Amanda Borges-McCay is the financial navigator for oncology services at Sutter Health Oncology Service Line in Modesto, Calif. Her work in healthcare advocacy began when her father was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in 1990 and she and her family had to advocate for his care and equipment. Soon after, Borges-McCay began volunteering at a long-term care facility where her mother worked. Borges-McCay officially started her career in healthcare as an activity director at an assisted living facility and eventually worked up to an assistant administrator role. She later transitioned to a hospital setting, where she expanded her knowledge and skillset within cardiology, labor and delivery, and orthopedics.
Borges-McCay’s advocacy skills were put to use on an even more personal level when she and her daughter were diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation and faced high out-of-pocket costs for their medications. Like many other patients facing financial barriers, Borges-McCay had to find her own resources and advocate for herself and her family. As fate would have it, she fell in love with the infusion center where she received her treatments and soon joined its team, a transition that put her in the right place at the right time.
Borges-McCay’s personal experiences and career path prepared her to create a financial navigation pilot program, where she has demonstrated the efficacy of an oncology financial navigator at the local and system levels.