Angelina’s experience as a UHC member helps fuel her work
Angelina’s story
For Angelina Collotty, a strategic account executive at UnitedHealthcare, speaking to clients about how we care for our members is part of her everyday work.
But during her second pregnancy, she found herself navigating the health care system not as an account executive trying to solve problems, but as a mom facing uncertainty.
A diagnosis that changed everything
At her 20-week anatomy scan, Angelina and her husband, Paul, learned that their unborn son had a serious heart condition called critically severe pulmonary stenosis — a narrowing of the pulmonary valve that restricts blood flow to the lungs.
“It feels like your whole world stops,” Angelina said. “Everyone else’s is still moving.”
Angelina was referred to specialists, where a plan was developed to monitor Ari closely and prepare for his delivery.
When Ari was born, he underwent a minimally invasive balloon catheter procedure within hours, a treatment that helped open his narrowed valve and restored blood flow.
The days that followed were challenging. Ari spent 11 days in the cardiac intensive care unit, and Angelina and her husband balanced time between the hospital and home with their older son.
“No one can ever prepare you to leave the hospital without your baby,” Angelina said.
Support from an advocate when it mattered most
Amid the uncertainty, Angelina received an unexpected but meaningful call from a UnitedHealthcare nurse advocate.
The nurse checked in on Ari’s condition, asked about Angelina’s well-being and offered help navigating follow-up care.
“That made me feel so good and so important,” Angelina said. “When you’re in that situation, you just want all eyes on you and your son.”
Today, Ari is thriving. What’s more, Angelina has a renewed approach to her work — one with a greater sense of purpose and passion for the services we offer.
“This experience made healthcare more human,” she said.
Her manager, Brian Mannion, Vice President of Account Management for UnitedHealthcare, said he has seen the impact firsthand, noting that her personal experience helps bring empathy and authenticity to conversations with clients.
“Healthcare is very personal and the birth of her son and all that she had to go through with her pregnancy, this allowed her to take a very personal story and share that with customers,” he said. “It made it real. It made it human.”
For Angelina, sharing Ari’s story has become a way to offer hope to others facing similar challenges — and speak with confidence to how we show up to take care of those we serve.
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