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Linking to Prevention
Olga Botello (pictured in banner), KCHAIN Advocate at PSJH links patients
to the care they need to avoid frequent and expensive emergency room
visits.
Access to healthcare - especially primary care - was lacking in the Kane
County community. In fact, it is estimated that over a third of Kane County
residents are uninsured, underinsured or publicly insured. This lack of coverage
often deters individuals from receiving preventive care, which in turn can lead
to emergency room visits being a patient's form of primary care.
That's why Provena Saint Joseph Hospital joined KCHAIN - the Kane Community
Health Access Integrated Network - a unique collaboration of area hospitals,
federally qualified health centers, free clinics, private practitioners and the
county health department.
"Many self-pay patients who come through the Emergency Department think they
have nowhere else to go," according to Olga Botello, KCHAIN Advocate at Provena
Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin. Luckily, she can link them to the care they need
to avoid frequent and expensive emergency room visits.
Botello contacts these patients to share information regarding the
availability of affordable healthcare offered through local federally qualified
health centers and participating community physicians. Botello also assists
patients in determining eligibility for Medicaid. She also follows-up with
patients to ensure they've been linked to a primary care provider and answers
any other questions they might have. Botello usually works with about 30
patients per month. Within six months after being contacted by KCHAIN, patients
average 61% fewer visits to the Emergency Department.
KCHAIN also includes a pharmaceutical assistance program to provide
prescriptions at a discounted rate. Because sometimes the paperwork for this
assistance through the traditional channels can take 30-60 days to process,
KCHAIN has a voucher program that will fill 30 days worth of the prescription
immediately if the patient's condition requires it.
One of the patients Botello assisted with was a young woman who had fainting
spells. After coming to Provena Saint Joseph Hospital's emergency department,
she learned that she was diabetic. The woman was scared - all she knew about
diabetes was that you could die from it if you didn't take care of yourself
properly. Botello helped her find a primary care doctor. The young woman was
able to apply for prescription assistance and received diabetes education and
nutrition counseling necessary for managing her diabetes, which is now under
control. Botello also went on to help four other members of the patient's family
get access to medical care through the KCHAIN program. "KCHAIN fits so well into
Provena's mission - we ensure that patients don't fall through the cracks,"
shares Botello.
Importantly, individuals can learn about other ways to access primary medical
care without first having to go to the emergency room. Botello spreads the word
about medical care options at local health clinics and organizations like the
YWCA. Through community health screenings and health fairs, Botello also
educates the community on the primary care resources available to the area's
under- and uninsured populations.
"In order to build communities of healing and hope, you have to address the
community's needs. Our collaboration in KCHAIN does just that," says Ed Hunter,
Vice President of Mission Services for the Provena Northern Illinois Region,
which includes Provena Saint Joseph Hospital. "By partnering with other
healthcare providers and our own physicians, we can break the cycle and look at
prevention, wellness and disease management, instead of just waiting until
patients come to the Emergency Room with acute critical health care
episodes."
Within six months after being contacted by KCHAIN, patients average 61%
fewer visits to the Emergency Department.
"My hands are for doing whatever needs to be done by them"
View the 2006 Provena Saint Joseph
Hospital fact
sheet (PDF).
Read the entire Provena Health 2006 Community Benefit Annual
Report
.
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