Being there: advocate opens the door to a rehab facility for Rich

Video transcript

[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND THROUGHOUT VIDEO]

[Text On Screen – UnitedHealthcare]

[VIDEO OF LAURA AND RICH SITTING ON A COUCH, SPEAKING ON SCREEN]

LAURA: On that cold, dark, hopeless day, she was just a bright light.

[VIDEO OF LAURA AND RICH TAKING A WALK, HAND IN HAND]

[Text On Screen – Being there: Rich’s story]

We were going to do two months of traveling

[Text On Screen – Rich and Laura, UnitedHealthcare members]

and we stopped in Needles, California for the night.

[VIDEO OF LAURA AND RICH AT THE POOL]

In the morning, Rich woke up and said, I have a pain in my neck. Something just told me to call 911. They did a CT scan and saw that the aorta had ripped and was still ripping.

[VIDEO OF RICH RELAXING IN A POOL]

He was medevacked to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas. He was in ICU for 16 days.

[TRANSITIONING TO A VIDEO OF LAURA AND RICH IN THEIR KITCHEN, TRANSITIONING TO THEM AT A TABLE LOOKING AT A CALENDAR]

When they saw, okay, he will be ready to go to the acute rehab facility, we put the paperwork in to UnitedHealthcare to have him moved into that acute rehab. The problem was, at this time, there was no skilled nursing facility to go to. We were in Las Vegas, and I had no support. I was just so despondent. The next day a light went on. Leigh from UnitedHealthcare called me up.

[VIDEO OF LAURA ON THE TELEPHONE, TRANSITIONING TO LAURA AND RICH DOING PAPERWORK AT THE TABLE]

She said, “so you live in Hawaii and you're in a place that you don't know anybody.” Yes. “And you want to get to an area where you can get some support from your family.” Yes. She said, “I think we can do something.” “I'm going to help you out.” Leigh worked with the case manager at Sunrise, and I think the next day he was in the acute rehab.

[VIDEO OF LAURA AND RICH TAKING A WALK, HAND IN HAND]

I was fighting for him, and she took up the fight. She was such a caring person. I never met her, so I would just imagine this halo with wings.

[LAURA AND RICH LAUGHING]

[Text On Screen – UnitedHealthcare, There for what matters™, uhc.com]

[END MUSIC]

When Rich and Laura of Hawaii decided to travel across the U.S., they chose UnitedHealthcare for its broad network coverage. During those travels and nearly 3,000 miles from home, Rich faced a life-threatening medical emergency. Rich survived an aortic tear, and it would require acute rehab in a skilled nursing facility. The challenge? There were no skilled nursing facilities available nearby at the time.

With no family close by, Rich and Laura found support in Leigh, a UnitedHealthcare advocate. Leigh worked with kindness and compassion to find a skilled nursing facility that Rich entered the next day.

"I never met her," said Laura of Leigh, "so I would just imagine this halo with wings." Advocating for members in a moment of need it is one of the many ways UnitedHealthcare is committed to being there for what matters.

Already a member?

Sign in or register on your plan website to see personalized benefit details and resources to help you manage your plan and health.

Sign in

More articles

More articles

Shopping for a plan?

Find what you’re looking for, from individual plans to Medicare and more. Learn about your options and get online quotes.

Shop all plans