Tara is the perfect person to become  Lamson & Cutner’s first Director of Client Care and Advocacy.  In this position, Tara assists clients with vital decisions and actions regarding their health care and long-term care.  Tara’s knowledge of Home Care agencies, Assisted Living facilities, and Nursing Homes, and her extensive network of contacts, allows her to help clients find the best option for their own care.   She also assists clients with ongoing coordination of their care, and transitions in care.   Tara’s experience and knowledge concerning Medicaid’s procedures enables her to provide valuable assistance to clients in obtaining and maintaining appropriate levels of care.  Her experience with Medicaid extends to specialized programs such as the Nursing Home Transition and Diversion program, which allows clients to remain at home with a high level of care, rather than going into a nursing home.

Tara has always been a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.  She has seen firsthand the importance of strong advocacy in her own family.   Her brother, who has intellectual and physical disabilities, has needed additional services his entire life.  Tara knows well the exhaustive efforts made by her mother to assure that her brother qualified for and obtained the help he needs.  On the weekends, Tara works as a Community Habilitation (“Com Hab”) assistant to her brother through a NY State program.  In this role, she reinforces his life skills and community awareness. With Tara’s help, her brother has learned the tools he needs to live a normal life in the community.

Knowing that she wanted to spend her professional life helping people, Tara attended Springfield College in Massachusetts and received her Bachelor’s degree in Health Science. After graduating and preparing to attend a Master’s program in Occupational Therapy, Tara decided instead to pursue a Master’s degree in Health Communications.  With this educational background and experience, Tara is able to help clients make well-informed choices about their health care, and then to empower them to communicate strategically in order to achieve their goals. 

In her spare time, Tara brings her puppy, Lucy, to a Therapy Dog Program so that, once certified, Lucy can visit children’s hospitals and nursing homes.