Does Your Hospital Have a Navigator?

Jun 11

Until my cancer diagnosis, I’d never heard of hospital Navigators. But now that I have, I think EVERY hospital should have navigators on staff.

I’d like to introduce you to Felicia, my own Navigator. I asked her if we could do a short interview for my Pink Party to celebrate my ringing of the bell on May 31st, but I had technical difficulties so I never shared her video. I’m thrilled to share it with my blog readers now because Felicia explains her role as a Navigator:

Felicia went to most of my doctor’s appointments with me – all year – and took notes. At first, I thought the notes were for her records or for the doctor’s, but after each visit, she handed me the note paper for my own records. She visited me during each treatment. She called me every week between treatments to check on me, offer encouragement, made note of any side effects and advised me if I needed to alert the doc’s office (like with the blood clots from my nose). She answered any questions I had along the way. She helped me navigate through the maze of all things medical – which hospital/clinic/facility I needed to be for which test/procedure, etc. (Rome has three major hospitals, but they offer different procedures, equipment, or doctors for the cancer journey. And during the time of my journey, all of the hospitals were undergoing major transitions of ownership, branding, and/or computer systems so that was a journey in itself.)

I’m not sure how I would have made it through last year without Felicia’s presence. Her role was crucial in my well-being.

Do you know if your hospital has a Navigator? You should ask, and if they don’t, perhaps suggest that they consider adding a Navigator or two to their staff.