Geisinger Stories: A person to lean on

Sometimes you just need a person to lean on. That’s how Victoria Rawa views her role as peer support assistant at Geisinger Health Plan.

Rawa is part of a team who assisted a young GHP member through her high-risk pregnancy. At first, the member was not engaged in her pre-natal care or with her care management team. When the team was able to make contact, she informed them that she was running very low on food.

Rawa immediately arranged a food delivery for the next morning from a local food bank. Rawa not only delivered the box of food, but stayed with the member to provide support and went over all the pregnancy resources available in the area.

Although the member was hesitant to take advantage of the resources, Rawa assured her that there was no judging and they only want to help because they care about her and her baby’s health.
Rawa also worked with a local church organization to provide clothing for the member and her daughter. She also convinced the member to work with a mentor and enroll in pregnancy education classes at Pregnancy Care Center of Hope, Shamokin.

Rawa then connected the member with the Central Susquehanna Opportunities program where they helped her find a job working from home.

“The position I hold is very important at GHP, simply because most of these moms have no one to lean on for support,” Rawa said. “A little bit of help might just be enough to give them morale to succeed in not just parenting, but life. Even if it is just accompanying a patient to a resource center, visiting her home to check in, or just calling her to talk.”

Teamwork was key to helping this member, Rawa said.

“I am grateful for the collaboration I have with the team,” she said. “Having a joint effort on a case helps fill in the missing pieces to a patient's story. Working together to fill in these gaps in care makes me love GHP, what it stands for, and the people I work with.”