Catherine Kostuch is extraordinary. I can't find the right words to describe what she does for our most vulnerable patients. She is a key member of our High-Risk Readmit Team. She continuously demonstrates our values in her work that she does on behalf of this team. I could give numerous examples but will give a recent one.
We have a patient who is homeless and has been readmitted numerous times in the last 5 months between St. Michael's, St. Clare's, and Marshfield Medical Center. He struggles with non-compliance, but Cathy has refused to give up on him. He hadn't been admitted to our own hospital in almost 1 month when Cathy became aware that he was discharged from St. Clare's with a LifeVest. This patient is now homeless and out there in the community with a very serious piece of medical equipment that needs follow-up by a cardiologist. She investigated his chart and noted he was not going to his lab appointments due to transportation issues. She contacted the clinic (not in our system) to rearrange his appointments to be closer to home, contacted the patient, and worked with the county to get him free rides.
I need to remind you that Cathy did this all while the patient was out and about in the community, long after he had been discharged from St. Michael's Hospital, which is well past her obligation to act. She never says, "That's out of my hands." Or "That's somebody else's problem." She finds a way to do right by the patient to get them the best outcome. Thank you, Cathy, for your compassion towards patients that many others would have given up on!