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Ombuds Mandy Eppard and other UVA Health team members spring into action to help save the life of an out-of-state college student.

"Nothing prepared us for what came next ...." The family of a UVA Health patient is sharing their gripping story of how several UVA Health team members helped save the college student, even though initially he was thousands of miles away.

Now, the patient's parent has nominated one of those team members for a BEE (Being Excellent Everyday) Award — and UVA Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer John Kosky, and Jenny Ernest, Nursing Governance Coordinator, Nursing Professional Governance Office, surprised UVA Health Ombuds Mandy Eppard with the award.

The parent's nomination hailed Eppard and the other team members involved:

"My son, an out-of-state college student, developed mono and pneumonia. Toward the end of his treatment out-of-state, he had a chest X-ray and the radiologist saw something that 'looks like lymphoma.'

"Shocking, terrifying — to say the least! I flew there immediately!

"Unfortunately, my son was unable to get an appointment there for a biopsy and it was the end of the semester so the plan was to bring him to UVA Health for diagnosis and, if needed, treatment. Here is where UVA Health heroes come into play!"

'Calm, Cool, and Beyond Empathetic'

"We are family friends with UVA Health team member Kristen Atkins, MD, and gave her a call. To say she sprung into action would be an understatement. She put me in touch with scheduling nurses, oncology team members, and other people we would need to consult. You can imagine the condition my spouse and I were in! Kristen was calm, cool, and beyond empathetic. She promised to be in communication during our son's biopsy and spoke with us in the hospital — she was just absolutely amazing!"

'Scared to Death'

"Prior to the biopsy, we had an appointment with Nathan Roberts, MD, Hematology/Oncology. He was great! But more importantly, after the news that the biopsy showed Hodgkin lymphoma and a PET [positron emission tomography] scan revealed that it was stage four, Dr. Roberts spoke with our son almost daily. Our follow up appointment after the PET scan was at 4 p.m. and we were with Dr. Roberts until 7 p.m. — when we walked out, all the lights in the department were off! Most importantly, Dr .Roberts listened closely to our son, who wanted to return to college to finish the school year.

"Dr. Roberts was in touch with a colleague at our son's college who is the head of the oncology group. Dr. Roberts assured us our son would be in excellent hands. It is hard to express how much this meant not just to our son, but to two parents who were scared to death. I felt like everything for my son was coming together: we arranged for him to get food delivered, his roommate was amazing, he had great medical care, and he had a plan to finish college with his classmates. My wife and I would go back and forth for his infusions every other week. We had a plan. But nothing prepared us for what came next:

"The day before the first infusion, I received a call from the out-of-state hospital informing me his chemo was not covered by insurance. 'You must be mistaken,' I said. They replied that while the hospital is in-network with our insurance, medications have to be filled through UVA Health specialty pharmacy. 

"Over the next two days, I spent almost ten hours on the phone trying to see if I could get an exception, get the prescription filled here, and then fly it to the out-of-state hospital. But pharmacies frown on someone trying to take radioactive medications out of a hospital."

'This Will Work Out'

"I was despondent — all our hard work, our plan for our son — down the drain! I shared this with one of my colleagues who asked if I had spoken with the UVA Health ombudsman. I had not; indeed, I didn't know there is one! I found the contact information for Mandy Eppard and sent a long email to her, explaining the situation and asking for help. I received an out-of-office message.

"I could not sleep and at 1 a.m., I checked my email — and found a response! She had been in touch with the other hospital and said they were working on an override so the medications would be covered under our medical policy rather than the pharmacy policy. The next morning I heard from her again — even though she was still out of office. She said this will work out!"

'Forever Indebted'

"Over the next two days, even though she was still out-of-office, she corresponded with the other hospital, our insurance company, and us. The medications were covered and our son's treatment was able to start the next week! There were a few other snags over the next week and Mandy fixed, solved, and navigated every single one of them!

"I will forever be indebted to Mandy! I know she likely will say she was just doing her job. But 'just doing her job' changed our son’s life — and our lives — in ways we don't have words to describe! Our son finished his fourth course of chemo and a PET scan showed the lymphoma almost gone! We are enormously thankful for that and team members here at UVA Health! Their support has allowed him to stay in school and live his life — not the life of the disease.

"These professionals are heroes in the truest sense of the word!"

Know a Deserving Team Member?

The BEE Award recognizes UVA Health University Medical Center team members who work alongside our nurses to impact patients' experiences — just as bees and flowers depend on one another.

Every month, the Nursing Professional Governance Organization (NPGO) honors up to two UVA Health University Medical Center team members with this award. Submit a nomination.