Paul Szmal: Well, let's check in with Tiffany Mantegna, who is Director of Care Management from Finger Lakes Community Health. I apologize for the delay in getting started. We had a little last-minute technical issue, but Tiffany is on board with us now. Hi, how are you?
Tiffany Mantegna: Good morning. I'm doing well. How are you?
Paul Szmal: Ah, doing good, doing good. And we're talking today about trying to eliminate the barriers that some patients face in their medical care. And some of them are things where you as the patient can actually take control and do some preventative work. Let's talk about that first. What kind of preventative work are we talking about?
Tiffany Mantegna: Yes, definitely. So, for example, you know, when we're running into situations such as medications that can pose serious health risks, we want to encourage our patients to advocate for themselves as far as what is their medication, when is it due for a refill. We want to get our patients on our patient portal so that they can help advocate for the medication refills so that they're not running out and running into a crisis when they're in need of their medications. We typically allow our need 72 hours to process medication. However, we do have our care management team that can assist to help our patients if they run into an issue where, let's say, they forgot to put that refill in. Our care management team can advocate with our providers at Finger Lakes Community Health to help get that patient's prescription refilled.
Also, when it comes to prescriptions, there could be a barrier when it comes to delivery options because transportation is limited. So we work with certain pharmacies who offer delivery for their medications, but we can also go ahead and pick up that patient and bring them to the pharmacy so that they can get their medication so that, again, transportation isn't a barrier.
Paul Szmal: That segues into transportation to and from appointments as well as getting those prescriptions delivered.
Tiffany Mantegna: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So transportation, I would say, is one of the biggest barriers that many people face in many communities. We do have a transit system in the surrounding counties, Ontario, Seneca, Yates, et cetera. However, it's on a very limited, they're on a schedule, so those schedules don't always meet the needs of the patients. So at Finger Lakes Community Health, we do have a transporter that is able to help patients get to and from appointments if they do not have Medicaid transportation. Also, our care management team serves as a second backup to say, okay, if transportation is a barrier, if you don't have Medicaid to qualify for Medicaid transportation, we want to ensure that you get to your appointments and that you're getting there on time.
And while we're at the appointment with you, we can help you understand, you know, what treatment is, what the treatment is that your provider is asking, you know, you to follow, what goals do you have as a patient? So it's not even just the whole transportation piece. It's understanding what it is when you get to that appointment or when you get to the pharmacy and learn how to, you know, you're instructed on how to take medication. So, you know, some people just look at it as, oh, I need a ride here. But when you're in that, there's so much conversation that can happen during that, that car ride with a patient and the care manager, you know, we find out maybe that they have issues with housing or that they haven't had, you know, they don't have money for food or they haven't been able to access a food pantry.
For those, we take that valuable time in the car to get to know that patient more, figuring out what else is going on besides I just maybe need to go pick up my medication or I need a ride to the doctor's appointment. There's a lot of valuable conversation that goes on during that transport.
Paul Szmal: And you were talking about food and housing support and Finger Lakes Community Health can provide assistance in getting people pointed in the right direction to programs that can help them with that.
Tiffany Mantegna: Absolutely. So right now, you know, it's been a it's been it's there's been a hardship within our state and our country. So especially with the food shortage and the lack of being people able to utilize their SNAP benefits, you know, the food stamps were put on hold for a while. So we were pulling together resources within the communities to determine where can patients go when they need help with food. I know, for example, there are some food pantries here in Geneva that we're offering patients to they were able to go two times a month versus one time a month. So we really pulled our resources together within the communities. And I will say the communities truly stepped up and getting food together for families in need.
So again, if food is a barrier, then we're able to assist that patient getting to a food pantry, sharing the resources that we have, you know, accumulated across our agency to be able to help patients regardless of where they live, what if they need the food, how many people are in the household, you know, even if they need to help somebody else down the road. Right. We're going to be able to share these resources with everybody that that are that are in need.
Paul Szmal: I think one of the biggest questions that people have right now, if they've been paying attention to the news, is what's going to happen to my health insurance? That's number one. And then the follow up to that is, well, if I can't afford health insurance, how am I going to be able to afford my health care?
