Anthem Blue Cross 2002 Annual Report Download - page 7

Stacey McGonigle didn’t know what to do except cry. Sixteen weeks into her second
pregnancy, she had just been told by her physician that complete bed rest was her only chance
to deliver a healthy baby. She faced months of being confined to bed with a 7-year-old son to
care for and a foster child who stayed with the family on weekends. “I just cried and cried,”
Stacey says. “My husband and I were all alone, with no family here to help us.”
It was not the first time Stacey had faced a difficult pregnancy. Her son, Keagan, was born only
26 weeks into her first pregnancy and suffers from cerebral palsy. Stacey’s benefits were
provided by another insurance company then, and she says, “They paid the bills, but that was
it…I never heard from them.”
This time, it would be different. The next day, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel.
Stacey, an Anthem member from Concord, N.H., got a phone call from Diana Brighton,
a high-risk pregnancy case manager for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
“Diana told me about Anthem’s program for high-risk pregnancies and asked how I would feel
about being in the program,” Stacey says. “I wanted to crawl through the phone and kiss that
woman. She was the answer to my prayers. I was so amazed. It was such a huge relief.”
From that point until Stacey delivered a healthy baby boy 19 weeks later, Diana called her at
least weekly. She arranged for the Visiting Nurse Association to provide household assistance.
She arranged for Stacey to have a hospital bed in her home.
But to Stacey, Diana’s personal support was even more important. “The mental support she
provided me was probably the best thing for me,” Stacey says. “By the time I had the baby,
I came to look forward to those calls. I trusted her advice. I came to rely on Diana and on
Anthem. It was a lifesaver.”
Stacey’s second son, Aidan, was born—happy and healthy—in July of 2002.
Stacey McGonigle