December 20, 2006
(Note to News Editors, Directors: Sonja Bell has consented in writing to have her story told through this news release. You can reach her at 406-565-5346.)
Contact: Tedd Weldon, Medicaid Managed Care Bureau, DPHHS, 406-444-1518
Gayle Shirley, Public Information Officer, DPHHS, 406-444-2596
Butte Resident Credits ‘Nurse First’ with Saving Life
Sonja Bell of Butte believes that advice she received this fall from a state Medicaid program played a key role in saving her life.
Bell, 46, has congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes. She is one of about 65,000 Montanans enrolled in Medicaid who have access to Nurse First to help manage their diseases. The program, which was implemented in 2004 by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), also offers a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week hotline to provide nursing advice for acute medical conditions.
DPHHS contracts with McKesson Health Solutions, a unit of McKesson Corporation, to provide the services to Montana Medicaid beneficiaries.
Last fall, Bell was on the phone with a registered nurse who had called her every two weeks for the past couple of years. She mentioned that she was feeling “heaviness” in her chest.
This warning sign alerted the nurse to a potentially immediate medical problem. The nurse confirmed Bell’s symptoms and transferred her to a triage nurse, who is specially trained to help with acute medical issues.
“The nurse was very thorough. She asked a lot of questions. She said to go to the emergency room right away because of my chest,” Bell said.
The nurse was concerned that Bell was experiencing decompensation, or a worsening of her congestive heart failure. One symptom of decompensation can be rapid and extreme water gain, which makes it difficult for the heart to pump enough blood through the body.
“I wasn’t going to go to the hospital,” Bell said. “I was going to wait until the next day and go to my doctor, and they said ‘it’s important that you go tonight.’ I was swollen with water, and that was messing with my heart.”
Bell followed the nurse’s advice and had a friend drive her to St. James Healthcare in Butte.
“They gave me 180 milligrams of (a diuretic) and a breathing treatment,” Bell said. “There was something wrong or they wouldn’t have given me all that stuff.”
After spending five hours at the hospital, Bell went home feeling much better.
“It was a serious situation, and I thank (the nurse) for saving my life,” she said. “The nurses really care, they really do.”
Bell is once again in control of the chronic illnesses she’s had for years. She highly recommends the Nurse First disease management program to Montanans who are eligible. She trusts the information the nurses provide and knows they can do a lot to help her in other ways, too.
“They got me a doctor’s scale, and I weigh myself every day,” she said. “With CHF you can gain 20 pounds (of water) in a day.”For more information about Medicaid’s Nurse First Program, contact Tedd Weldon, DPHHS Managed Care Bureau, (406) 444-1518.
