When a crisis occurs, the unsettling events surrounding it are sometimes explained in a way that reflects the true nature of kindness in all of us. “Rather than focus only on the few impacted by a crisis, look also at the many, many more people who respond with help.” The onset of COVID-19 has given rise to so many understandable concerns for patients and families who manage chronic conditions as part of daily life. The negative news is hard to escape, and positive stories are few in major media outlets. But the reality is there are many more acts of selfless kindness happening every day than we can imagine.
One great example we discovered involves an incredible act of kindness and exceptional initiative. One of our hospital specialty-pharmacy team members had a patient who needed financial assistance for her specialty medication. However, given health concerns around COVID-19, this patient felt too uncomfortable to come to the Hospital Medical Center to sign the necessary financial assistance documentation. Rather than delay the medication, interrupt treatment, or cause an overwhelming financial burden for the patient, the specialty pharmacy team member took it upon herself to drive 40 minutes to the patient’s home and obtain the necessary signature. After securing financial assistance for the patient and significantly reducing her medication copay, the hospital specialty pharmacy was able to fill the prescription for the patient and have it delivered to her home free of charge.
Over the past week, more than 10,000 patients receiving care at specialty pharmacies operated at Shields’ hospital-partner locations have received their medications on time or ahead of schedule thanks to hundreds of similarly devoted specialty pharmacy team members. There are thousands more stories of people caring for one another that will never make the news or social media gossip sites. We encourage you to share acts of #kindness that you witness or perform on any one of our Shields FaceBook, Twitter, Linkedin or Instagram pages. Be kind and care for one another.