Brock Hughes Medical Center Annual Report Fiscal Year 2023-2024

ME E T Alicia

A licia Grizzle is a long-term employee of a local nursing home in the admissions department. Her employer offers health insurance, however, being a single mother and always conscientious of her finances like so many others, she found it very difficult to

seen by the clinic; she feared her income was too high to qualify for services. She was shocked that BHMC was in fact able to see her. When she established care as a new patient at BHMC in May 2024, her A1C was 10.1%. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends an A1C goal of less than 7% for most adults with diabetes. Her level was high because she had been unable to afford the diabetic medications. She was relieved to learn she could in fact obtain the diabetic medications she desperately needed through the prescription assistance program at BHMC, with the help of Medication Assistance Coordinator Teresa Gilman, CPhT. Alicia participates in BHMC’s Chronic Care Management program, which allows her the opportunity for individualized visits with Keri Sword, Pharmacist and Certified Diabetes Care & Education Specialist for the clinic. Participation in this program provides her with Continuous Glucose Monitoring equipment. According to her most recent lab work, her A1C was at 7.1%, almost at the goal for those with Type 2 diabetes. “The regular visits with Dr. Sword help me stay on track, knowing someone is watching over me. The attentive and caring staff, coupled with the services BHMC offers, make it possible for me to take care of my health, and family, and feel better than I have since being diagnosed as diabetic.”

afford the cost of the insurance. After being diagnosed with diabetes, she was very disheartened that her high-premium health insurance would not cover most of the diabetic medications she needed. She found herself unable to seek the necessary treatment for her chronic disease. Alicia saw several different providers and even a diabetes specialist, but she felt that no one truly cared about her on a personal level or about her inability to afford her medications. “I felt like I was at a dead end, consistently running into a brick wall, despite my efforts to take care of my health.” A co worker recommended Brock Hughes Medical Center (BHMC). Initially, Alicia did not believe that she would be able to be