Editorial


 5

Editorial 
 

HAPPY CASE MANAGEMENT WEEK 
 

Marietta Stanton 
Editorial Board Member 

 
 

I would like to remind you about Case Management Week. It is a special time and 
it honors case management in all types of facilities and all areas of practice. All over the 
world, case managers are working to provide patients and their families with the best care 
possible. Case management is especially valuable in rural and underserved areas in this 
and other countries of the world. Case managers maximize resources and access every 
day.  

Case managers in today’s health care setting come from diverse educational and 
clinical settings. Historically, many case managers came from the worker’s compensation 
and disability area. Other early case managers came from the field of social work and had 
a significant role in many behavioral health programs.  

Today increasing numbers of case managers address health and wellness within 
disease management and wellness programs. Due to the increasing complexity and 
coordination responsibilities in emerging case management roles, the kind of experience 
and education that nurses possess becomes important (Mullahy, 2004). Case management 
involves a greater depth and intensity of involvement than traditional nursing especially 
in the rural community. Therefore, the case manager of the future will need to be very 
experienced and graduate prepared. The potential for case managers to tailor health care 
in rural resource poor environment is unparalleled.  

Perhaps a day will come when managing the care of the chronically ill in rural 
areas will be most cost-effective if coordinated by graduate prepared nurse case manager 
who can be reimbursed for his or her services. It is a growing area of practice within 
nursing. This week we honor case managers and the potential new arena they can provide 
for advanced practice in professional nursing. 
 

REFERENCES 
 
Mullahy, C. (2004). The case manager’s handbook. Sudbury, MS: Jones and Bartlett 

Publishers. 

Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, vol. 4, no. 2, Fall 2004