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9 C M C S c o n n e c t i o n s 1 s t q u a r t e r 2 0 1 4 By Linda Grosser J ill Sharp knew she wanted to become a nurse when she had the life altering experience of taking care of one of the people she loved the most, during his final days. Jill's grandfather was loved by her and most everyone else as far as she could tell. He was larger than life to her and when he asked her to help him through his terminal illness due to prostate cancer, she was honored to be by his side. Along with her mother and grandmother, and while working and going to school full time, Jill found a way to be at her grandfather's bedside. While caring for her grandfather in his final days of life, Jill felt an appreciation from her grandfather and surviving grandmother that would never leave her memory. Before this experience, Jill wasn't sure she was on the right career path. This experience made it clear to her that she was meant to be a nurse. She wanted to be able to care for others as she had her own family. Recently, Jill was working as the case manager with a cancer patient enrolled in one of CMCS' health plans. When this patient first connected with Jill, he had been told that he was in remission. Jill was surprised to learn that his cancer had returned when she was asked to provide prior authorization for an inpatient stay and surgery. After an unsuccessful attempt to remove the cancer that had metastasized to his abdomen, this member had multiple complications during his prolonged inpatient stay. Eventually he was moved to an inpatient long-term acute care facility for an even longer stay. Although his pain was able to be controlled, his homesickness was not, and he expressed the desire to go home each time he talked to Jill. This member continued to deteriorate and he and his family came to accept his terminal diagnosis. When Jill called his family on Christmas Eve, she learned he could be discharged home as soon as all the arrangements were made; his family wanted him home for his last Christmas. Jill, and CMCS health care coordinator Charlotte Zook, scrambled to get everything in place so this patient could get home on the very same day. This included working with the discharge planners to switch from the out of network provider they had chosen to an in network provider, so the family would not have exorbitant copays. They set up TPN (intravenous or transparenteral nutrition), home DME equipment and nursing care through a home hospice provider. The delivery of the hospital bed and other DME had to be coordinated with the discharge so the DME provider would be there waiting to set up the hospital bed and all the other equipment needed when the patient arrived home. It often takes a few days to get a patient with complex needs home, especially TPN. Successfully coordinating all of this in a few hours, especially around a holiday, is quite an accomplishment. While many of us were at home preparing for the holidays, Jill and Charlotte were teaming up to fulfill the Christmas wish of this member and his family. Jill called the family later that day to be sure everything they needed had arrived. The family expressed heart-felt thanks for the gift of having all of their family at home for Christmas. While she was tearful telling this story, Jill would tell you there is nothing else she would have rather done that day. Thank you, Jill and Charlotte, for all you do to provide care with compassion to our members and their families. The Gift of Being Home for Christmas Charlotte Zook (left) and Jill Sharp (right)