Your Guide to Finding the Right Senior Care Services

Sep 30, 2020 by Danielle Andersen



Trying to determine the right level of health care for yourself or a loved one can feel a lot like hitting a fork in the road and not knowing which direction to take. One direction may lead you down a path that aligns perfectly with your specific needs, while the other may send you toward an expensive and unnecessary dead end.

This where the Knute Advantage can help. At Knute Nelson, we know all too well how complicated the health care system is for families. As part of the Knute Advantage, our Care Transition Coordinator can navigate you to the health care service that’s best for you or your loved one.

The Knute Advantage Through Our Continuum of Care

Aging is a beautiful journey that requires a wide range of health care services to ensure you live your very best life for as long as possible. That’s why Knute Nelson offers a full continuum of care to meet the needs of seniors across West Central Minnesota. The services in our continuum of care include:

• Independent Living: Maintenance-free living for people 55 years of age and older at Grand Arbor and Crystal Brook Senior Living.


• Assisted Living: Maintenance-free living with extra help throughout the day on tasks like housekeeping, meals and dressing.


• Enhanced Assisted Living: Assisted living with personalized care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


• Memory Care: Safe and stimulating care to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those with dementia.


• Nursing Home (Care Center): Around-the-clock care and daily assistance for older adults, offered in both short- and long-term settings.


• Hospice: Empowering and personalized care for people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and have a life expectancy of six months or less.


• Home Care: High levels of care for those who are homebound due to an illness, injury or surgery.


• Short-Term Rehabilitation: Physical, occupational and speech therapy that you receive during your short stay at our facility directly after a surgery or illness.


• Respite Care: Short-term stays for older adults for seven or more days while a caregiver is away.


• Outpatient Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy: Outpatient therapy designed to get you back to daily life after an injury, illness or surgery.


• Nelson Wellness Centers: Wellness programming with state-of-the-art facilities for senior housing residents and community members ages 45+.


• Health Monitoring Technology: Home technology like personal emergency response systems designed to keep seniors healthy and safe.

The amount of services we offer means you can get the personalized care needed for your unique situation. Of course, the challenge is then determining which level of care is best and that’s where our Care Transition Coordinator can help.

How the Knute Advantage Navigates You Towards the Right Level of Senior Care

Cyndi Magnuson, Care Transition Coordinator at Knute Nelson, has worked in senior health care for over 10 years, starting as an LPN and working in different senior settings like nursing homes and hospitals. Throughout her career, she has seen older adults and families struggle to identify the right health care services for themselves and loved ones.

“There’s always been a need for someone to help people figure out what kind of care they need for a loved one or for themselves,” Cyndi explained. “It’s such a great need because health care, and especially senior health care, can be very confusing and overwhelming.”

Knute Nelson recognized this need and launched the Care Transition Coordinator position. In this role, Cyndi serves as a navigator for seniors and caregivers, guiding them through all the forks in the road as they determine where they fall along the care continuum.

All it takes is one phone call to Cyndi to get you going down the right path toward a senior care service that’s best for you.

What to Expect on a Phone Call about Senior Care Services

To determine if assisted living is right for your lifestyle or to decide if your loved one would benefit from our therapy continuum after a surgery, we need to learn more about you and your family. This requires Cyndi to build a rapport with patients and listen to their stories.

“People will call me throughout the day, and you know, their loved one needs help and they don’t know which direction to go,” Cyndi explained. “So, I kind of start with some very open-ended questions like, “tell me more about your loved one” to get them talking. Then, I sort of just help them figure out what their options are and direct them to who they need to talk to.”

While similar to a call center, the one key difference is you won’t be put on hold for minutes at a time or transferred to several other people. As the Care Transition Coordinator, Cyndi is your go-to person who will spend as much time on the phone with you as you need.

When you are on this call with her, Cyndi can help you understand what the different levels of care are, clarify details you may have heard from your doctor and explain how insurance and financial coverage work. She can then walk you through Knute Nelson’s philosophy and help you learn what you can expect in the levels of care being considered.

We understand how emotional and overwhelming finding senior care can be, which is why our Care Transition Coordinator role is built on patience, compassion and education, so you can get the care and support from the moment your inquiry call with us begins.

Once all your questions have been answered to your required level of comfort and Cyndi has all the information she needs, she will send your information over to Knute Nelson’s referral department where an expert will contact you to schedule a visit and get the intake process started.

“Really, you shouldn’t have to make any other phone calls or get put on hold or transferred a million times,” Cyndi said. “That’s the whole key to the Knute Advantage.”

Find the Right Level of Senior Care for You or a Loved One Today

At Knute Nelson, we can help make finding the right senior care for you or a loved one easy and stress-free. Our Care Transition Coordinator will take the time to get to know you, listen to your concerns and fears, answer your questions and navigate you toward the best care option for your needs. That’s the Knute Advantage.

To get started, contact our Care Transition Coordinator today at 320-537-8076.