Wendi Risacher
January 2022
Wendi
Risacher
,
BSN, RN, CCRN
Clinical Care Coordination
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
,
PA
United States

 

 

 

Wendi attended various collaborative meetings and made numerous daily calls before her persistent diligence paid off
This care manager was caring for a NICU baby who was part of an open adoption; the birth parents were living locally, and the adoptive parents were living in Utah. The baby was born with a condition that would require ongoing care for life and was unable to be discharged directly to her new home in Utah because her medical condition and distance prohibited safe ground or commercial transport. This case manager spent days and hours, over the next 6 weeks, communicating with both the birth and adoptive parents, care teams at CHP and the Utah Hospital, local Pennsylvania, and Utah Medical Assistance payers, she attended various collaborative meetings, and made numerous daily calls before her persistent diligence paid off and the baby was finally approved to be transferred to the Utah hospital where she was united with her overjoyed adoptive parents. There is no doubt that without this care manager's continued "push" to "do the right thing" in advocating for this baby on every level possible, the baby would still be at CHP - I applaud her sincere efforts!