CATHY MOLITORIS | LNP CORRESPONDENT
May 9, 2016 – When Darryl Horst had to travel to Philadelphia for a second opinion on his cancer treatment, the last thing he wanted to worry about was how to get there.
“I was more concerned about the second opinion and what the doctors were going to say,” says Horst, 52, of Lancaster. “I had so much on my mind, I didn’t want to have to worry about the logistics.”
Happily, Horst had Traci Frantz in his corner.
Since January, Frantz has served as concierge liaison for Lancaster General Health/Penn Medicine, where she helps patients navigate their care between Lancaster and Penn Medicine locations, including some in Philadelphia. Lancaster General Health and Penn Medicine became affiliated in 2015.
Frantz knows firsthand that the prospect of dealing with health systems in two different places can be both daunting and confusing.
Her daughter Tiffany is a breast-cancer survivor, and during her care she needed to go to Penn for a procedure. Due to a scheduling misunderstanding, Frantz and her daughter almost went to the wrong location.
They were able to handle the change in venue, but it rattled the two women.
“I thought, ‘This shouldn’t be happening,’” Frantz says. “If it happened to us, I’m sure it’s happening to other people also.”
So in July 2015, Frantz sent a letter to Lancaster General Health and Penn Medicine expressing her concerns.
The letter impressed Carolyn Gorman, vice president, system integration, University of Pennsylvania Health System, regional operations at Penn Medicine.
“Traci’s letter not only identified the problem, but she also offered a solution,” Gorman says.
Assist patients
Frantz suggested a concierge liaison who would assist patients with details related to traveling for their care.
It turned out the idea had already been forming in Gorman’s mind when she received Traci’s letter.
“The timing was absolutely amazing,” Frantz says.
Gorman was already overseeing a pilot program developed with the Penn Medicine Center for Healthcare Innovation and the Lancaster General Health Innovative Solutions group to facilitate travel for patients who required highly advanced levels of care.
For example, transplant patients needed to travel to Penn for the actual transplant, but could receive assessment and pre- and post-care treatment in Lancaster through Lancaster-based clinics.
As LG Health and Penn began to integrate their care, Gorman kept hearing the same comment from caregivers.
“One thing I heard over and over again was, ‘Our patients are not going to go to Philadelphia,’ “ Gorman says.
Determined to help take the worry out of traveling, Gorman even personally accompanied a patient on the train ride to Philadelphia — twice.
She noticed that the woman was much more comfortable on the second trip — so much so that she was able to help a fellow traveler with directions —and she realized the good that could come out of having a person help with travel logistics.
“Once you take the scary out of it and remove the unknown, it’s not bad,” she says.
Gorman, working with Genevieve Mak, director, regional operations, University of Pennsylvania Health System, began putting together a program to ease the anxieties of patients.
Detailed video
They started working on a detailed video that walks a patient through the train trip, from parking in Lancaster to arriving at Penn.
But they knew something was missing.
“We wanted a single point of contact, a person who understood Penn really well and could be a resource,” Gorman says.
Frantz fit that description perfectly.
“We knew Traci would understand things from a patient’s perspective” because of Frantz’s experience with her daughter and her own cancer treatment, Gorman says. “Traci has a heart of gold. She’s also a patient advocate.”
As the concierge liaison, Frantz works with up to 40 patients a month, helping ease anxiety about receiving care in an unknown facility.
She provides tips on everything from discounts for Amtrak senior travelers to lodging rates and availability for family members who want to stay near the treatment facility. If patients want to drive to Philadelphia, she offers information about parking as well.
“I’ve gotten a lot of information from my patients,” she says. “I heard about the Amtrak discounts from a patient and I learned that travel fees can be covered if a patient receives medical assistance from the state. If a patient puts a bug in my ear, I will find out more and pass that info along to other patients.”
Three times
She calls each patient at least three times — twice before their appointment to make sure they have all their questions answered, and once after the appointment to see how everything went and get feedback.
“So many patients, when I call them, say, ‘I had no idea this was a service you offered,’ “ Frantz says.
She’s also able to help patients prepare for what to expect at Hospital of University of Pennsylvania, a large teaching hospital that’s part of Penn Medicine.
“When patients go to Penn, they’ll be seen by so many different people,” Gorman says. “It’s important for patients to know that ahead of time so they’re not surprised by that.”
Mak agrees, adding that Penn can seem overwhelming at first.
“There are so many points of entry at the hospital,” she says. “Having somebody call you and give you info so you know exactly where to go really matters. It helps you be prepared and it helps lighten the load.”
Mak says the concierge program is a work in progress, with tweaks being made regularly.
“We’re looking at what works, what doesn’t, how we can expand the program outside of Lancaster,” she says. “We’re working on the best way to facilitate the process.”
For her part, Frantz is happy she wrote that letter and advocated for a position that allows her to be an advocate for others.
“So many people have helped me while my daughter was fighting cancer and I want to do the same for other people,” she says.
Gorman says Frantz is helping lessen the burden just a little for patients.
“It’s a long journey for these people who are receiving care at Penn,” she says. “They can be facing a long road.
“We want to take out some of the bumps in the road.”
