It happened so fast; he doesn’t even recall how. 
Joseph was outside cutting the grass like he did every week, all summer long. Somehow in this process, he had fallen, injured his foot and parochially amputated his toe. Thankfully, his wife was home and immediately too him to the Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center Emergency Department (ED). Joseph received an emergency surgery but did require a second surgery, which needed to be completed after his foot healed from the initial procedure.
At the time of his accident, Joseph and his wife were without insurance, living on a fixed income, and were unsure how they would afford to pay for all the care Joseph required.
That’s when the hospital’s Financial Advocate reached out. 
During a financial assessment, the Advocate determined Joseph was over income for Medicaid. However, Joseph did qualify for a 100% discount on all the care he already received and follow-up care for the next thirty days through the Aurora Helping Hand Patient Financial Assistance Program.
When the Advocate called Joseph to share the news, there was immediate silence on the other end of the call, a large sigh.
Joseph responded, “I can’t believe it. Thank you so much for your help. I just can’t believe it.”