Managing complex health cases

Adriene Jamison was trapped in a vicious cycle. Beset by myriad health problems and unsure of how to tackle them, she was unable to keep working. Losing her job also meant losing her insurance, which exacerbated her problems.

As her health worsened, it became more and more difficult to find steady employment with health insurance benefits. As she was forced to delay addressing her health, it continued to worsen. And the cycle continued.

By the time a friend recommended she visit AccessHealth Spartanburg, Jamison was facing a laundry list of health problems: high blood pressure, hip bursitis, back and knee problems, fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathy, a type of nerve damage that impairs muscle movement and can cause pain.

AccessHealth Spartanburg has been recognized for its innovative model in helping manage complex medical cases. Jamison is a prime example of how AHS does this. After conducting a needs assessment, a care navigator worked with Jamison to put together a plan to address her health through a combination of physician care, physical therapy, prescription assistance, and surgery to treat the peripheral neuropathy.

“Through AccessHealth Spartanburg, I was able to get a doctor, have tests done and find out I needed to have brain surgery,” Jamison said. “I was able to have this surgery done because of them, and I am recovering more quickly than what was expected.”

'I always call them angels on the ground, because I didn’t think I was going to make it. And because of them, I made it.'

Jamison pointed out the relationship with her AccessHealth care navigator, Tracie Mason, as particularly important to helping her manage her complex case. Mason spent a lot of time with Jamison to understand the range of health problems and barriers to care she was dealing with.

“Anytime I needed anything, she was there,” Jamison said of Mason. “Even through some of my emotional states, she could talk to me. She was always there, and she was on top of everything.”

Today, Jamison is doing well and enjoying a new lease on life. Her health is vastly improved, she has medical insurance, and has graduated from the AccessHealth Spartanburg program. Hers is one of dozens of AccessHealth Spartanburg success stories involving the care navigation of complex health cases.

And like many AccessHealth Spartanburg clients, Jamison says the way AHS staff treated her was as important as the services they connected her to.

“I was treated with dignity and respect, instead of them looking down on me the way other agencies may. I was never treated like that by them. … I always call them angels on the ground, because I didn’t think I was going to make it. And because of them, I made it. There are so many things that I couldn’t do before that I can do now because of Access Health. If you are in a situation where you need healthcare and you can’t find any way out, even if they have to find another agency, Access Health will get you to the place you need to go.”