A Season of Steady Care : How connection, follow-through, and presence supported patients through the holidays
December carries a different rhythm. These remote care patient stories reflect what steady support looks like during the holidays. For some patients, the season brings warmth and family. For others, it brings quiet, grief, and disrupted routines that make managing a chronic condition feel harder than usual.
For some patients, the season brings warmth and family. For others, it brings quiet, grief, and disrupted routines that make managing a chronic condition feel harder than usual.
In this month’s edition of Moments That Matter, we’re reflecting on what “steady care” looks like when life feels fuller for some and heavier for others. September highlighted reliability. October emphasized responsiveness. November reminded us of the strength of presence. In December, those threads came together in the moments patients needed them most.
Many of these interactions began as routine outreach. But time and again, a simple check-in became something deeper: reassurance, encouragement, advocacy, and connection.
The Featured Moment: Meeting Them Where They Are
Not every meaningful interaction is clinical. Some are, simply put, deeply human. deeply human.
The Whisper Call
Tracy, one of our Care Navigators, conducted a monthly wellness call with a patient who answered in a whisper. He was sitting in a deer stand. Rather than rescheduling or disrupting the moment, Tracy matched his tone. She whispered through the entire call, coaching him gently on medication changes and reminding him to stay consistent with his readings.
It’s a literal example of meeting a patient exactly where they are.
And it wasn’t the only light moment this month. Hinal shared a call where the patient answered by briefly playing a Christmas song on the radio before hanging up. A quick laugh, a small connection, and a reminder that warmth can show up in unexpected ways.
These moments matter because they build familiarity and trust. And that trust can make all the difference when a patient needs support on a harder day.
When Vigilance Matters Most
Between-visit care can feel invisible until a moment calls for quick action.
Eva had been monitoring a patient whose blood pressure had been rising steadily over several weeks. She escalated concerns to the clinic and continued to watch the trend closely. One morning, the patient’s blood pressure spiked again. After multiple attempts to reach him, he returned Eva’s call and reported left-sided numbness, tingling, and lightheadedness.
Eva immediately advised him to go to the ER and alerted the clinic escalation contact.
The patient later confirmed he had suffered a stroke. Follow-up testing was reassuring, and medication changes were made. The patient thanked Eva repeatedly for her persistence and urgency.
This is what steady care looks like: noticing patterns, trusting clinical instincts, and following through until a patient is safe. Sometimes the urgent moment is clinical. Other times, it’s clearing the path so support doesn’t stall
Advocacy Beyond the Chart
Some of the most important work Care Navigators do involves removing barriers that patients can’t solve on their own.
Supporting the Caregiver
Maggie provided guidance and resources to a caregiver whose family member woke up unable to bear weight on his leg. The caregiver shared later that they were able to secure an orthopedic visit quickly. The patient received immediate treatment and pain relief, along with stretching exercises to support mobility.
The caregiver ended with a message Maggie won’t forget: “You’re a treasure.”
This work rarely appears in a chart the way vitals do. But for patients managing chronic conditions, access and follow-through can be the difference between stability and decline. When those barriers lift, progress becomes more possible, and encouragement helps patients turn that possibility into outcomes
Momentum Built Through Encouragement
Health progress often improves not through pressure, but through partnership.
The Power of Small Goals
Jenny spoke with a patient who had taken only three readings the month before. During their prior monthly wellness call, they set a goal together and turned on SMS reminders. This month, the patient had already taken seventeen readings. She couldn’t wait to share her progress, and she was proud of herself. Even better, her physician praised her consistency, and her blood pressure readings were improving.
Winning Over the Skeptic
Carla spent time building a relationship with a patient who was deeply distrustful of the medical system. Early calls had been tense. But this month, he surprised her. Since their last conversation, he had started taking his blood pressure and lipid medications and decided against the alternatives he had been considering.
Trust isn’t automatic. It’s built call by call.
The Steady Thread in the Storm
The holidays can intensify challenges that don’t show up in a chart: loneliness, food insecurity, and unexpected crises.
Johanna called a patient and learned his home had caught fire just nights before. He had lost his monitor in the damage, but Johanna immediately pivoted. The device didn’t matter in that moment.
The patient did.
She spent the call checking on his safety, confirming his access to medications, and ensuring he had support. The patient shared that his family was safe and that the Red Cross had helped with any missing prescriptions.
It was a sobering reminder that patients carry far more than diagnoses. Between-visit care often becomes a steady thread when life turns unpredictable.
Closing Reflection
December reminded us that chronic care doesn’t pause for the holidays.
Across all 50 states, Vivo Care’s Care Navigators served as a consistent presence in an unpredictable season. They noticed what was “off,” asked the extra question, followed through, and stayed on the line a little longer.
To our Care Navigator team: thank you for the steady care, clinical judgment, and compassion you brought to patients throughout 2025. You continue to show what remote care looks like when it’s built on presence and trust.
These remote care patient stories are only a small sample of the steady outreach happening every day across our Care Navigator team. To read more reflections like these, explore other entries in the Moments That Matter series.