Patient Stories
Alice Booth
An emergency results in a new beginning
Alice Booth knows the true value of support from her friends—and her local hospital. A year ago, Alice found herself in a situation she could never have imagined. She was having major health issues and her friends were urging her to move back to Lancaster and away from an abusive relationship. She feels it was the stress of her relationship with her boyfriend that caused her health to deteriorate. Her biggest fear was the thought of being homeless, so she continued to stay in the relationship. She remembers the day everything changed: she had a great deal of pain in her stomach and lower back, and she just couldn't take it anymore. Her friends from two hours away in Lancaster drove to get her and helped her pick up and move back with them. She knew she needed emergency care, so she was taken to Grant Regional's emergency department for treatment.
Her pain turned out to be caused by ulcerative colitis, a disease of the intestine that includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores, in the colon. Because she was staying with friends and had no job or health insurance, she had no way to pay her hospital bill. Worried about her condition and her lack of ability to pay for the services she so desperately needed, she explained her situation to the hospital staff.
Alice was relieved to find out that she was eligible for assistance through Grant Regional's Community Responsibility Program which wrote off her entire emergency room bill, which totaled close to $3,000. Since that time, she has also been diagnosed with has fibromyalgia and required some additional testing and treatment. The charges resulting from recent hospital visits totaled close to $2,000 and were also written off, thanks to Grant Regional's Community Responsibility Program.
Alice feels that this experience marks a new beginning for her. Even now, dealing with fibromyalgia and continuing to learn about living with colitis, she knows she is taking better care of herself and is on the right track to improve her overall health and well-being. She can't thank Grant Regional Health Center enough for the wonderful care they provided her when she needed it the most. Her health conditions prevent her from working full-time, but she is determined to work as much she can and avoid disability. She is now working four hours a day at a local grocery store bakery and is glad to be back in a community where she receives such great support from friends and her local hospital.
