Terrica Lacey is a shining example of what we all should strive to be as a case manager. She is always respectful, courteous, and never fails to put the member first. This particular case was an extremely difficult situation, as the member had come onto the plan with a pre-existing tracheostomy and lived in a rural part of Virginia where there were little to no participating providers for home health. He was admitted to the hospital in April 2017 for altered mental status and possible aspiration pneumonia. Once his condition stabilized, his discharge needs became complex. Terrica received a phone call from the discharge planner and was told that because of where he lived there were limited options for DME and Home Health that could service this member. Here was a discharge placement issue, with a member that would need supplies and home health visits to assess his situation and meet the needs for his trach, and now a new PEG tube. Since this member lived in such a rural area of Virginia it became a difficult task to work with in-network providers to find someone to service the member.Terrica called 7 different home care companies and was not having any luck in finding a provider. She was able to work with network management and find a provider that agreed to supply 30 days of trach supplies and delivered them to the member at the hospital before the member was discharged home. She then worked with Sentara DME to provide tube feeds through FedEx delivery to his home.
Although the original agreement was to have trach supplies for 30 days only, this nurse worked with them to ensure that this member had a safe discharge home and did not need to stay in the hospital unnecessarily.
The director of case management at this particular hospital, which was a non-participating provider, sent an email acknowledging and thanking this nurse for all that she did to ensure that this member discharged home safely. Although this is only one example, Terrica always puts the member first and goes above and beyond to ensure that she is always doing what is best for them.