Navigating Care with Heart

At Care Continuity, we believe that personalized patient engagement and communication is the key to a good healthcare experience and better outcomes. While our products leverage advanced technology, our operating model is built around engaging, guiding, and ensuring patients get the care they need when they need it.

It is my pleasure to shine the spotlight on two of our most senior patient navigators, Stephanie Guerra and Elizabeth Barnes to share a behind-the-scenes look into patient navigation here at Care Continuity. They are our mighty SWAT team and have experience working with nearly all of our clients. They each bring expertise, compassion, and dedication to every situation, ensuring that both patients and healthcare offices are aligned. Their work, along with the entire Care Continuity navigation team, is an essential part of how we partner with healthcare organizations to improve access and care coordination.

Liz & Stephanie’s Journey to Care Continuity

Liz & Stephanie’s Journey to Care Continuity

Stephanie Guerra began her healthcare career as an ER scribe, where she witnessed how patients were often overwhelmed by discharge instructions.

"It was clear that patients didn’t know what to do next. The instructions were overwhelming, and it often led to repeat visits because they didn’t follow up." - Stephanie

This experience inspired Stephanie to transition into patient navigation. “I wanted to help patients take the next step in their care," she says. "It’s about providing them with a clear path forward, not just a paper.” Stephanie will celebrate her 5th anniversary with Care Continuity this September.

Liz Barnes has been with Care Continuity for 3 years and came into patient navigation from a background in debt collection. After years of people avoiding her calls, Liz now finds joy in helping patients navigate the healthcare system.

“Now, people are happy to hear from me. It feels good to connect with patients and help them through a complicated system.” - Liz

What Does a Care Continuity Patient Navigator Do?

Patient navigation goes beyond scheduling appointments. It’s about building trust with both patients and healthcare offices and offering support to guide patients through healthcare’s complexities. Navigators act as a bridge between patients and healthcare providers, providing insights into both patient needs and office dynamics. This partnership helps identify barriers to care, such as access issues and scheduling delays, and applying this information to make data-driven decisions to improve the patient experience.

Stephanie primarily works patients after an inpatient stay, following up 48 hours after they leave the hospital. “They’re adjusting to being home after a serious health event. They're often tired, scared, and unsure of the next steps,” she explains. She ensures they schedule follow-up appointments and helps them understand why those visits are vital for their recovery.

Liz works in the emergency department, where patients receive immediate care but many don’t realize the importance of follow-up care. “These appointments are crucial for their healing process,” Liz says, but getting that message across in a busy ER environment can be challenging. And when these patients go home, they are often overwhelmed with instructions and need help navigating the next steps.

The Heart of the Patient Navigation

At its core, patient navigation is about advocacy. Stephanie and Liz understand how important it is for patients to actively participate in their care. “Patients need to ask questions, advocate for themselves, and recognize the importance of follow-up care,” Liz explains. “We’re here to help, but they also have to show up.”

“It’s about making the appointment and explaining why it’s necessary. If patients don’t understand the importance of follow-up appointments, they won’t take the next step.” - Stephanie

The emotional side of the job is significant, too. Stephanie recalls a patient who was overwhelmed because she didn’t have the proper support or home health services. “She didn’t know she had to schedule follow-ups and felt like she was on her own,” Stephanie shares. “Once I connected her to the right resources, she felt at ease and was grateful to know her care was being prioritized.”

The Struggle is Real

We all know that healthcare navigation comes with its challenges. One of the biggest hurdles for both Stephanie and Liz is dealing with fragmented healthcare system processes. Insurance issues, scheduling delays, and waiting on referrals often leave patients frustrated and anxious. "It's tough to calm patients when they need something urgently, but we’re still waiting for approvals or doctor responses," says Liz.

On average, it takes 7.5 touches - initial outreach, voicemail, text, office contact, follow-up, etc.- over the course of several days, sometimes weeks to coordinate an appointment. This effort is often overlooked, yet it's exactly where patients can become overwhelmed and lost. Reducing these interactions to a simple box on a workflow is a mistake. It’s through these personalized interactions that trust, and loyalty are built, ensuring care plans are followed.

“We work hard to ensure the patient’s voice is heard and that they aren’t left in the dark.” - Stephanie

Awareness of these challenges provides invaluable insights for health system administrators, creating opportunities for better planning to inform growth strategies, such as expanding specialties to reduce appointment wait times. Care Continuity program analytics, generated by our navigation teams, reveal both the challenges and the impact of focused patient engagement.

The Importance of Navigation Support

As long as healthcare systems remain complex, patient navigators will continue to be essential. Stephanie and Liz’s work demonstrates how compassion, clear communication, and building trust improve patient outcomes. They strengthen the healthcare system by guiding patients through the process, translating medical jargon, and offering support when it’s needed most. Care Continuity technology streamlines the outreach so their time is spent engaging with the patients that accept help.

“By being that bridge between patients and the healthcare system, we make a difference. It’s not always easy, but when we get it right, we know we’ve made an impact.” - Liz

I am thankful for the opportunity to work alongside Liz and Stephanie and am so proud of the meaningful work we do at Care Continuity. I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I enjoyed my conversation with Stephanie and Liz.

Want to Learn More About Care Continuity?

If you want to learn more about how we’re transforming healthcare delivery and improving outcomes, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn. Together, we’re making healthcare more accessible and human, one patient at a time!