A complex medical diagnosis, a mental health crisis, or the gradual onset of dementia can be overwhelming and terrifying for both the individual going through it, as well as their friends and family.
Spouses, adult children, and other family members are often forced into demanding roles as coordinators of care. When someone is navigating a crisis, that’s not ideal.
And it’s exactly where a boutique care management agency like Healthy Enabler can help.
Healthy Enabler was founded by San Diego local Beth Hutchison, who will be the first to tell you that her business is difficult to sum up in a single sentence.
“You can call us a case manager, a care manager, a life manager … conductor of the circus herding cats,” Hutchison joked. “Healthy Enabler exists in the space between the appointment and everyday life. That’s where people struggle most. That’s where we do our best work.”
Doctors, hospitals, psychiatrists, and therapists focus on clinical treatment – the nuts and bolts of getting someone healthier. Healthy Enabler fills in whatever gaps are outside of this medically focused care.
Some examples of the spaces where Healthy Enabler thrives include:
- An aging parent needing 24/7 oversight and care
- A young adult navigating anxiety and depression
- A family needing a credentialed and professional advocate during a health crisis
For many local families, this kind of need arrives suddenly and unexpectedly.
“A lot of people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are already knee-deep in raising their own children,” Hutchison said. “And, all of sudden, mom or dad gets sick.”
When caregiving demands escalate, family dynamics can quickly unravel under the weight of administrative stress. One of Healthy Enabler’s primary goals is stepping in as the operational manager so family members can return to simply loving one another.
One example was a husband trying to navigate his wife’s dementia while a daughter was struggling with a severe mental illness. Given that he was starting to feel like he was drowning in care decisions and related logistics, he reached out to Healthy Enabler for help.
Hutchison and her team stepped in, organized home healthcare, oversaw daily routines, and established a long-term care plan.
“This allows him to be a husband to his wife and enjoy time with her, and be a father to his daughter,” Hutchison said. “[Something like this is] a lot to handle, especially when you’re emotionally involved.”
In other cases, Healthy Enabler’s support is less administrative and more behavioral. Another recent example included a young adult facing “failure to launch” challenges. To that end, Hutchison said she served as a personal coach providing accountability and guidance.
Beyond crisis management, Healthy Enabler emphasizes ongoing behavioral support and structured connection to keep clients grounded. Hutchison often teaches clients how to identify “UFEOs,” which she says is short for Unidentified Flying Emotional Objects.
It’s a framework she developed for recognizing the sudden and overwhelming emotions that can hijack rational decision-making during a crisis.
In cases like these, Healthy Enabler emphasizes “nervous system regulation, daily check-ins, cognitive behavioral coaching, accountability, and practical implementation,” Hutchison said.
This high-touch model relies on a tight-knit team of professionals. Alongside Hutchison, local Certified Case Manager Erika Blunt helps oversee a program dubbed Meals Together, which matches small pods of participants so they can share a meal and engage in conversation. Each Meals Together session ends with brain teasers, memory exercises, and other cognitive activities. Out in Denver, Colorado, Healthy Enabler Director Kristen Spagnoletti leads physical operations in the Mountain West.
Because the firm operates on a direct fee-for-service concierge model of care to avoid insurance delays and red tape, Hutchison recognized early on that private care management is not accessible to everyone.
To ensure community members in financial need receive the same dedicated advocacy, Healthy Enabler established The Gail Hanna Legacy Foundation. Created through the support of a grateful client benefactor, the non-profit foundation funds professional care management and advocacy for individuals and families facing medical or psychiatric crises without the financial means for private care.
Whether coordinating complex medical travel for international patients or providing midnight emergency room advocacy for a local resident with memory loss, Healthy Enabler’s guiding principle remains the same: helping people regain control of their lives and take care of themselves.
“We don’t just coordinate care,” Hutchison said. “We coordinate lives during some of their most difficult chapters.”
