Brandi Lingenfelter
A mother from Logan, Utah, has spent the past several years managing the care for her son’s complicated healthcare needs. He sees physicians from many different specialties in Logan, at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, and at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. It’s a daunting and costly undertaking. Two thoughtful Castell caregivers have stepped in to help make things a little easier for this mom, who we’ll call Cheryl, and her family.
Brandi Lingenfelter is a pediatric care coordinator supporting the Budge Pediatrics clinic in Logan. She works closely with Dawn Galloway, RN, nurse care manager, to help patients manage their care and get the resources they need.
“For years I’ve been wondering why there aren’t people out there whose job is designed to help families like mine navigate all the calls, paperwork, insurance, and scheduling,” Cheryl says. “I’ve longed for a secretary or nurse—someone to help me with all that. I’m so thankful we switched to a clinic that partners with Castell because I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for. The weight lifted mentally and emotionally because of Dawn and Brandi has been such a blessing. They’ve become two of the most valuable people in my life, and I’ve never even met them.”
One example of Brandi making a huge difference came when she learned the family had been trying to figure out how to pay for flights to Philadelphia for their son’s yearly specialty clinic visit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Brandi remembered a service that provides transportation for patients who need help traveling long distances for medical care. She found their website and helped Cheryl get the application completed, which was initially denied. As soon as she got the denial, Brandi looked up the name of a coordinator at the company and reached out to ask for a reconsideration. They did reconsider and the request was approved. Then Brandi helped get medical clearance for both Cheryl and her son to get free flights for their much-needed appointments.
Dawn Galloway
“Because of Brandi’s tireless effort, this one-income family can now afford for both parents to accompany their child to important medical appointments, and they’ve saved thousands of dollars in associated costs,” says Michael Hancock, Castell executive director of operations.
“Brandi fights for us to get what we need,” Cheryl says. “And Dawn has been a tremendous emotional support. She’s such a great listener. She listens to my worries and takes action to help decrease them—like putting in the time to try to find a physical therapist who understands progressive diseases, sending me contact information for grants and resources that would benefit my son so I don’t have to do the digging, etc. They both allow me to brain dump, and it doesn’t end there. Once we’ve ended the conversation, which is healing in itself, they take the time to work on finding solutions to as many of our problems as they can. It feels like we have, in Dawn and Brandi, our own healer and warrior as we fight to give our son the longest and highest quality of life possible.”
“This is a great family I’ve come to enjoy working with,” Dawn says. “It really takes the whole team of the pediatrician, our care coordinators, and nurses. We have a close team among our Castell Peds Care Management team and share ideas and contacts with each other to best support our patients.”
“In my 15 years with Intermountain, my role as a care coordinator for Castell has been the most rewarding and beneficial to my life,” Brandi says. “I love seeing the direct impact I can make on the families we serve.”