Fred Heffernan was getting nowhere.

Plagued for months by numbness in his legs, the husband of Delaware County Memorial Hospital employee Fran Heffernan sought the help of a physician, a surgeon, a chiropractor and an acupuncturist for relief from the still-undiagnosed condition.

“I’ve talked to several doctors, had a bunch of X-rays and MRIs, had acupuncture — and so far, nothing’s helped,” he says. “The surgeon told me he had good news and bad news; the good news was I didn’t have a tumor on my spine like he had feared, but the bad news was he had no idea what was wrong.”

Then, in the midst of his medical woes, Heffernan received a call from a woman offering help.

“She said she was a Health Coach, and she was calling to see if there was anything she could do,” Heffernan says. “She was very knowledgeable. She’s offered to help us out in any way she can, and has even called back to check on me since.”

Like her husband, Fran Heffernan, a secretary for DCMH’s Osteopathic Medicine internship program, was impressed.

“I like the fact that Connections^SM adds another level of care between the patient and the doctors,” she says. “I feel like (the Health Coach) is another person on our side.”

Like Fran Heffernan and her husband, Crozer-Keystone employees and families enrolled in the Crozer-Keystone Health Plan/Select A and the Crozer Medical Plan/Select B have access to the wealth of resources offered by Connections^SM — from telephone-based health coaches like the one Heffernan consulted, to the online Dialog Center ^SM website, to targeted educational materials and videotapes mailed right to your home, free of charge. Connections^SM is offered through AmeriHealth Administrators, which administers Crozer-Keystone’s Select A and B Medical Plans.

“The Connections^SM Health Management Program provides the motivation, information and support you need to take an active role in your health care,” says Edward Potts, Vice President for Employee Benefit Services. “It can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle and address everyday health care concerns, and teach you to manage chronic conditions like diabetes, asthma, lung or breathing problems and heart conditions, all while working with your physicians to avoid complications.”

You can access Connections^SM via telephone or online. By calling 1-877-322-WELL (1-877-322-9355), you can speak directly to a Health Coach, a specially trained health care professional, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at no charge to you. Health Coaches help callers understand their health conditions or symptoms, and prepare them to have more productive discussions with their doctors. Health Coaches also mail additional information, including videotapes, at no charge.

Likewise, by logging on to the Dialog Center^SM home page at www.thedialogcenter.com/ahatpa, you can access seasonal health news, features related to national health awareness campaigns and other health topics. In the Dialog Room, you can trade messages with your Health Coach and access information recommended by your Coach, and in the Health Information area, you can access the Healthwise® Knowledgebase (an online encyclopedia of medical information), Health Crossroads^SM web modules (offering decision support, treatment options and prevention tips about major medical conditions) and bookmarks to information you’ve already visited and saved.

Finally, the Health Tools available through the Dialog Center^SM page can help you manage your health and health care activities by offering health surveys, symptom diaries and medication lists. Surfers are encouraged to print their Health Tools to share with their physicians and health care providers to advance dialog.

“The health of our employees and their families is of the utmost importance to Crozer-Keystone,” Potts says. “We’re delighted to offer yet another option to help you maintain your good health and manage your chronic health conditions. Connections^SM is a great way to keep tabs on your well-being, and that of your family, too, and we encourage all of our employees to give it a shot.”

That’s just what the Heffernans plan to do.

“Until my Health Coach called, I didn’t even know the program existed — but I’m glad it does,” Fred Heffernan says. “It’s nice to know Connections^SM is there whenever we need them.” 

“Connections^SM was first offered to Select A and B Plan participants on Jan. 1, 2006,” says Christine Keck, employee benefits manager. “We’re working hard to continue to get the word out about how great this program is. We want to be certain that employees understand that all discussions between you and your Health Coach are confidential. Although we hope that all employees who are contacted by a Health Coach will allow the Health Coach to work with them, the service is optional.”