Consumer Directed Care

Consumer-Directed Care is part of a culture change in long-term care. Consumer Direction is the wave of the future. In the upcoming decades, aging individuals will be more educated and will desire more input and control in their healthcare and long-term care services. One of OSA’s leading efforts in promoting culture change in long-term care is training staff in the philosophical shift from case management to facilitation. This shift is critical in learning to work with savvy individuals who will require less management and more counsel and support. The Office for the Study of Aging takes a leading role in promoting consumer direction in South Carolina.

OSA has trained staff in long term care, mental health and hospice to prepare them for the implementation of consumer-directed care programs.  The training is individualized based on the specific needs of the staff.  The training involves an initial assessment of an agency’s current climate and practices to determine how best to encourage consumer direction and promote the culture change.  The training emphasizes the philosophical assumptions in consumer direction and person-centered planning, the instrumental component in empowering consumers to direct their own care.  The training also provides an opportunity for trainees to demonstrate person-centered planning skills to develop competency prior to application in the field.  

For more information, please call (803) 777-0222 or email osainformation@sc.edu.