I have experienced case management from a personal experience. My mother-in-law was hospitalized with a catastrophic stroke on the very day my oldest son was graduating from grade school. We were heart broken. Marianne was a very important part of our lives. She helped babysit for our boys when we were both at work and we were her only family in Milwaukee. I am a nurse and was working on the very unit that she was admitted to. Everyone in the family felt I was very qualified to decide what would be needed for Marianne when she would go either to home, rehab, or the nursing home. Even though I understand the health care system, I was devastated that my mother-in-law had a stroke. She was confused and anxious. She was so different than her "real" self. I kept hoping for a complete recovery all while knowing it wasn't going to happen. During this time health care was very overwhelming to my husband and myself. As her condition stabilized it was obvious she wouldn't be able to return home. The question now was could she go to a rehab unit or would she need to be in a nursing home. This was when our case manager was incredibly helpful. She arranged a rehab consult. We didn't know how to even begin with that. She was there when we were told Marianne was denied access because they felt her stroke was to severe and she wouldn't improve. Knowing that case manager knew us and our hopes, we believed she had done all that was possible and that Marianne wasn't an appropriate candidate for rehab. When the sad decision of nursing home placement was the last option we received help from our case manager. She helped narrow our search. She took into consideration our feelings, Marianne's strong faith, and our proximity to the facility. She arranged visits at three nursing homes after discussing the positive and negatives of each. We chose the nursing home and our case manager arranged the transfer of Marianne to The Lutheran Home. The transfer went smoothly and we truly felt supported. Our case manager gave us direction during one of the saddest times in our life. At that point in time I was a hurt and confused daughter-in-law, not a nurse.