- Clarey
- Desiree
- Frank and Elmira
- Richard and Bev
Clarey
For years, Clarey’s vision has diminished. Today she is legally blind. In 2003, Clarey was diagnosed with late-onset, Type 1 diabetes and is now insulin-dependent. She suffered a heart attack shortly after that diagnosis, and today lives with high blood pressure, valve disorders and other cardiac issues.
“There’s been too many lemons been put on my front porch. I’m getting rid of those lemons,” she says – and the key is Community Health Partnership.
“I can’t begin to name all the benefits,” Clarey, of Eau Claire, says. “It’s absolutely remarkable.”
The most important benefit, she says, is CHP’s simplifying her medical paperwork for her. That may not seem like much to people who have full vision and few health problems, but reading is a slow, tiring, frustrating process for Clarey. She welcomes help with the various forms and notices related to her health care.
Clarey isn’t sure how she would have continued to afford all her medications, had it not been for the help of Community Health Partnership.
“I don’t know what would have happened,” she says. “Because of the health issues I had, we went through everything we set aside for our retirement. It’s all gone.”
Her husband has also developed health problems, and she believes that the help Community Health Partnership provides allows her to remain healthier, so she can, in turn, help him maintain his health.
“You want to maintain as much of a normal life as possible, and Community Health does that for us,” she says.
Her Community Health Partnership team members give her an “A” for her efforts. She regularly calls in the results of her tests or prescription changes, so her medical information can be updated. Exercise is an important part of Clarey’s daily health program, and Community Health Partnership subsidizes her membership at an athletic club. She regularly goes to the club to exercise.
“I just love it. It’s an outlet for me,” she said.
When she can’t get to the health club, she exercises at home, often on the exercise bicycle in the living room.
She does all her own laundry, cooking and cleaning. She used to love reading; now she listens to books on tape as she works. She shops for groceries, relying on her memory rather than her eyes to help her find items.
Clarey knows that in time, she will probably require more services from Community Health Partnership, so that she can continue to live independently with her husband.
“I’m very independent,” she said. “I know there will come a time when I’ll need more help than I do now, and I’ll have a hard time with that. But I know Community Health will make that easier for me. I’m just so thankful for the program. I’m so thankful.”
Desiree
On Nov. 20, 2001, Desiree went to bed with what she thought was the flu. When she woke up the next day, she was totally paralyzed and unable to speak.
Local doctors ordered her to be air transported to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where she was a patient for approximately a month. After numerous medical tests, doctors diagnosed her as having an unknown autoimmune disorder. Following her stay at Mayo, she was in medical and rehabilitation facilities for about a year.
At age 25, Desiree is still recovering. She has trouble maintaining her balance and can lift only about 15 pounds. Her stamina is very limited.
With the help of Community Health Partnership, Inc. (CHP) she lives independently in a small apartment in Chippewa Falls. Without CHP’s help, she says, she would “probably be bankrupt and not walking.”
Because of CHP, she is able to get the pharmaceutical prescriptions she needs. She successfully completed a smoking cessation program, and is benefiting from rehabilitation therapy. CHP helps her coordinate her health services, arranges transportation, helps her clean and maintain her apartment, and serves as an information source for her.
“They are very supportive with how you want to run your life,” she says. “They’re very caring and I can’t stress that enough. It’s not just an insurance company. Community Health Partnership makes you feel like you belong to another family.”
Her calls for information are returned within hours, she says. She appreciates that team members call her “just to say ‘hi’ and see how things are going.”
Doctors have told Desiree that her recovery will take at least five years from the onset of the disorder, and she’s working hard to regain 100 percent of her mobility and strength. She receives physical therapy and is dedicated to a specialized exercise routine she can do in her apartment.
Members of her CHP team are accompanying her on outings so she can practice negotiating street curbs, reaching for items in a store, and pushing a shopping cart. It all works toward her goal of increasing her level of independence.
The medication she must take for the rest of her life suppresses her immune system, leaving her more susceptible to contagions. She can live with that, she says, and maintains the risk to her health will not interfere with her goals of living completely independently, working, and finding a good boyfriend (in that order).
Desiree recently traveled to a health conference in Burlington, Vermont to tell others of her experiences with CHP. She’s had little public speaking experience, but says she believed so strongly in her message that she wasn’t nervous in front of the crowd of more than 100 people.
One portion of her speech sums up her feelings about CHP. In it, she states, “If I had never become involved with Community Health Partnership, I never would have learned to walk by myself and start living more independently. This is a wonderful organization and I truly don’t know how other individuals live without it.”
