From Community Crisis to Hospital Solution
Three years ago, a preventable readmission changed everything. Now we're bringing our proven community navigation to Indiana hospitals.
The Call That Changed Everything
Three years ago, a 67-year-old woman from our Haitian church community was readmitted to the hospital five days after discharge. She'd missed her cardiology follow-up because she couldn't understand the automated scheduling system. She'd stopped taking her blood pressure medication because the pharmacy instructions were in English and she'd confused the dosage.
This wasn't an isolated incident. It was a pattern we'd seen dozens of times.
The Work We Were Already Doing
As licensed RNs in the Indianapolis Haitian community, we became the unofficial discharge navigators for friends, family, and church members. Someone would call us from the hospital parking lot with discharge papers they couldn't read. We'd translate. Schedule their appointments. Explain what the doctor meant about diet restrictions. Arrange transportation to specialists.
Over three years, we've informally navigated 100+ community members through post-discharge care:
The Results:
The Pattern We Recognized
Haitian patients weren't struggling because they didn't understand their medical conditions. They were struggling because the healthcare system after discharge requires navigating:
Without cultural context and language support, patients miss appointments, stop medications, and end up back in the emergency room.
Why We're Formalizing Now
Last month, another preventable readmission. A woman we'd helped informally two years ago. Her daughter called us crying, saying "I wish the hospital had someone like you to help after discharge."
That's when we realized: What if hospitals could offer this navigation to every Haitian patient at discharge?
We've proven this works in our community. Now we're partnering with Indiana hospitals to scale culturally-competent navigation and track outcomes systematically. Same support we've provided for years, now with data-driven measurement and formal integration into discharge workflows.
Community Impact (2022-2025)
What Community Members Said
"I was so confused leaving the hospital. Francesca called me the next day in Creole, scheduled everything, and made sure I understood my medications. Without her, I would have been lost."
— Church member, post-cardiac care
"The hospital gave me papers in English I couldn't read. Ernst helped me understand what the doctor wanted me to do. He made sure I got to my appointments. That probably saved my life."
— Community member, diabetes management
"You two should be doing this full-time. Every Haitian patient needs someone like you after they leave the hospital."
— Family member of navigated patient
Our Mission
Every Haitian patient deserves an advocate who speaks their language, understands their culture, and can navigate the system on their behalf.
Hospital partnerships let us serve beyond our immediate community, prove that culturally-grounded navigation reduces readmissions, and make this support sustainable.
This isn't theory. We've been doing this successfully for three years. Now we're making it systematic.
Ready to Bring This to Your Hospital?
Start a 90-day pilot. We'll prove that culturally-competent navigation reduces readmissions, improves follow-up compliance, and increases patient satisfaction.