CBCO Blood Drive Planned at TCMH
June 16, 2026
At Texas County Memorial Hospital, patient care extends far beyond the exam room. It means advocating for patients, navigating challenges, and working tirelessly to ensure they receive the care they need.
Recently, that commitment made a significant difference for Andy Durham, a student attending Stanford University in Stanford, CA. On Durham’s first day back at Stanford for his spring quarter, Durham was practicing with the Stanford band and fell while carrying a drum. Durham caught himself with his right hand, but quickly realized the hand was injured.
When the swelling and pain didn’t abate after a few days, Durham went to the student health center on campus where an x-ray revealed a scaphoid fracture in his hand. Bones in the hand do not heal quickly due to less blood flow, so Andy was referred to Robin Kamal, MD, an orthopedic hand surgeon, at Stanford Health Care.
Kamal consulted Durham a couple of weeks after the fracture and recommended surgery right away to place a screw into the broken bone to help it heal. Kamal urged Durham to have the procedure as soon as possible and provided names of surgeons in Missouri that he knew. Kamal grew up in Warrensburg, MO and started his medical training at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, so he had some familiarity with the area.
Durham, already three weeks into the ten-week spring quarter of his junior year, was concerned about missing time from his academic endeavors as an engineering physics major with a tough course load of lecture and labs. Durham’s parents, Joleen and Brian, were also concerned about Durham traveling across the country which typically takes at least a day of travel to get from home in Texas County to or from Stanford, in the South Bay region of California.
Durham and his family have private insurance that utilized in-network providers based in the Midwest. The insurance covered emergency care and services as “in-network” while traveling but care outside of emergency treatment required a referral from Durham’s in-network provider, Tommi Alcorn, FNP of the TCMH Medical Complex in Houston.
The referral form had to be requested by the provider, and Joleen Durham, reached out for assistance from the clinic where Missy Sigman, TCMH Medical Office Complex Clinic Manager, stepped in to help.
At first glance, the situation appeared unlikely to change. The insurance policy indicated there were no out-of-network benefits available, meaning the surgery could result in substantial out-of-pocket expenses for the family. Rather than accepting that answer, Sigman decided to investigate every possible option.
Over the course of approximately a week, Sigman worked closely with Joleen, healthcare providers, and the insurance company to gather medical records, complete prior authorization paperwork, submit supporting documentation, and respond to multiple requests for additional information.
“It would have been easy to stop after reading the policy,” Sigman said. “But I wanted to make sure we had explored every avenue before telling the family there was nothing we could do.”
The effort became a true team collaboration. Joleen remained actively involved throughout the process, promptly providing requested information and records. TCMH providers and staff also worked together to support the authorization request and ensure all necessary documentation was submitted.
Their persistence paid off.
The insurance company ultimately approved the surgery at Stanford Health Care, allowing Andy to receive the surgery close to home. Joleen and Brian flew to California to be with Andy for the operation, and Andy only missed a few hours of classes the week of surgery the first week of May. Durham was able to have the necessary follow up appointments with Kamal and Stanford Orthopedics, too.
“Dr. Kamal told me I needed to have the surgery as soon as possible due to how quickly the scaphoid bone begins to die when it’s broken,” Durham said. “When I had the surgery, Dr. Kamal and the surgical team grafted a bit of bone from my radius to my scaphoid because the scaphoid was already deteriorating.”
Durham, a southpaw, spent almost all the final quarter of his junior year in a hard splint or a cast before and after surgery, but he was still able to type, play drums and saxophone in the band, and soldered parts on to chips in his semiconductor lab. Durham will be in a cast for much of the summer and has been referred to an in-network hand surgeon in Springfield while he’s home in Texas County this summer.
“It’s likely that I will be able to have the cast removed in July, and then I will need to do physical therapy,” Durham said. Durham also plans to follow up again with Dr. Kamal at Stanford Health Care when school begins again in the fall.
Durham is very grateful he did not have to take a leave of absence from college to receive treatment for his hand.
“There are classes I was able to take this spring that I needed as part of my academic plan, and I am incredibly grateful for the time, effort, and persistence of Missy, Tommi and the entire TCMH Team,” Durham, said. He noted this his mom, dad, and Sigman worked together to keep providing the answers to questions from the insurance company.
Durham noted that there’s really no way to adequately thank someone who goes above and beyond in a situation where they aren’t required to do anything. Durham’s parents delivered Andy’s Root Beer and vanilla ice cream so the clinic staff could enjoy homemade root beer floats together. The sweet treat was shared among team members as a celebration of the successful outcome and the collaborative effort that helped make it possible.
While the root beer floats were certainly appreciated, Sigman said the greatest reward was knowing the effort helped a patient receive the care he needed.
“That’s why we do what we do,” Sigman said. “It’s a good feeling when you’re able to help someone through a difficult situation and see everything work out the way it should.”
Stories like Durham’s reflect TCMH’s commitment to patient-centered care. Whether providing medical treatment, coordinating services, or helping families navigate complex healthcare systems, TCMH employees strive to go the extra mile for the communities they serve.
For Andy Durham and his family, that extra effort made all the difference.
At TCMH, caring for patients isn’t just about delivering healthcare, it’s about advocating for people, supporting families, and finding solutions when challenges arise. This success story is a testament to the dedication of employees who remain committed to doing everything they can to help patients achieve the best possible outcomes.
