Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Fall 2009)
TOPIC: PVH Patient Navigator Program
Compassionate guidance for cancer patients
by nancy nichols

Cancer is a word no one wants to hear during a doctor’s visit. Yet every year in Larimer County, about 1,200 patients face the dreaded reality of a cancer diagnosis.

Learning that you have cancer is a difficult experience. After diagnosis, cancer patients may feel anxious, afraid or overwhelmed and wonder how they can cope during the days to come.

That’s when the oncology “Patient Navigators” at Poudre Valley Hospital step in to help.

The PVH Patient Navigator program is a free community service for cancer patients and their families. “We exist to serve the cancer patients after diagnosis,” says Shelley Nielsen, a registered nurse and coordinator of the program.

Four registered nurses on the Patient Navigator staff specialize in oncology nursing and are able to personally assist cancer patients and their
families. With a thorough knowledge of the different forms of cancer and the latest testing and treatment methods, the Patient Navigator nurses help patients understand what to expect at every stage of the process.

Most of the patients who seek help at Patient Navigator are referred by their doctor, United Way 2-1-1 or other local healthcare agencies. All patients receive a phone call from the staff within a few days after referral.

In the case of cancer patient Marlene “Sunny” Griffiths of Fort Collins, the call came even sooner. In December 2008, she had just been diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, which had metastasized to her right femur.

“Before I even had a chance to read the materials given to me about Patient Navigator, I got a call from Patti,” Griffiths says. “She said she would be with me through this journey.”

Patti Frelund is a Patient Navigator nurse and someone Griffiths describes as her guardian angel.

“Without Patti’s presence, support and warmth, and her notes that she took [at medical appointments], I would have been lost,” says Griffiths. A Patient Navigator nurse will accompany patients to medical appointments if friends or family are not available or if requested by the patient’s doctor.
Patient Navigator Program
PVH Cancer Network
2121 E. Harmony Road, Suite 330
Fort Collins, CO 80528
(970) 297-6165
(970) 297-6175 fax
pvhspnp@pvhs.org
www.pvhs.org

The Patient Navigator program serves residents of Larimer County and people from outside the area who are patients at PVH. The program was founded three years ago as an offshoot of the Larimer County Women’s Health Consortium. In 2008 the Patient Navigator staff helped 400 patients and their families, and the program continues to grow.

When it was first being developed, the Patient Navigator program was supported in part by grant funding from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, Denver Metropolitan Affiliate (for
breast cancer treatment for low-income women). The program also administers funds from the state health department’s Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, and Pulmonary Disease Competitive Grants Program, which helps with genetic testing for low-income people at high risk for genetic cancers.
 
Speaking about cancer patients, “I think everyone goes through this time of emotional denial that leaves you adrift,” says Griffiths, who retired from a career with the American Red Cross and in higher education. “I don’t think I would have made it without the Patient Navigator program.”

All Patient Navigator clients receive a customized packet of information and then meet with a Patient Navigator nurse. If a patient is unable to come to the Patient Navigator office for their initial consultation, then a staff RN will visit him or her in the hospital.

“We try to tailor our services to meet our patients’ specific needs,” Nielsen explains.

In addition to providing technical guidance, the staff offers emotional support, advocacy, nutrition counseling and information about cancer care resources, including financial assistance and support groups. “We’re always on the lookout for resources to help the patients we serve,” Nielsen says.

“Someone will be there to walk with you, to be with you,” Griffiths says. “I call Patti a nurse navigator — keeping me away from the landmines, keeping me going forward.”

“It’s amazing to see some of our patients walk in so scared, paralyzed with fear, and then eventually walk back into their lives,” Nielsen says.