By Padma Nagappan, California Health Care Foundation, January 19, 2021
Lupita was six months pregnant with triplets when her water broke. The quiet 36-year-old farmworker suddenly had to leave her four children and enter Bakersfield Memorial Hospital for three months so doctors could watch over her during an unpredictable third trimester. She had recently separated from her husband, so her 17-year-old was tasked with taking care of his younger siblings until she returned from the hospital. This was before COVID-19.
At the hospital, Lupita (not her real name) was having a rough time in an unfamiliar environment, separated from family and unable to speak English. Enter Maria Torres, a Latina patient navigator employed by Docent Health, a technology-enabled care coordination company hired by health systems and plans to support patients. The hospital sends Torres to answer questions from Spanish-speaking pregnant patients like Lupita and connect them with community resources. Torres keeps in touch with clients via text messages and phone calls before and after childbirth â the stages when emerging problems can be caught before they result in sickness or death.
Docent Health recruits and trains navigators who reflect the demographic and cultural backgrounds of communities they serve to help patients learn to navigate a complex system of health and social services. In California, more than 70% of the patients Docent serves are Medi-Cal enrollees.
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