About the Cancer Resource Center of the Desert

The Cancer Resource Center of the Desert (CRCD) is a nonprofit organization in Imperial County, California, dedicated to guiding individuals and families through every step of their cancer journey. CRCD provides no-cost patient navigation services to people of all backgrounds, helping them access treatment, insurance, transportation, and emotional support close to home, or, when needed, by supporting them with transportation and systems navigation to access care in nearby counties, such as San Diego. 

CRCD serves hundreds of clients each year, many of whom face barriers related to income, geography, or language, as well as other social drivers of health. They are the only community-based organizations in the county that provide these services to this population. 

The Challenge

In 2024, Cancer Resource Center of the Desert learned of the Department of Health Care Services’ CalAIM Enhanced Care Management (ECM) program and started working with Health Net, one of the state’s largest Medi-Cal insurers that manages the provider network for Community Health Plan of Imperial Valley (CHPIV). Given CRCD’s client population and the system navigation work and wraparound support they provide, ECM was an appropriate fit. The program also appeared to be a promising way to enable reimbursement for services, creating sustainable revenue to sustain CRCD’s programs.  

However, starting ECM took some time. The onboarding process was delayed. It took several months to receive provider approval to start billing. Even then, CRCD’s case management database and manual processes limited their efficiency, documentation, and visibility to care delivery, referrals, and billing. They were using manual spreadsheets and disconnected systems that made successfully invoicing for services nearly impossible.

By March 2025, growing financial strain and stalled reimbursements forced CRCD to close its doors after nearly two decades of continuous operation.

The Solution

As they were planning their closure, CRCD connected with Pear Suite and were onboarded onto Pear Suite’s care navigation and billing platform, transforming how the team documented services, managed claims, and captured reimbursements.

Instead of one person processing each patient’s invoice, including calculating service times for each encounter, ensuring service dates are accurately documented, obtaining necessary signatures, scanning, and uploading the completed forms for submission to Health Net, these tasks are now streamlined and automated within Pear Suite. The platform supports compliant documentation, real-time data capture, and billing workflows tailored to ECM requirements, allowing claims to be submitted with greater accuracy and speed. 

The Pear Suite team also provided hands-on onboarding and trained staff to navigate the platform and understand billing requirements. In addition to platform training, the team delivered billing support and implementation services, helping CRCD resolve months of backlogged invoicing and migrate data to process previously missed reimbursable encounters. Pear Suite’s combination of technology and white-glove support completely turned around operations, helping CRCD secure $145,000 in reimbursements and reopen, just four months after implementation.

The Impact

The measurable impact of Pear Suite’s AI platform and wraparound support was immediate. 

• $145,000 received in reimbursements within weeks of implementation, after months of stalled billing.
• Full operations were restored within four months, following contract reinstatement with Health Net.
• 300 client records were migrated and are now maintained in a single platform.  
• 182 encounters are recorded monthly on average
• $13,900 invoices are automatically generated and submitted monthly on average
• Data consolidated into a single system that improves CRCD’s audit-readiness. 

With ECM billing stabilized, CRCD plans to expand its work beyond oncology to serve other vulnerable people in Imperial County, including clients with other chronic conditions like diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. The organization is also exploring Medicare billing partnerships and further local healthcare collaborations.

“Pear Suite was a godsend. It helped us get our feet back under us, and the money started coming in quickly. The entire team was so responsive. It’s been a game changer.” – Senior supported by the Kūpuna Support Navigator Program

“Pear Suite didn’t just give us software—it gave us stability. It saved our organization and allowed us to keep serving our community.” – Helen Palomino, Executive Director, Cancer Resource Center of the Desert