Network: September/October 2009
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Sentara Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance crew visit with Kevin Price as he leaves Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. (L-R) Joe Gaspar, flight paramedic, Kevin Price and Janice McKay, flight nurse.
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— Like Father like Son: Nightingale Changes a Family’s Story
While vacationing with family during an annual vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Kevin Price, a Petty Officer 1st Class from Washington State, suddenly became ill. At first he thought he had gotten too much sun. Within minutes, however, he was experiencing excruciating pain in his left arm. Kevin was having a heart attack at the age of 36. As his wife drove him to the Outer Banks Hospital, they contacted the sheriff, who called an ambulance to meet them.
The EMTs quickly requested Sentara Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance to transport Kevin to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Quickly after, Nightingale flew to Duck and the crew began treating Kevin while en route to the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Nightingale reached the hospital in just 16 minutes. In less than three hours, Kevin was undergoing an emergency catheterization -- a lifesaving procedure.
Price truly understands the importance of an advanced air ambulance service, only too well – his own father died at age 36 from a heart attack. "I was happy to see the Nightingale crew before I left the hospital so that I could thank them. The staff at Sentara is awesome," Price says.
Learn more about Sentara Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance.
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| Members of Transplant Emergency Medication Assistance |
Sentara Supports the T.E.A.M. Approach —
In 2006 Laurel Duplessis underwent a heart transplant at Sentara Heart Hospital. A virus from a childhood case of chicken pox had emerged in her left eye in 1995, causing life-threatening cardiomyopathy, a condition that weakens the heart. Soon after her surgery, she became involved in T.E.A.M. (Transplant Emergency Medication Assistance), a group that not only provides support to transplant patients but also raises money to help those who cannot afford to pay for anti-rejection medications that cost $2,000-$5,000 per month. Even those who have insurance often can’t afford the steep co-pays.
“The group provides wonderful support, as well as speakers on topics such as nutrition, memory loss and anti-rejection,” Duplessis says. The group sells crafts and special stamps, and holds bake sales and employee jeans days, where they collect $5 from employees to wear jeans to work. Duplessis, an artist, also started Art from the Heart Foundation that uses the sale of greeting cards and some of the proceeds from her artwork to raise money for T.E.A.M.
While the drug companies have a program to help provide the expensive drugs to those who can’t afford the cost, there are gaps in coverage that the group helps to fill. “We can’t offer a long-term solution, but rather a way to help patients get to the next stage of their coverage,” says Peggy Bradshaw, transplant clinics manager. Usually a patient will only need to use the T.E.A.M. resources once or twice, but it’s a lifesaver – literally – when they need it.
Learn more about heart transplant services at Sentara Heart Hospital.
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| (L-R) Sandra Betor and Sophia Davis of Access Partnership |
— Access Partnership Covers Healthcare Gaps
When Sandra Betor’s husband retired on disability, she also had to retire to take care of him. That meant she lost her healthcare insurance, and she didn’t qualify for either Medicaid or Medicare. So when she needed her gall bladder removed six months ago, Access Partnership covered all the expenses except the surgeon’s bill.
Access Partnership is a community collaboration of physicians, hospitals, charities, universities, churches, civic groups and other community organizations that works together to help uninsured families in Hampton Roads so they will not have to go without care. It provides an individual with an “access card,” much like an insurance card, that they can present when they go to the doctor or for services at other medical facilities. “This has been a lifesaver for me,” says Betor. “I don’t know what I would have done without it.”
Executive Director Candice Driskell says Access Partnership is an umbrella organization that seeks ways to provide a safety net for those who fall between the cracks. “We support all the local healthcare organizations, and we all work together to address this problem – there is no competition,” Driskell explains. “Sentara was a founding member of Access Partnership and has been the only health system that’s committed five years of funding.”
Sentara funds many of the Partnership’s programs and recently awarded Access Partnership a two-year grant to expand to Norfolk residents. In addition to primary care and access to specialists, Access Partnership focuses on helping patients obtain prescription drugs through its Pharmacy Partnership, as well as dental care through the Oral Health Partnership of South Hampton Roads.
Read about other ways that Sentara touches the community in Community Benefits reports.
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| (L-R) McRaye holds her baby brother River. |
A Special Birthday Celebration —
Sheridan Conley was excited to meet her baby boy on June 5, 2008, the day he was delivered at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital. But, when River was born, he cried out once, and then turned blue. Doctors told Conley and her husband that River suffered from Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of Newborns, a disorder where the lungs do not adapt to breathing outside of the womb. River was whisked to the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU), where he spent a month fighting for his life.
During that month, doctors feared River would need to be moved to a hospital in Richmond or North Carolina to receive specialized treatment for his heart. But thanks to the dedicated care of the doctors and nurses in the NICU, that transfer was not required, and the family was able to avoid the risk of transporting their fragile newborn.
River fully recovered and is now a healthy 1-year-old who loves his older brother Griffin and big sister McRaye. But, McRaye felt she could do more. She wanted to make sure all babies at the hospital would continue to receive excellent care as did her brother. In April 2009, McRaye asked guests at her 10th birthday party to make contributions to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital in lieu of buying her gifts. She raised over $500 to use toward purchasing special equipment for the NICU at the hospital. And, now she can't wait to "show off her brother" to the NICU staff, and the staff can’t wait to show off the result of McRaye’s generous spirit.
Learn more about the Sentara Health Foundation.