Supporting Patients Through Hardships

Everything can change in a single moment.

When one of our patients — a devoted father and the primary provider for his family — received a diagnosis of colon cancer, it wasn’t just his health that was at risk. It was his ability to care for his family, to put food on the table, to pay rent, and to keep life moving forward.

In moments like these, we step in — together.

At Adventist Health, we believe healing means caring for the whole person. And thanks to the generosity of our community, we are able to respond immediately when our patients need us most.

Within days of his diagnosis, our Complex Care Community Health Worker, Araceli (pictured at right), surrounded our patient with support. We coordinated transportation so he could get to critical medical appointments. We helped schedule his care quickly and seamlessly. And when missing work put his housing at risk, we stepped in to help cover rent — giving him the stability he needed to focus on healing.

Because of this, he didn’t have to choose between his health and his family.

This kind of care is only possible because of philanthropy.

Through a generous $100,000 seed gift from an anonymous donor, we established a fund dedicated to supporting patients facing the financial hardships that often come with a cancer diagnosis. It allows us to act quickly, compassionately, and without barriers — meeting needs that fall outside of traditional medical care, but are just as critical to healing.

We know that people want to work. They want to provide. But when cancer enters the picture, everything changes — and that’s when we, as a community, have the opportunity to step in and lift one another up.

Our patient shared his deep gratitude for the care he received, but what stayed with us most was the relief; the ability to breathe, even in the midst of uncertainty.

For Araceli, this is why we do what we do. “I feel truly blessed to have crossed paths with this patient,” she shared. “Being part of this team means doing whatever it takes to make people whole.”

Together, we are making that possible — every single day.