Patient Navigators
Our patient navigators work directly with area hospitals, social programs, physician offices and more to make sure we guide the patients at HANDS smoothly through the healthcare process, offering our patients all the benefits of insured patients. Our patient navigators are part of your team to get access to healthcare, and work with you one-on-one to get healthy results. Our team obtains referrals from the hospital case managers and 
social workers, or processes patients from their first part of the application process, taking them step-by-step through the paperwork necessary to qualify.
Patients navigators, originally called case managers, try to minimize barriers to healthcare and assist patients in maintaining continuity of care. Our patient navigators will see patients at their bedside if needed, and are always a friendly voice at the other end of the phone, letting them know that we will try to assist them in obtaining needed medical care without the barrier of added financial responsibility.
A lot of the clients that I have come in contact with are just in a bad situation either because they just lost their job due to illness, or because of the economy have been out of work for a few years and are unable to find a job. I try to make the act of reaching out for assistance stigma-free. We are a free clinic, but I explain that the doctors here are the same doctors that are in our community practicing & working at area hospitals.
Rose Brache
HANDS Patient Navigator
Success Stories
Just being able to provide medical care when needed is a success story in itself. We had a 50-plus year-old male patient who had no health insurance, nor the funds to seek medical attention. He was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the lip. This patient was able to obtain surgery through a referral to Light of the World Charities, who we work with to get free surgeries for our patients.
A 57 year-old male with a plantar foot wound that had been unattended due to lack of insurance and no funding for care was faced with possibly of death and infection unless he were to have his foot amputated. The good news is that he is alive because of it. We are now working with him top receive proper physical therapy to live a productive life.