Steven R. Gordon, President and CEO of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital has announced that Joan Bowman has assumed a new role as BMH’s Community Resource Liaison.
Bowman, who has been at BMH since September of 2013 as the Health Care Navigator with the BMH Community Health Team, will now be assuming additional responsibilities guiding patients through BMH’s new provider-based billing system for Medicaid and Medicare patients and ensuring that eligible patients have access to financial assistance. In her expanded role as Community Resource Liaison, Bowman will work with the Hospital and Physician Practices staff to ensure that all patients have access to health insurance, know how to utilize their insurance, and understand what services are available to them. She will provide assistance to patients and their families in filling out insurance enrollment forms, applying for aid, and enrollment in BMH’s patient portal.
Though the State of Vermont has recently re-located the services of its Health Care Navigators to other agencies in Windham County, Bowman will continue her responsibilities as a Health Care Certified Application Counselor, now under the auspices of BMH. “Because we believe that access to high quality, affordable health care is a key component of our mission, BMH has picked up the responsibility for maintaining those services here in Brattleboro,” said Gordon. He noted that the expansion of Bowman’s responsibilities means that she can now extend her services into New Hampshire, assisting NH residents with enrollment in NH Medicaid as well as using the www.healthcare.gov tool to find their best health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act. “Joan has proven herself in terms of her exceptional communication skills with our patients, and I am glad that she is able to expand her role at BMH and in the community,” said Gordon.
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) has provided health care services for over a hundred years. A licensed, 61-bed, not-for-profit community hospital located in southeastern Vermont, it serves a rural population of about 55,000 people in 22 towns in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The medical staff includes 137 board-certified physicians, both primary care and many specialists, and its 572 employees enjoy the help of over 110 active volunteers.