In my role as case manager, nothing is more satisfying than having a patient or family member say “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much it meant to know that someone was there to help us through this.”
Last summer, one of our members suffered a severe stroke while at a convention in Canada with his wife and co-workers. I received a frantic call from the client, asking for assistance to ensure that Mr. Smith received appropriate care and to facilitate his transfer to a hospital back in the United States.
As case managers, we not only arrange care, but also reach out to the patient and family to assist them in coping with catastrophic situations such as this. Can you imagine being out of the country with a loved one and having them suffer a serious illness without the support of friends and family?
By maintaining ongoing contact with Mr. and Mrs. Smith by phone, I was able to help with not only their physical but emotional needs as well. Mrs. Smith later told me, “It was so reassuring to receive your phone calls while I was alone in the hotel in Canada.” I was able to address most of their concerns, not only about his current hospitalization but about future treatment and rehabilitation.
Within a few days, Mr. Smith was stable enough to be transported back to a hospital in the United States. Due to his stroke, Mr. Smith required ambulance transport from the hospital in Canada to the airport, special airline arrangements, and after his arrival would need timely ambulance transport from the Philadelphia airport to the local hospital. In addition, Mr. Smith needed to be accompanied by a registered nurse due to his medical condition.
When the time came to make the final arrangements – you guessed it! – it was Friday afternoon. My supervisor and I dropped everything to work out the details, while making sure that Mrs. Smith was kept in the loop about the plans. By the time we went home for the weekend, everything was in place. We held our breath, wondering if such a complex plan could possibly work without a hitch.
On Monday morning, we learned that Mr. Smith had been transported from Canada back to the United States on Saturday, and had been admitted to a local hospital. I spoke with Mrs. Smith, who said that “everything went so smoothly, I couldn’t believe it!”
Since Mr. Smith’s stroke, I have continued to follow up with him and his wife. He made excellent progress in rehab, and was eventually able to return to work.
In so many businesses today, the personal touch is lacking, yet this is often the thing that is most meaningful to a person in a time of crisis. I don’t remember ever feeling prouder to be a case manager than when I received a letter from Mrs. Smith thanking me for all I had done.
