A note from a Financial Advocate at Aurora West Allis Medical Center:
“Due to the pandemic, there have been many patients who have found themselves uninsured but in need of medical care. These patients are often worried, anxious, scared, and sometimes even still in shock. Many express that they feel like the rug was pulled out from under them.
Many have lost their jobs and are struggling to pay their family’s basic living expenses. Then they find themselves in the emergency department unexpectedly and have no idea how they are going to add that expense to the mountain of debt that is growing before them. Those that are told they need to follow-up care become even more overwhelmed. 
Thankfully, as Aurora Financial Advocates, we have been given the opportunity to continue our work and complete financial assessments over-the-phone with those who need our help. I often find that although many patients are apprehensive at first, they are quickly relieved when they fully understand I am there to help them through this. That the hospital they came to for medical helps understands that their total well-being also includes their emotional and financial well-being.
Informing patients of their Aurora Helping Hand Patient Financial Assistance approval is like offering a beacon of light in total darkness. It is rewarding to know that I can offer a little stability for a patient during a time of uncertainty.
This is the reason I love my job and am proud to be an Aurora Financial Advocate.”