A personal financial plan in line with healthcare needs is provided to each patient through the Patient Financial Navigation Program at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County.
The Patient Financial Navigation Program was created to help patients and their families address financial needs and to help reduce barriers and stress related to healthcare costs, visits, and treatment.
“We are so happy to be able to offer this service to our patients,” said CEO Irene Richardson. “The Patient Navigation Program was developed by one of our employees, Patty Stickney. While Patty was working on another project, she identified how much stress medical bills caused patients and started looking for a way to help. She researched, continued looking for ways to help our patients and developed a plan on how we could make a difference. She shared her plan with the hospital administration and she was given the opportunity to put her dream into place. The results were amazing. This is a true benefit for our patients and we are very excited about being able to help.”
The program has grown and MHSC now has two Patient Financial Navigators, Stickney and Megan Benedict.
Sweetwater Memorial understands each patient requires their own personalized plan when receiving healthcare services. The Patient Financial Navigators are a key component and focus their efforts on the hospital’s mission of providing “Compassionate care for every life we touch.”
As Patient Financial Navigators, Stickney and Benedict work directly with each patient to explain and assess obstacles and needs. They support patients in understanding out-of-pocket expenses, health insurance coverage, understanding Medicaid/Medicare, help in applying for patient assistance programs, and offer additional information and other benefits that might be available.
The program aids every patient – insured and uninsured. Patient assistance can include:
Help with health plans and addressing any areas of concern
Payment plans
Patient assistance applications
Cost-saving methods for treatments
Premium assistance
Patient medical assistance
Co-pay assistance
Foundation assistance
Free & replacement drug programs
Applying for Medicaid
Applying for Social Security Disability
Assisting with Medicare and supplement plans
MHSC Director of Patient Financial Services Ron Cheese, with over 30 years of experience, said, “I have never seen a program that truly impacts so many lives in such a life-changing and amazing way.
To be able to watch so many lives being helped by one person’s dream that she made a reality is truly one of the most rewarding things I have ever been a part of. I guess I would like to put it like this: One person’s need, one person’s dream, and one opportunity to nurture that dream, has produced many beautiful life-changing moments.”
For details, call Stickney or Benedict at 307-352-8202, or email them at patientnavigation@sweetwatermemorial.com
For more on this program and everything MHSC has to offer, go to sweetwatermemorial.com.
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