Tiffany Mantegna: Yeah. So that I will say that is the that is, you know, our main topic, you know, our one of our main focus is here at Finger Lakes Community Health. We do have patient navigators right on site. So if we have if you have people who need help with their insurance or even understanding what's going on with their benefits, they can get linked with one of our financial advocates here at Finger Lakes Community Health. The biggest thing is we need to keep people insured. If people aren't insured, again, they're going to not possibly go get their health care. They might go to the emergency room instead, and they might wait for these these bills to accumulate.
The hard part with the insurance right now is that there's so many unknowns. So right now, we're just telling people to make sure that they are updating. If they're moving, making sure that they update their insurance or their address with their insurance company, making sure that they're checking their mail consistently, looking for any communication that comes out. It's a very overwhelming time for people. You know, I've heard from others that, like you said, people aren't getting insurance because maybe the premium is too high. So it's it's definitely a very tricky time. And again, there's still so much that's unknown.
But I would say the best thing for people in the community is to link with our financial advocates right here at Finger Lakes Community Health versus calling, you know, the the New York State Helpline. Because again, you've got people who are right here in the community that can help you. They can meet you where you're at, they can meet you at your home, that you can come into one of our health centers, you can meet up at the library, you can meet up at a local location, whatever it may be. I will say that I've utilized our financial advocates for health insurance, you know, for my own children, it is such an asset to have people that we work with that we know they know the game, right, they know what's going on. And they can meet people where they're at.
So I was just really encouraged people to make sure that they are making sure their addresses are updated with their insurance companies keeping, you know, an eye out for that medic for that mail to come in, but also looking paying attention, there's what they call a recertification date, you know, when does my insurance expire? Because if I missed that cutoff, then I could be three months without insurance per se. So it's really important that people are staying on top of the the insurance and not letting it lapse.
Paul Szmal: You know, there are other components to to having a what we will call a holistic health approach. We've talked a lot about the physical care, some of the financial and the insurance obligations that you have to deal with. But there are other things that can contribute to your health. Sometimes it can be looking for a job that might put a little stress and strain on you. Maybe looking for daycare and trying to find assistance with that. Once again, Finger Lakes Community Health comes to the table with directions to resources and help with those types of things.
Tiffany Mantegna: Absolutely. So these types of situations or these types of needs, you know, they they will eventually impact a patient's health care. If you are struggling to find a job to be able to provide for your family, what we can do is we can help you, you know, we first we've got to identify what it is that you want to do. Where do you see that you're going? Where would you be a great fit? What are your interests? What are you good at? What did you like at a previous job that you think that we could look forward to in a new job? And if you need help building a resume, then we can link you with resume workshops around the area. We can help you find sample resumes. We'll even sit down and help you build a resume if that's needed.
And then it comes to once you're ready for that employment or the interview preparation. Let's do some practice interview questions. Let's get you prepared. You know, what should you wear to a job interview? Some people don't might not even have the means to have proper attire for an interview. So what resources in the community can we go to? Can we go to a clothing pantry to find appropriate interview, you know, attire to wear for the interview?
A lot of interviews now, too, are done over over the Internet, over Zoom or team, Microsoft Teams, whatever it may be. So does that patient have the the availability to use technology? So if not, then, you know, do we need to come over with our computer? Do we need to help them set up the information on their phones to be able to understand how to access that link?
So once you once you do land the job and you're you're worried about what am I going to do with my children while I'm working, you know, daycare is a biggest expense. There are daycare assistance programs within the within the counties, and not many people know about them. They are income based. But again, you don't know if you don't apply or if you don't you don't get it if you don't even know that it's out there. So we want to keep people employed. I know that's one of the things that, you know, the government is looking at into 2026 as far as keeping your health insurances. Are you employed? And, you know, if you are employed, you know, are you able to still receive your extra benefits?
So once you land that job, and you can have the daycare, you have the assistance with daycare, then you're start, you know, things start to line up, you start to feel better about yourself, because you're able to provide for yourself and for your children. You're creating that, that safe environment, that household environment. And then you can start to get everything else in line as far as your health, your mental health, and everything else that goes along with it. But if you don't have that healthy foundation first, there's it's it's very difficult for you to to maintain your health.
Paul Szmal: Tiffany, we appreciate all the information. I would direct folks to go to local community health.com. That is a great starting point to tap into some of these resources. Appreciate it and have a great holiday, Tiffany.
Tiffany Mantegna: Thank you. Thank you so much. Have a great holiday as well.
Paul Szmal: It is 8.30 on FLX Morning.