Frank and Elmira
Frank and Elmira have shared plenty of joys and trials in their 40 years of marriage. Now, they also share health concerns and a deep appreciation for Community Health Partnership.
Frank, 84, suffered two heart attacks in the late 1970s. After the second, he had open heart surgery. Soon, Frank and Elmira found themselves with daunting medical bills. “We were paying off 13 doctors and two hospitals, whatever we could send each month,” says Frank. “We sold our house to pay off those medical bills.” Some people encourage Frank and Elmira to file for bankruptcy, but they refused. “We paid off every nickel,” says Frank. “We don’t owe anybody!”
Frank is under the care of a heart specialist, and has had a pacemaker installed. He also lives with high blood pressure and chronic bronchitis. He sometimes relies on supplemental oxygen, especially at night. Frank has diabetes he controls with oral medication, and has had one episode of kidney failure.
Elmira, 82, had surgery to repair a brain aneurism several years ago, and a second aneurism is now being monitored. She also has high blood pressure and heart trouble. Elmira recently began trying medications to stem the symptoms of early dementia, forgetfulness and confusion. Side effects of the medications led to three short stays in the hospital. With some arthritis and osteoporisis, Elmira also has some difficulty moving about and has had problems with falls. One recent fall left her with a closed skull fracture.
Despite their concerns, Frank and Elmira want to continue to live independently and say the services provided by CHP make it possible for them to stay in their apartment. “We’re getting along with the help of CHP,” says Frank. “We’ve got everything we need.”
CHP team members manage the forms and documentation associated with Frank and Elmira’s health concerns. A registered nurse visits on a regular basis to monitor their health, help them manage their medications, answer their health-related questions, and help coordinate other needed services.
After a lifetime of maintaining their own household, Elmira admits its difficult to watch someone else do the cleaning, but she’s thankful for the help. “They come and clean once a week and I know I couldn’t do it,” she says. “And they’ll even put up my hair for me.”
Frank and Elmira are able to manage their other daily living tasks, especially since they have family in the area to help out when needed. Elmira still does most of the cooking.
“There’s nothing we need that we haven’t got,” says Frank. “But if it wasn’t for Community Health Partnership, we’d probably be living under the bridge!”
Richard and Bev
Richard and Bev consider Community Health Partnership a part of their extended family and say they do not want to think about what their lives would be like without the services they receive.
Married for 57 years, Richard and Bev estimate they have helped raise hundreds of children through their work as foster parents and managers of group homes. At one point, they were named “foster parents of the year” for their efforts. That was, as Richard puts it, “before he ran out of gas.”
Richard has emphysema, and has relied on supplemental oxygen for about five years. Bev also has emphysema, but her main health concern is the arthritis she’s lived with since age seven. She has watched her mobility and flexibility steadily decrease over the years.
As their health concerns increased, Richard and Bev used up all their savings for payment of medical bills. At one point, Bev stopped taking medications she needed, because she could not afford to pay for them. A representative at the county’s Department of Aging suggested Richard & Bev contact Community Health Partnership. “It was the best move we ever did,” says Richard.
According to Bev, soon after contacting CHP, their lives began to improve again. “They had someone come in and evaluate the safety of our home and then helped with changes we needed.” CHP coordinated the installation of a ramp to their home as well as central air conditioning. “Before, we really suffered in the summer, but we couldn’t afford central air,” says Richard. “Now we have no problem with those 90-degree days.”
At least once a month, a nurse visits Richard and Bev to check their health and find out if they have any new medical concerns. Once a week, someone comes to help Bev clean their house.
Bev appreciates being able to call for assistance at any time. When she recently cut her heel badly, she contacted CHP. Instead of having to make a trip to the emergency room, she received help from a CHP team member ¾ including instruction in how to care for the wound.
When Bev thought she had a urinary tract infection, a CHP team member was able to pick up a urine sample Bev’s home, deliver it to the lab, coordinate home delivery of the appropriate prescription, and inform her regular physician of the concern. With her limited mobility, Bev appreciated not having to leave her home.
Richard especially appreciates all the help with the medically-related paperwork. “We don’t have to worry about it,” he says. “It’s all taken care of for us.”
Without CHP, Bev says, she and her husband might have to be in a nursing home, at an additional cost to the state and considerable loss in the joy the two of them find in living independently and caring for each other. “We’re totally dependent on each other,” Richard says. “We work well together.”
Bev knows her arthritis is going to continue to worsen, but doesn’t worry about it as much as she used to. “I’m going to be able to do less and less, but I know the help will be there,” she says. “We are secure in our home. Community Health Partnership has become a part of our family.”
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