Success Stories

Mrs. T and North Shore LIJ Health Plan FIDA LiveWell

Mrs. T is an elderly woman who has been enrolled in the North Shore LIJ FIDA LiveWell plan since September 2015. She lives with her son in a fourth floor walk–up apartment. Mrs. T has multiple medical concerns and has a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) who helps with activities of daily living (ADLs), shopping and meal preparation. She prefers to stay at home as much as possible, reluctant to leave her apartment due to the difficulty she has navigating stairs.

On October 12th, Mrs. T fell inside her home. Being averse to leaving her apartment or seeking medical interventions, she did not call EMS or her doctor. However, Mrs. T did remember her Care Manager (CM) telling her repeatedly to "call me whenever you need me." Following her fall, she reached out to her CM, explaining, "I know that you want me to call you if I fall, so I am calling."

The North Shore – LIJ FIDA LiveWell team had put in the time and effort to build a dependable and trusting relationship with Mrs. T, and after many phone calls to her that day, they were able to convince Mrs. T to allow an ambulance pick her up and bring her to the Emergency Room.

As a result of her fall, Mrs. T had fractured her coccyx. Although this type of injury did not require much in terms of treatment, Mrs. T and her FIDA team were relieved that she was safe and not stuck in her apartment or in pain.

A physical therapist is currently seeing Mrs. T, instructing her on home safety, and she agreed to let the North Shore – LIJ FIDA LiveWell team assist her in finding an apartment more accessible to the community.