Megan Fry, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) nurse case manager, is one of the companies 70 nurses who work tirelessly to support members and providers.
“Every day is something different,” said Fry. “I usually log on to work about 7 a.m. and am on the phone until my day is done. This is a combination of working with members, their family members, providers and fellow BCBSNE staff.”
Case managers like Fry assist in various ways through education.
“We educate our members and their caretakers on their complex medical conditions and help them navigate through the health care system,” said Fry. “Education comes in the form of helping them understand their diagnosis, treatments, procedures, insurance benefits, clarifying their discussions with providers and sometimes just helping them form coping mechanisms and support systems. My goal is for them to be able to understand that knowledge is power.”
Since Fry works so closely with members, she has many memorable experiences, but one sticks with her.
“I opened a case for a female member in her 60s that was unfortunately diagnosed with a cancer that had spread viciously before it was even found,” she said. “She fought extremely hard for almost a year. She went through quite a few levels of care that I helped approve and guide her through.”
As she helped the member and her family through the difficult experience, the member ended up in the intensive care unit and was not expected to survive.
“I received a call from the spouse stating that she was requesting to meet me face-to-face before she left the Earth, so she could see who was ‘keeping her family working’ through her fight,” said Fry. “There were too many hugs to count, and she grabbed my face and told me I was family. She ended up dying that night. Her spouse still calls me occasionally to see if I am doing okay.”
Even though she has tough experiences like that one, Fry is able to find positives in her work.
“The most rewarding part of my job is just being able to help and give back,” said Fry. “We as case managers have to gain the trust of people we have never met to let us in to their most personal fears, traumatic times in their life, private conditions and vulnerabilities.”
Plus, the rewarding feeling lives on far beyond the end of a case.
“There’s the cases that you have made so much of an impact that after the case has been closed, or they have moved to a different insurance company, they still call just because they feel like they are checking in with a friend or family member,” she said. “These feelings cannot be replaced. There is a lot of hard work, frustration and sometimes tears that go into these cases, but it is worth it just knowing that you made an impact.”
In honor of National Nurses Week, BCBSNE thanks all nurses at BCBSNE and in the community for their year-round dedication and hard work.
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