Enough data has now been collected to show that “patient-centric” cancer programs using nurse navigators dramatically improve outcomes and – at the same time – reduce costs, bolstering the bottom line of hospitals and cancer centers.
Founded in 2014, Indian River Medical Center’s cancer navigator program – run by Scully-Welsh Cancer Center administrative director of oncology services Lori McCormick and staffed by registered nurse navigators Sandra Webster, Denise Hudspath and Linda Williamson – has quickly created an enthusiastic fan base.
Take, for example, David Cardoza of Vero Beach. Diagnosed with stage four esophageal cancer, the 60-year-old Cardoza was far away from his family in Connecticut, so nurse navigator Webster stepped in to help.
“Wow,” exclaims Cardoza, “this was a godsend! I’m all by myself and this is just such a help. I call her and she’s right there.”
Whether it’s helping him deal with the effects of his treatments or anticipating his special needs after his release, Cardoza says Webster “helped me know who to contact and when I needed to be at appointments. She’s done a lot for me.”
According to the National Institutes of Health’s Cancer Center, nurse navigators are charged with helping patients and their families find their way through the maze of doctors appointments, clinics, hospitals, outpatient centers, clinical trials, insurance and payment systems, psychological hurdles and transportation issues, as well as making connections with local patient-support organizations.
Those services pay off in multiple ways.
The American Cancer Society reports, “In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, patients with a nurse navigator rated their care higher and reported fewer problems than patients without one.”
That’s obviously important for patients like Cardoza – and for the cancer center, hospital or clinic providing care for those patients.
Many insurance companies now tie at least a part of their hospital reimbursements to policy-owner opinions on how well they are treated. Bad patient reviews mean those hospitals risk lower reimbursements.
More importantly, the nation’s largest payer of healthcare costs, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says “delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care requires us to carefully consider the patient’s experience.”
Accordingly, the Department of Health and Human Services now bases up to 30 percent of a hospital’s or cancer center’s Medicare reimbursements on the results of patient-satisfaction survey scores.
When the cancer navigator program launched at IRMC, it was Hudspath and then Webster and Hudspath together doing all the heavy lifting.
Now there’s a “new kid on the block.”
Sort of.
Williamson has 25 years of Indian River Medical Center experience and while that might belie the “new kid” label, she has only been with the navigator program a few weeks.
“I had been in education for the last eight to 10 years training new hires,” Williamson explains “I had gotten away from patient care and I really missed that contact with patients so I was excited about this new program and wanted to be a part of it.”
Webster says “empowering” patients while “being there to help them when they need it” is one of the things she enjoys most. Hudspath adds, “One of the biggest things we do here is we don’t leave people on their own during their cancer diagnosis and treatment. We’re someone they can connect with. We guide them through this very complicated maze of appointments and testing and questions and emotional distress.”
New navigator Williamson chimes in with a smile saying, “There’s a certain energy in being a part of a new program and the dynamics of helping it grow.”
“The navigators are central to [our cancer teams] because they are there for the patients and the patients are what we’re all about,” says McCormick. “In building our teams . . . we’re laying our foundations.
“If Denise is having a problem with a resource for one of her patients, she’ll reach out to Sandi and say – I’m really struggling with this – do you know of any resources that could help me? With Sandi’s background she’ll say – oh, yes – try this and this and this, and then Denise will handle it.”
“Right now,” McCormick adds, “we’re [also] working on building a melanoma program with Dr. Grichnik. We’re working on adding medical oncologists and building out our teams.” It’s a safe bet that the navigator staff will expand just as quickly as Scully-Welsh’s cancer services do.
McCormick says that lung, breast, colorectal, prostate and melanoma remain the “top five” cancers seen here in Indian River County and that’s where the team’s primary focus is aimed, but that doesn’t stop team members from working with patients such as Cardoza who are afflicted with other cancers.
Each member of the navigator team, McCormick concludes, “brings something unique to the table and working together as a team, they’re able to provide [each] patient with complete coverage.”
To learn more about the cancer navigator program at the Scully-Welsh cancer center call 772-563-4673.