Courtesy Photo | Carla Bestor, a nurse case manager active duty with Naval Hospital Pensacola, proudly...... read more read more
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Naval Hospital Pensacola’s Carla Bestor, active duty nurse case manager, was recently selected by the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) as the 2013 Navy Medicine Case Manager of the Year.
Bestor has been a case manager at NHP for 15 years.
“I was just blown away,” said Bestor. “I couldn’t believe it when Capt. Padden [commanding officer, NHP] was reading [the citation] to me. It’s very humbling and I’m honored to be selected for this.”
A medical case manager serves as a liaison between a patient with long-term health issues and the medical staff. While a medical case manager does not offer medical diagnoses or treatments, they do monitor the patient’s treatment plan to ensure all of the patient’s needs are met.
“A case manager is normally a nurse or social worker that directly assists in coordinating a patient’s care,” said Cmdr. Michael Kohler, director of Healthcare Business, NHP. “A case manager may work with another hospital or other [military treatment facilities] to coordinate the appropriate care based on the different services offered.”
In today’s healthcare system, patients often receive care from more than one facility. Case managers can help patients navigate the complexities of the system and support providers in establishing a more comprehensive plan of care. They are the bridge that matches needed resources to the patient’s health insurance coverage and can assist the patient and their family in making informed decisions.
“Case management is often times imperative for the best medical outcome for a patient,” said Kohler. “Patients often may not know where appropriate resources are available for the type of care needed. A case manger is the subject management expert in coordinating a patient's medical care.”
NHP has case managers in several clinics including Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) as well as three nurse case managers for active duty patients. Each of these case managers focus on the Medical Home Port model, which means beneficiaries of these clinics have access to case managers.
Asked about why she thought she was selected, Bestor said, “I always try to put myself in the patients’ place and try to make sure everything goes as smoothly as it can. I try to work with what the doctors want and what the commands want and keep the lines of communication open between both sides. I think that’s the key.”
Bestor explains that a case manager’s mission is to care for the patients, no matter what.
“You do whatever you need for the patient, that’s our primary focus,” said Bestor, who is originally from Baltimore. “If it is to get their charts or to get them where they need to be, you just do it and enjoy doing it.”
To contact an NHP case manager, please call your respective Medical Home Port team case manager.
| Date Taken: | 11.21.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 11.21.2013 15:31 |
| Story ID: | 117167 |
| Location: | PENSACOLA, FL, US |
| Hometown: | BALTIMORE, MD, US |
| Web Views: | 135 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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