Guiding members to treatment and support

Randy:           I am from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I do have a bad back primarily resulting as working as a printer for about 25 years. So, I'm living with a lot of chronic pain and I was prescribed a lot of opiates and they created nothing but destruction in my life. It got to the point where I felt life was not worth living. I had a lot of suicidal thoughts.

Jennifer:        I'm Jennifer [inaudible 00:00:36]. I'm a Behavioral Health Advocate with Optum. I met Randy about a year ago when he was in the hospital. He had a history of depression, anxiety, and he had issues because pain medication continued to be prescribed to him.

                        Do you have a few minutes to talk right now?

                        My role was to outreach to Randy and discuss with him what treatment could work better.

Randy:           My caseworker, Jennifer, got me involved in the suboxone program, of which I'm still on. It's literally been a lifesaver for me. Jennifer, she really cared, and it gave me a motivation to continue on the right path, so I started attending NOVA classes and then I was going to acupuncture.

Jennifer:        I have definitely seen in a change in Randy. I do feel that my role is really to give members everything they need and in doing so, that does lead to a healthier life.

Randy:           Now, I feel tremendously better. There's still a lot of reconstruction being done in my life. But, I've come a long way. I feel a lot better.