Arranging transportation to and from medical appointments. Understanding medical directions. Filling prescriptions. Implementing treatment plans. Scheduling follow-up visits. For most of us, these tasks are just a routine part of managing our health care. But for older adults, they can be insurmountable barriers that ultimately result in deteriorating health, poor outcomes and costly medical interventions down the road.

Removing those barriers is the mission of Partners in Care Concierge (PiCC), a new service model developed by Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Washtenaw County. The concept originated with a JFS social worker who was struggling with her role as a “sandwiched caregiver” — looking after her family and working full-time while serving as the health care advocate for her ailing father.