The Life Coach Program connects patients with no insurance, little resources, or no personal doctor with primary care resources to minimize their trips to the emergency room. These coaches work closely with the emergency department staff to find medical homes for patients who regularly use emergency rooms for non-emergency issues.
Operating out of Bon Secours Maryview and at Bon Secours DePaul, life coaches, formally known as medical life coach navigators, help patients overcome social barriers to care, make follow up appointments, and obtain medications.
The Life Coach Model of Care was implemented by placing two LPNs into the Bon Secours DePaul Emergency Department (ED) with the purpose of connecting patients in need with primary care physicians. In the first year of the program (September 2008-September 2009), life coaches assisted 1,000 patients.
Of those, only 12 returned to the ED for the same condition. The rest are now being cared for by their own doctors thanks to relationships established by the Life Coach Program. About 90 percent of everyone referred to primary care doctors made contact and set up appointments.
Maryview’s life coaches are employees of Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia. If any patient meets the criteria for life coach services — low-income, lack of insurance and no regular source of primary care — life coaches call that person to provide information and offer assistance. They can help set up ongoing care at Maryview Foundation Health Care Center, a free clinic located on the Maryview hospital grounds, or with the Care-A-Van, a mobile clinic operated by Bon Secours Hampton Roads for the Norfolk-Portsmouth area.
