In This Issue Cord Blood Bank Saves Amelia ... - SSM Health Care

4 NetWork — Our Bimonthly Publication for Employees, Physicians and FriendsSSM Rehab Foundation Fund Helps Couple Offset Medicaid CutsBy Tasha MoxleyST. LOUIS—While Richard and JoanneThompson were on a Sunday afternoonmotorcycle ride together last fall, a carin oncoming traffic suddenly crossed thecenter line and crashed into the couple.Both lost their left legs and suffered a hostof other injuries.The Thompsons spent weeks ininpatient rehabilitation at SSM Rehab.They left the hospital in wheelchairs, butlooked forward to the day when they couldbe fitted for prosthetic legs and walk again.But when that day came, they facedanother challenge: Their insurancecovered the costs of prosthetic legs, butnot the training and therapy needed to fitand use them. Unable to work since theaccident, they relied on Medicaid, whichhad dropped coverage for all outpatienttherapy in 2005 after state spending cuts.“We got our prosthetic legs, butthought ‘Now how are we supposed towalk on them?’” he recalled.The Thompsons received an answerin the form of the Community Care Fund,a new SSM Rehab Foundation program. Itpaid for three weeks of outpatient therapy.The Community Care Fund wasestablished in response to SSM Rehabtherapists and staff members noticingthe effect of Medicaid cuts. A $228,000donation from a charitable givingprogram of Ameristar Casino and its“This fund hasbeen a blessing forindividuals whohave no means topay for therapy.”employees was used to set up the fund.To date, the program has funded servicesfor more than 20 individuals.“Without this therapy, I would havebeen lost,” said Richard Thompson, whoseprosthetic leg sat in a bag for monthsbefore his therapist connected him withthe Community Care Fund.“This fund has been a blessing forindividuals who have no means to pay fortherapy,” said Sharon Rose Gool, directorof case management for SSM Rehab.Physical therapist Linda Weigel (from left) works with Richard and Joanne Thompson,who benefitted from a fund set up by SSM Rehab Foundation .Hospital, Firm’s TeamworkBenefits New Mother, InfantBy Kelly CheramyMADISON, WIS.—Janeth Mirandawas looking forward to becoming amother last February but, withouthealth insurance, she was also facingheavy financial decisions.Enter the team of St. Mary’sHospital and a nonprofit publicinterestfirm called Advocacy andBenefits Counseling for Health (ABCfor Health). The two organizationsteamed up to help Miranda apply fora medical-assistance program thatcovered the expenses of Miranda andher baby. They also secured ongoingcoverage for her baby.Miranda and her family, whoJaneth Mirandaand her son Andy,seven months.moved to Madison from Mexico threeyears ago, were unfamiliar with theAmerican health care system.“I can spend more time with my sonand less time worrying about how to paythe bills,” Miranda said recently througha Spanish-language interpreter.The handling of her deliverybills was among the 350 positiveresolutions for patients that ABCfor Health and St. Mary’s Hospitalpartnered on during the past yearalone. The health-benefit counselingservice offers assistance ranging fromapplying for coverage and discoveringpayment options to fighting denialof coverage and plowing throughred tape. The service is provided tofamilies with children below age 19 andto pregnant women, based on incomeand access to insurance.St. Mary’s compensates ABC forHealth for identifying health-coverageoptions for patients. In return, thehospital receives payment fromanother agency that covers patientswho are uninsured or underinsured.“Everybody wins,” said Josh Salazar,a bilingual ABC for Health counselorassigned to St. Mary’s. “Patientsget services without the burden ofdebt, the hospital gets paid, and thecommunity, as a whole, is stronger.”Homeward BoundFills GapBy Tasha MoxleyST. LOUIS—As the number ofpeople covered by Medicare grows, thefederal money for health care for themis stretched thinner. For some, that maymean not being able to receive inpatientrehabilitation after a total joint replacementor debilitating injury or illness.But a new product of SSM Rehabaims to fill that gap in the carecontinuum by serving patients whodon’t qualify for federal benefits forinpatient rehabilitation, but are not yetable to return home.On Dec. 1, SSM Rehab launchedHomeward Bound, a program thatestablishes rehabilitation centers in skillednursing facilities. Through partnershipswith select facilities in the St. Louis area,SSM Rehab Homeward Bound will offerpatients intensive physical rehabilitationand 24-hour nursing care.“Our goal is to provide qualityrehab services in the setting that bestmeets the needs of each patient,”said Kathy Thayer, network director ofHomeward Bound.Unlike other skilled nursingbasedrehab programs, the careof Homeward Bound patients willbe managed by a physiatrist whoutilizes care protocols and works withpatients’ attending physicians. Mostpatients will be a part of the programfor three weeks before going home.The first two Homeward Boundcenters will be located at Alexian BrothersLansdowne Village in St. Louis and BrookView Nursing Home in Maryland Heights,Mo. Additional sites will be selected.November / December 2006SSM Health Care