“I was finally able to reach a member that I had been trying to reach many times without success. This member was diagnosed with Cancer and due to the radiation, she has a lot of scar tissue that is now causing her additional health problems. This member is now cancer free but experiencing a lot of problems from the cancer treatment. I got the member connected to an SSDI lawyer so that she can ask questions and get the process started. This member was happy that I reached her and was able to get her connected and be an extra support.”

“We have been working with a 77-year-old member who was facing homeless. We helped him identify a housing solution and connected him to Long Term Care Medicaid. He will now start getting assistance at home with cleaning his room, managing his medications, and assistance with showers. Additionally, member was set up with a program partnered with Northern Eastern Colorado Options that offers a warm meal once a day.”

“I had a member who was well connected to a medical team and received therapy but when she had to isolate for COVID 19 it was definitely emotionally draining for her. She appreciated me checking in on her on a daily basis.”
“One member we work with is nonverbal and communicates via texting only. After 8 months of working with this member we finally got her to enroll in to her first therapy session this week!”

“A member who has been identified as a frequenter of the 9-1-1 system, and ER system was successfully placed in a long-term care facility after being deemed unable to make decisions for herself. Member will most likely remain at this facility indefinitely. She is safe, being cared for, taking her medications regularly, no longer using substances, and is no longer homeless!”

“A young member, 22 years old, was housed through the coordinated entry system. Member had experienced homelessness since he turned 18. He has a significant history of trauma and mental illness. Since helping this member find housing, we have noticed that he is motivated and eager to find employment and he has become friends with his neighbor. This is a notable change for member because while homeless he did not talk to anybody and would isolate himself from interaction with others.”

“A member who had previously been homeless for more than a decade obtained housing about 6 months ago. This member is transitioning from male to female and reports that she lost her job due to discrimination and consequently her housing was at risk too because of the lack of income. Member was proactive in ensuring she did everything possible to avoid returning to homelessness. She accessed the Housing Navigation Center, updated her resume, applied for new jobs, and engaged with care management for resources. NCHA was able to connect her with a community resource to assist her with rent. She is re-employed and continues to check-in!”

“We have been working with a member who identifies as a refugee. This member reports that they have been experiencing three years of mental health issues but were reluctant to take medications or see a doctor. After several encounters with crisis services we have begun to work with member and connected her to services—she is now reportedly a happy, healthy, young mom taking her medications daily. She has great support and treatment established with a behavioral health provider and other community services.”
“NCHA has been engaging with a teenage member in developing self-management skills for his diabetes. The teenager’s parents are monolingual and do not speak English and have difficulty navigating systems. The family is learning together that diet choices directly affect his disease and how he feels. The member is slowly starting to self- manage and apply what he has learned. He reports that he can potentially make some big impacts and prevent negative outcomes for the future.”
“We are working with a member who has frequent MRSA outbreaks. With support and education from his care manager, he has been increasingly motivated to be proactive about the MRSA rather than wait until the pain was unbearable and needing to go to the emergency room.”

“We reached a member last week and got them connected with a PCP and dental services. We set up a plan to also will help with transportation needs and appointment reminders.”

“I have a member that I spoke to and she let me know she was very thankful for being able to speak to someone due to feeling very lonely during the pandemic. That same day a NCHA community care manager was able to go out to see her for a face to face visit.”

“A member called me today and reported that he got a call from Social Security yesterday afternoon and was informed his case has been approved and member is going to receive a back payment since 2014! This member quoted saying, very happily, “I haven’t slept that good in a long time after hearing my case was approved and I can finally find a place to live.” This member just wanted to let me know and thank everyone at NCHA for always being there and helping him navigate through various systems. Several of the team have worked with this member and he was very thankful. He has had has numerous cardiovascular health conditions, multiple ED visits, on and off homelessness, transportation issues, inability to work due to health conditions and battling their application/case with Social Security that member applied for in 2014.”

“We outreached a member in quarantine who stated they were worried because they had little food in the house. Member stated that he recently moved into an apartment and after expenses did not have enough money for food stating he would love “to make a sandwich” because he had not had one in so long. Staff were able to link him with some immediate foods using a donated gift card.”

“One of our members who lives with an intellectual disability was so grateful to have his care manager be able to go to his home and pick up his mail to read to him (member is illiterate) during the COVID shelter in place order that he offered to cook and share his favorite meal with her. When the care manager let him know that she would not be able to do this he let her know he would leave it outside for her. The care manager left the food but thanked the member for the kind gesture. “He always says we do so much for him and he wants to at least be able to give something back.”

“We were able to get member transportation and help schedule her for an overdue appointment. Member had not been to their primary care doctor in months and with team work member was able to be seen and get insulin prescribed to get their diabetes controlled. Member since then has been compliant and attending appointments along with their care manager.”

“Today I spoke with a member who had a cough, body aches, and reports her symptoms were not getting better. Her husband and baby were also having symptoms. They had been to a clinic before and were frustrated because they had to wait long and ended up not being seen. I convinced them to give it another try to be seen rather than going to the Emergency Room. We called the clinic together and they were able to talk to a PA about their symptoms and were able to get appointments for all of them.”

“Our community health worker has been fearlessly dedicated to her work at the day shelter. Yesterday an upset member grabbed her wrist while she was trying to de-escalate. With much compassion and understanding she did not react, instead she gave him some space, but remained present and calm. This member lost his wife a year ago to cancer, lost his house, and now is homeless. Today he needed assistance with getting his medications filled (his backpack was stolen last night) and she was able to get it for him. This demonstrates dedication and understanding to vulnerable folks, and even though the member challenged her, she still supported him through with unconditional care.”

“Our care manager has a member who frequents the Emergency Room. The member is a type 1 diabetic and also deals with serious mental illness. During the time of the pandemic her anxiety has increased. We have been working with the member on self- management skills to decrease her anxiety by teaching the member to crochet. We visited the member at her home to deliver the crochet supplies (abiding by physical distancing), gave her a lesson, and now member calls often on FaceTime whenever she gets stuck with crocheting. In addition to reducing the anxiety, the member is increasing their self-esteem and confidence and “giving back” by making hats to donate to others. Overall, member’s anxiety has decreased and she is not going to the ER!”

“Had a member reach out to me because she was running short on food. She said her homemaker had attempted to buy food for her also but could not find anything in the stores, not even canned soup. Member stated she could not go out to the store herself during senior hours since she has no car and could not take her walker all the way to the store. We took the member a food box and member called the care manager back the next day and stated “It’s really uplifted me and has motivated me to cook, it’s better than taking antidepressants”. Member thanked her care manager for her help during this time and stated that our program is really making a difference, especially to her.”