Yolanda Kautz had reached her breaking point and concluded she would never walk again without a walker.
Despite weeks of physical therapy, Kautz’s knee hadn’t improved, and she felt belittled after she and her husband brought their concerns to her physical therapist.
“I literally would cry every time I got up,” recalls Kautz, then 58. “I felt like I was in my 70s. I assumed maybe I was the problem, not the physical therapist.”
Her doctor ordered knee surgery, which triggered a call from Sarah Hebert, a nurse care manager for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Hebert offered her education in preparation for the procedure, and Kautz accepted.
During a conversation, Kautz revealed to Hebert her struggles with her physical therapist. Hebert encouraged her to tell her doctor and ask for a referral to a different therapist, which made a difference in Kautz’s outcomes and outlook for her future.
“She felt she had to accept that it had to be this way,” Hebert says. “We got her connected with a different clinic. After that, she made huge strides.”
Yolanda Kautz
Hebert is among many nurses employed by BCBSTX who help members get the care they need to improve their health. They include holistic health and medical management specialists like Hebert, behavioral health care coordinators and clinical practice consultants.
“Our clinicians are the spoke in the wheel and put their heart into their work each day,” says Corrie Cabral, director of clinical operations. “Nurses can truly change the lives of our members by improving quality of life, providing support and education and empowering the member in terms of health care decisions.”
Dana Tharp, a BCBSTX clinical operations manager, says Hebert and her team embody that spirit of building connections with members and providing individualized care. “We tell our members their feelings are valid if they are not achieving expected outcomes,” she says. “We can offer other solutions.”
Tharp says she hit the jackpot when she added Hebert to her team. “She is a super strong clinician and just so professional the way she speaks with members. She has a real ease about her when she talks to people.”
Hebert always knew she would become a nurse and determined working in case management would allow her to connect with patients more closely than bedside nursing would allow. She joined BCBSTX in 2024.
“I love the interaction with members and building relationships with them,” she says. “Case management is like working one big puzzle, piece by piece. It really makes a difference for members.”
As in Kautz’s case, Hebert sometimes discovers underlying issues like ineffective physical therapy can worsen an acute medical condition. Her team collaborates to try to close all those gaps in care, she says.
Sarah Hebert
“I am beyond grateful I was able to help Ms. Kautz,” Hebert says. “I loved working with her. I was there to support her and give her guidance so she could improve. She did all the work.”
Offering members guidance
Kautz says Hebert’s call came when she had almost given up on hope of walking again. Without the guidance, she wouldn’t have thought she could talk to her doctor about changing physical therapists.
“I didn’t even know my insurance provided someone like Sarah,” Kautz says. “She was a godsend. Her phone number is still in my phone.”