Want to know why I love being a health advocate? My passion to help others began years ago and throughout my career as a nurse and physician assistant. Then, caring for my aging parents presented the opportunity to help advocate for them.
About five years ago, my mom fell in the kitchen and injured her right hip. Her initial x-rays did not show a fracture, but she was unable to bear weight on her right leg. The emergency room physician asked us what we wanted to do next.
Despite having a normal x-ray, I thought it was best that my mom be admitted to the hospital and that she get an orthopedic consult for another opinion. Additional tests then confirmed that she had a hip fracture. She had surgery the following day.
From the time she was admitted to the hospital, until the time she finally came home from rehab, I functioned as her advocate. This is how I helped her:
- Insisted she get a second opinion to find out why she had hip pain despite a “normal” x-ray.
- Consulted with the case managers within the first 24 hours of admission to determine why my mom was on observation status.
- TIP: Most people don’t know this: If you need to go to a rehab facility, Medicare patients are required to spend three midnights in the hospital before a transfer to rehab. If you don’t spend that amount of time, Medicare will not cover the cost of rehab. You need to be formally admitted to the hospital to start the three-midnight process. Observation status does not count.
- Reviewed the MRI findings with the orthopedic team and approved her surgery.
- Reviewed rehabilitation options with the social worker.
- Reviewed her post-operative medications with the nursing staff and discussed side effects she was having from her medications.
- Participated in the discharge planning from the hospital and the admission process at the time of transfer to rehab.
- Attended care-planning meetings at the rehab facility and planned for what she would need when she got back home.
- Researched, interviewed, and arranged for a live-in caregiver to be with my mom around-the-clock.
- Obtained the necessary equipment to use in her home to improve her safety.
- Coordinated the installation of grab bars in her bathroom.
- Obtained in-home physical and occupational therapy.
- Accompanied her to all her follow-up physician appointments.
- Reviewed her insurance bills and saved her over $3500 in incorrectly coded hospital and rehab billing.
My mom needed an advocate to navigate our often-confusing healthcare system to ensure that she received the care and resources she needed and deserved. I was also able to have her safely return back to her own home to continue to age-in-place.
These are the services I offer my clients. You and your loved ones deserve the same care, concern, and advocacy that I provided my own parents and I’ll provide it to yours.
Contact Severino Health Advisors for a free 15-minute consultation and we’ll assess your situation and determine how I can help!
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