Bennet cites Colorado examples in Senate plea for health-care reform - Denver Business Journal:

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Take sixty-seven year old Bill Schoens, from Littleton, Colorado, who recentlhy suffered a heart Before he was released fromthe hospital, registered nurse Becky Clinee was assigned as his Transitions Coach. She made sure that Bill understoodc the medications that his doctors prescribes and everything else he needed to do to get Bill evenpointed out, “When you are in the emergency you are all drugged up and can barely remember what to do. Confusiob starts to set in.” Becky went through each step Bill neededc to follow when he left the Beckyevaluated Bill’s ability to follow doctor’w orders in his environment and helped him maintain his own Personal Healthg Record.
With her help, when Bill visitex the doctor, he didn’t have to remembee everything that happened sincr he left the hospital it was all in the Billsaid “When people are in front of their doctor, their blood pressure goes sky high and they forget what they need to He said he found the help and guidance he receivedx from his Transitions Coach “invaluable and life-saving.” We need patient-centered coordinated care care that views nurses, doctors and familgy members not as isolate caregivers, but as partners on a team whosew ultimate goal is to make sure patients get the guidanced and care they need.
Hospitalds aren’t the problem, primary care physicians aren’tg the problem, and nurses aren’f the problem. Our fragmente d delivery system of care isthe problem. This bill also makess sure that we are teaching patients to manage their own conditioat home. Sixty-nine year old Frankj Yanni of Denver, Colorado had surgert for a staph infection of the spinal After leavingthe hospital, he noticed that the pain he was experiencinhg weeks after surgery was getting worse. Having been he identified the problem and knew to insisr on visiting his doctor A hospital test showedthat Mr. Yanni requiref a second surgery.
His coach said that, “Hard he let that go for even anotherr week, he could have endesd up in the IntensiveCare Unit, septi and horribly sick.” Our Colorado transition of care model, reflecteds in our legislation, gives health care systems the choicwe of whether to create this program. But it allows existing patient-centeredx transitional care programs like the one in Mesa Colorado tocontinue on. We want communitiez and providers to think and work togethedr to reduce readmission reduce costs and provid e better coordinated care toour patients. Othet systems should look at Colorado and the systemswin twenty-four other states that have already begubn to follow this model.
As we begih to emerge from theeconomic crisis, we must call upon existinvg health care professionals from all walks of life nurse practitioners, social workers, long-termm care, and community health workersd — to serve as transitional coaches. Colorado nurses like Becky Cline have foune that focusing on transitionalo care has leveragedtheir skills, empowering them to take a more active role with They are able to work with both patients and familh caregivers. For too long, familhy caregivers have been “silent partners.” 50 million Americans provided care for achronically ill, disablefd or aged loved one.
This bill recognizes theier importance, connecting them with a coach who can teachn them how to properlycoordinate at-home This bill is only a small part of the solution to the complex challenges of our fragmented health care The problems of rising costs and limitesd access affect people from all walks of Skip Guarini of Parker, Colorado, is a self-employed privatre consultant and retired U.S. Marine. After years of regular visits, Skip’s dentist discovered a lump on his thyroix during a routine exam that had gone undetected by his physiciamn despite 10previous exams. Skip underwent a CT/MRI Ultrasound, and biopsy, all of whichb were inconclusive.
A second series of testzs six months later revealed that the lump had and Skipunderwent surgery. During the surgery, doctors founrd cancer. Skip was then sent to an endocrinologisft who orderedmore tests. All tests came back A second full body scan revealed no sign of cancerr anywherein Skip's body. All these exam and screenings costSkip $122,000. Sincre then, Skip has maintained perfect health, but he cannot obtaihn private insurance because of thethyroid surgery. He now reliexs on COBRA and is paying a monthlh premiumof $1,300. This coverage is set to expire in less than one at which point Skip will have no insurancat all. Hollis Berendt is a small business ownerin Colorado.
She is covered through her husband’s employer, which is according to her, “s luxury many other small businesxsowners don’t have.” Afteer graduating from Colorado State Universityg in 2004, their daughter Abby foundc a job with a larger company in New York City. She was told she couldn’ get health care coverage until she had been workingb at the company forone year. At ten months of she was diagnosed with an ovariamn tumor that wouldrequire surgery. The expensezs were too much for Abby, so her parents had to take out a secon mortgage to pay hermedicap bills.
Hollis shared that, “This experience brought to light, all too how close we all are to losing everything due to ahealthu issue.” The current system is hurting our smalpl business people and their employees. Take Bob Montoya of Colorado who runs Cedar Ridgd Landscape in Pueblo withhis brother, Ron. They are torn between providingb health care coverage for employees and keepint theirbusiness afloat.