LAS_Impact_Report_2017

This girl got the medical care
she needed with help from
Legal Aid.
"Brianna" is a medically fragile child who was discharged
from the hospital with a diagnosis of a serious medical
condition. Although she qualified for at-home nursing
care under her health care coverage, even after several
months had gone by, her family's insurer was still looking
for a qualified nurse to assign to her case.
Brianna's mother "Mary," though not a medical
professional, had assumed the sole responsibility for
the complexities of her daughter's care and was feeling
exhausted and overwhelmed. She was also frustrated
by the long delays in obtaining a service which her
daughter was entitled to receive. Following a referral
from our partner agency Community Gatepath, Brianna's
case came to Legal Aid's Peninsula Family Advocacy
Program (FAP).
FAP is a medical-legal partnership between Legal Aid, Gardner Packard Children’s Health
Center, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, and other clinics in the county. FAP
provides free legal services to children, pregnant women and their families to help address
legal problems which are adversely impacting their health, including access to health care.
The FAP attorney discussed the case with Mary, and informed her of Brianna's legal right
to appropriate at-home nursing care. The attorney then immediately filed a grievance
with the insurer. Shortly after the grievance was filed, Brianna was hospitalized again. In
the meantime, Brianna's nursing care was approved and a nurse was assigned to care for
Brianna as soon as she was discharged from the hospital.
Mary is relieved that her daughter is now receiving the appropriate care at home, and
grateful that Brianna's health and wellbeing are being supported by a skilled nurse.
Client names and other details have been changed for reasons of privacy