Patient Navigation can have a profound impact and has been an important part of SHARE’s support services for years. Originally, SHARE’s Patient Navigators helped Spanish-speaking women understand their diagnoses and treatment options and successfully navigate their paths forward in an English-speaking environment.
More recently, Patient Navigation has become a major focus at SHARE under the guidance of Tricia Strusowski, RN MS, with our capable new staff: Patient Navigator, Sandra Morales, and Financial Patient Navigator, Zarek Mena.
In the words of Dr. Ashley Tang who refers her patient in need of support to SHARE:
“In a difficult-to-navigate healthcare system, partnering with SHARE Cancer Support to pilot a remote patient navigation program for my patients was incredibly special.
Through SHARE’s patient navigation program, my patients have received financial assistance, including meal programs, insurance, coverage for treatment, legal services, and connections to support groups during their treatment. I am grateful for their partnership in caring for my patients.”
The inspiration for SHARE’s new Patient Navigation Program is rooted in our 2021 Getting Our Fair SHARE conference. Attendees called out Patient Navigation for its powerful potential to help end health disparities. SHARE facilitated a robust workstream process over two years with a broad range of constituencies, including healthcare providers, patients, and policy experts. Together, they developed a clear outline of the next steps that became the blueprint for SHARE’s new Patient Navigation Program for those facing breast or gynecologic cancer diagnoses. The plan included hiring both a SHARE Patient Navigator and a Financial Navigator, identifying cross-cultural best practices, and developing a comprehensive evidence-based Patient Navigation Curriculum Toolkit for organizations across the country that want to develop or build their own Patient Navigation services. The Toolkit is now close to completion.
And here are some highlights from the first year:
- Internal program built, including procedures, job descriptions, standardized documentation, evidence-based assessment tools, workflows, metrics, reports, dashboards, provider and hospital engagement, and marketing materials.
- The team presented the SHARE Cancer Support Navigation program at a National Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigator conference in 2024.
- Provider onboarding started with breast cancer patients in February 2024. Nine providers and hospital systems are in place, and 16 referral sources have been identified.
- The PN Team served 132 patients, identified 994 concerns/barriers, provided 481 interventions, and over $66,000 in financial assistance for the navigated patients.
This is an excerpt from one of many notes we have received about how SHARE’s Patient Navigation Program has already had an extraordinary impact on individual lives:
“From that moment I was surrounded by three women Mónica Bolanos, Sandra Morales and Zarek Mena, who have listened to me, supported me in every way, but above all they have filled me with hope knowing that I am not alone in this process.
I want to take this opportunity to tell you that I am thoroughly grateful for your commitment, for the support and the love you have given me.
God bless you for the beautiful work that you do!”
–Monica & G (My son)
