Nikki Lindsay noticed a brochure from Ascension Care Management while she was visiting her doctor’s office one day. The information piqued her interest, and at her next appointment a few weeks later, she decided to take one home.
A recipient of Medicare, Nikki found out her doctor participates in the Ascension Care Management Provider Network, meaning her doctor partners with Ascension Care Management to provide extra services for patients.
Nikki called the number listed on the brochure, and care team member C.J. picked up the phone.
“He walked me through what Ascension Care Management was and what they would be able to do for me,” she recalls. “I told him that I’d like help with my medical bills and he said that he could do that.”
The two would talk on the phone every two weeks, and eventually Nikki asked about nutrition, diet and weight management resources. She has congenital hereditary muscular dystrophy, and wanted help to lose weight and feel better.
“I have been sick for almost all of my life, and I need to be around for my daughters and my granddaughter. I’m able to get on the floor with my granddaughter and play now. I can take her for walks and we go outside and explore. I haven’t felt this good in a long time.”
C.J. put her in touch with another care team member, Mary, who empowered her to set her own goals. Developing a healthy relationship from the start helped them to create a diet and exercise plan together.
“This woman who I had never met in my life was willing to call me and listen to me,” Nikki says. “Every time we talked, it’d be for 30 or 40 minutes. She’ll ask about my family – my daughters, my granddaughter, my fiancé. She was very supportive.”
Nikki has been able to accomplish her short-term goals while learning how to maintain that progress over a long period of time. Having someone in her corner has given Nikki the foundation she needs to grow and flourish.
“I know that without Ascension Care Management and without my care team, I could not have lost weight and gotten more active,” she says. “I wouldn’t have had the willpower at all. Having them made all the difference in the world.”
Nikki is now focused on staying healthy and setting a good example for her family.
“I want to show them that no matter how hard things look and how old you are, you can accomplish something,” she says. “I want to prove through exercise and nutrition, through strong will and a faith of God, that I can be healthy.”
What can you do with a helping hand? Contact Ascension Care Management today at 1 (855) 288-6747 or email acmmembers@ascension.org to get started.
