May 7, 2010

UPMC McKeesport offers support to patients with legal, financial concerns

A 35-year-old woman came to UPMC McKeesport with severe breathing problems. While being seen by an attending physician, the married mother of two explained that her family was experiencing financial hardships, and their electricity had been shut off.

Scenarios like this are not uncommon across UPMC. In many cases, clinicians find themselves in a difficult position — aware of factors beyond their control that negatively affect the patient’s ability to heal, yet unable to help the patient overcome these issues.

Fortunately for this patient, her visit coincided with the introduction of a new program at UPMC McKeesport. In January, UPMC joined with Neighborhood Legal Services Association (NLSA), to ensure that legal issues affecting low-income patients’ medical conditions are addressed promptly. Patients with issues that could affect certain medical conditions, and whose household income is at or below 125 percent of the poverty level, are offered legal services free of charge.

Funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Alcoa Foundation, the Medical-Legal Collaborative for Patients is the first medical-legal collaborative project of its kind at a major hospital in Pennsylvania.

“This program has the potential to do a tremendous amount of good, not just for the clients, but for the hospital, the doctors, and everyone else,” says NLSA attorney Kimberly Motley-Phillips, who works with clients at UPMC McKeesport.

Ms. Motley-Phillips has collaborated with Stasia Miaskiewicz, MD, program director of the UPMC McKeesport Internal Medicine Residency program, to work with hospital doctors, nurses, and social workers to help identify potential legal issues and ensure that the system works to improve situations for patients. Once a legal issue is identified, medical staff and social workers can refer patients to Ms. Motley-Phillips. Representation is provided to patients on issues such as utility termination; obtaining government benefits such as Social Security, Medicaid, and public assistance; mortgage issues; Protection from Abuse orders; child custody issues; evictions; and advance directives.

“It has taken us several years to develop this program, and although we are only at UPMC McKeesport at this time, we are hoping to expand the program in the future,” says Ms. Motley-Phillips. “Despite only having one lawyer at the hospital and limited resources, we are able to assist patients and reap the rewards of all our hard work.”

In the case of the 35-year-old mother, Ms. Motley-Phillips and the hospital’s nurse practitioners worked to prepare a medical certification and fax it to the utility provider in order to restore her family’s electricity. This document states that a licensed physician or nurse practitioner has certified that the utility customer, or a member of the household, is seriously ill or has a medical condition that will be aggravated by cutting off service. Because Ms. Motley-Phillips was able to fax the certification, the nurse practitioner was able to avoid spending time on the phone with the utility provider. After faxing the certification, the patient’s electricity was restored within hours.

For more information about the Medical-Legal Collaborative for Patients, contact Ms. Motley-Phillips at 412-664-2559 or phillipsk@nlsa.us.

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