I needed to provide this support to other family members out there that were struggling with the same issues. Before starting Visionary Care, I had been working in the field of end of life care in a corporate environment for about 10 years. I started my journey towards this field when I was in school as I pursued my degree in Social Work. We didn’t get to pick our internships and I always thought I didn’t want to work with the elderly. They say what you resist most is what you need the most. Right? This internship, which I struggled with wanting to accept, single-handily change my life when I placed in a skilled nursing home.
The very first patient that I was paired with was a Hospice patient “Mary”. She had no support system and no living relatives. They asked me to be her support system. I remember so clearly seeing her in a room alone, stuck in bed all day unable to sit or stand and I was the only human that she looked forward to seeing every day. She mentioned that she had nothing to offer me and sometimes there weren’t many conversations between us, but seeing the light that spilled over her face during our time together was even more heartbreaking. She needed to navigate these huge decisions alone. She felt tossed uncomplainingly aside and I was there to help guide through her last days. Mary and I saw each other for a few weeks every day, up until she passed. I was heartbroken and more importantly, forever changed. Mary didn’t realize that she had given me the most important lesson of my life. She didn’t know that she had changed me forever.
While working in skilled nursing facilities as the Director of Social Services and Home Health Agencies I learned, over time, that the industry was severely fragmented. In the nursing facility, I could help people within a limited scope, but once they left the facility their quality of life was out of my control. I learned that many of them did not understand how they got to where they were and that they were searching for an advocate to guide them. Alternately, in the Home Health setting, the insurance would run out and my services were ended. It was heartbreaking and frustrating because I couldn’t create the impact I craved with someone else governing how we worked together.
After my years of helping in a fractured way, I started Visionary Care in 2017. I began teaching families how they can seamlessly navigate the aging journey: I observed their peace of mind increase, and their stress levels drop. Families started to have a clearer understanding of the resources available to them, and as a result a better quality of life for all involved. I have since made a commitment to dedicate the rest of my professional life to helping other families maximize and manage resources for their loved one’s.
Since then, Visionary Care has worked with many families and changed hundreds of lives: Together our team has carried out my dream of supporting, nurturing and guiding families in navigating a complex healthcare system with ease. Visionary Care has created programs throughout San Diego and now Riverside designed to help you every step of the way.
What makes Visionary Care different from other “Care Management Experts?”
Besides having over 25 years of combined experience in the field of aging, social work, nursing and mental health services, our team members are dedicated to serving our families with excellence. Our commitment to excellence can be seen in the affiliations and memberships we are a part of. Visionary Care providers are active members of the Aging Life Care Association as well as the National Association of Health Care Advcates. Our dedication to inclusion and cultural competencies is a huge part of Visionary Care as well. That his why our clinicians are all SAGE certified platinum providers, serving LGBT communities in San Diego and beyond. We are founding members of Golden Age Integrative Network in San Diego, CA and a percentage of our profits are donated to Vets For Elders, a San Diego non profit serving low income seniors, co founded by Tina herself. Our team uses a client centered approach to care advocacy, We are concerned with how to get your loved ones care needs met to ensure the best quality of life possible, no matter what it takes. We work for you and your family, not the government or the systems that leave you lacking and frustrated. Our HIPPA compliant communication platform is included in all of our programs and this platform streamlines communication making it easy to get a hold of us even after hours. We often have two experienced care managers assigned to cases so that there is a multi disciplined approach to care planning and implementation. You won’t find this with any other concierge care management group.
What type of personality do you work best with and what is expected of me?
Our programs and services were created for people who are absolutely excited and serious about getting the help they need – it means not running around all day long, beating yourself up anymore saying: “I don’t understand the systems or I don’t have any support ” Our processes are created for you to put systems in place within a few months (sometimes weeks!), which will eventually lead you to peace of mind, ongoing support, and clarity regarding the resources available to you and your loved one. We work best with people who are committed to success and who really want to change the lives of their loved ones for the better. Our clients often say – “Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it!” You will have the support in place to achieve your loved ones goals, giving you peace of mind and allowing your loved one to age with dignity and integrity.
