Richard and his wife, Tawnie, heard about Neighborhood Healthcare from a lifelong friend they shared. This friend of theirs was so adamant they become patients of Neighborhood, she convinced them to call the next day and speak with an enrollment counselor.
Long before Richard joined Neighborhood, he was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). As a result of damaged kidneys, Richard struggled with high blood pressure and diabetes as well as heart disease. Richard, having been passed around other healthcare systems, continued to struggle with his health for decades. With CKD adversely impacting most, if not all, of Richard’s day-to-day activities, he had also been diagnosed with depression – it is common that when suffering from CKD, depression appears three times more often than that of the general population.
Fortunately, Richard was told he qualified for the Health Homes Program: a community-based care management and coordination program, caring for those who have complex and chronic medical conditions. Within days, he began to receive the individualized care that he needed all along. And within the first 90 days at Neighborhood, Richard and his Health Homes Program Nurse spoke every day.
Tawnie, Richard’s soulmate and caregiver, witnessed the high-quality care he received from Neighborhood and decided to call and see if she, too, could enroll in Neighborhood’s Health Homes Program. In a single day, Tawnie was able to connect with the enrollment counselor and register for the same program that brought her husband back to life. Her husband’s healthcare provider and favorite nurse, then, became hers too.
Tawnie suffers from Hashimoto’s disease, an incurable autoimmune disorder affecting her thyroid, as well as high cholesterol and depression. Much like her husband, the individualized care provided was, quite literally, lifesaving. Tawnie shared, “Neighborhood takes the time to listen. Instead of dismissing me, I know that I will be heard and taken care of. Recently, they decided to run tests on me and I have full confidence that once my tests are complete, I will be able to sit down with someone for as long as I need to receive all the answers. I know that I can call our nurse, Robin, any time of the day and she will get back to me.”
As for Richard, the Health Homes Program was able to provide him a small, discreet wearable device for his diabetes that sends glucose readings to his smartphone. For the first time in over a decade, Richard said goodbye to fingersticks. Now, he monitors his glucose levels throughout the day and night, with the Dexcom device alerting him if his levels get too high or too low. In an effort to lower A1C, Richard monitors his glucose religiously and even shares his Dexcom data with Tawnie. According to the Health Homes Nurse assigned to Richard and Tawnie, “The power is giving them the information and education needed to be advocates for their own health. And they are doing just that!”
Tawnie, before handing the phone to Richard, stated, “For many other reasons, Neighborhood has thought outside of the box to help heal us. For example, Richard had been in a car accident and after the surgery had continued issues with his clavicle. Before we came to Neighborhood, a doctor had put him on a lot of antibiotics to clear the infection. The antibiotics never helped.
It wasn’t until we came to Neighborhood that someone took the time to look beyond the surface, discovering that the hardware from his car accident surgery, used to fuse two bones together, was causing the recurring infection. Without Neighborhood, he would have been in discomfort the rest of his life.” Tawnie, having finished her storytelling, hands the phone back to Richard, but prompts him to “share the story he always does.”
Richard shared, “I am 64 years old and of all the doctors I’ve ever had, Neighborhood’s clinic and set of doctors are the best I’ve ever been with. They have changed my life and not only did it help me, but it helped my wife too. Thank you for being such a resource for us both. How do we ever thank you?”
To read more stories like Richard’s and Tawanie’s, please review our Patient Story Book.