Congress Abstracts 2006

15

IMPLEMENTING A FOUNDATION GRANT FOR A NURSE NAVIGATOR TO IMPROVE THE EXPERIENCE OF THE NEWLY DIAGNOSED BREAST CANCER PATIENT. Mary Jean Houlahan, RN, BSN, BA, CCM, Jupiter Medical Center, Jupiter, FL.

Breast cancer navigation programs in non-profit institutions are often supported by foundation grants as part of their own missions. Nurses who are care coordinators impact the experience of newly diagnosed patients by explaining treatment options, ensuring rapid referrals to the treatment team, advocating for resources, and providing personalized care and emotional support.

Healthcare institutions are challenged to provide these programs in today's fiscal environment and are looking for opportunities to care for a variety of patient

populations by providing highly effective nursing interventions, which maximize use of dollars. Providing a nurse navigator program is a challenge in today's cost effective non-profit while providing patients with a very high standard of care. Cancer Committees often wrestle with the desire to provide this type of care on a limited budget.

Healthcare institutions are challenged to provide these programs in today's fiscal environment and are looking for opportunities to care for a variety of patient

populations by providing highly effective nursing interventions, which maximize use of dollars. Providing a nurse navigator program is a challenge in today's cost effective non-profit while providing patients with a very high standard of care. Cancer Committees often wrestle with the desire to provide this type of care on a limited budget.

Our cancer center and wrote a nurse navigator grant proposal to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, which was part of its mission. She conducts weekly breast cancer pre-treatment conferences, shortens the days from diagnosis to surgery, provides access to the multidisciplinary team and offers unconditional support to the patients.

Six-month reports are provided to the Komen Foundation detailing numbers of patients seen, services provided and measurable goals met. A yearly site visit allows Foundation representatives to have an intimate appreciation of the value of nursing interventions and patient and physician satisfaction. The program was the catalyst for the winning of four Emmys by a TV news affiliate.

Oncology nurse navigators are playing important roles in benefiting their institutions, supporting symbiotic relationships with advocacy foundations and improving patient outcomes. The medical community and the patients will have improved outcomes as the documented effectiveness of these initiatives becomes known. Our goals were met and our grant was doubled this year. Numbers of grant applications are increasing and institutions are asking for us to share our implementation model.