Jaime Lewis (Host): Navigating surgery can feel overwhelming for patients and their families. From preoperative preparation to post-surgical recovery, having the right support makes all the difference. Today, I'm sitting down with Carla Vera Sanchez, Clinical Navigation Coordinator at Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall. She's going to talk about patient navigation and surgical support and how her team helps patients through every step of their surgical journey.

This is Doc Talk presented by Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall. I'm Jamie Lewis. Hello, Carla. Thanks for joining us.

Carla Vera Sanchez, BSN: Thank you for having me.

Host: Well, let's start with some basics. What does pre-surgery support entail and how does patient navigation help prepare someone for their upcoming procedure?

Carla Vera Sanchez, BSN: So, let's just imagine you are at your doctor's office and you are being told that you need surgery. As a patient, there is a lot of questions, a lot of things happening in your mind, and you might not even be listening to what the doctor is telling you at that moment. So, that's when I will step in as a surgical navigator.

My role is basically to be that essential link between the patients and the healthcare providers. And I want to make sure that I'm the one able to follow up with the patient through the pre-admission testing, through the pre-surgical support that they need, either with just finding out what it entails for surgery or what procedure needs to be done, what to expect, what questions do they have that they might have not been answered at that doctor's visit. And then, is there any like pre-op appointments that the patients have to do in order to get clearances, medical clearances?

 My goal is that the patient is well-prepared because when they are more prepared, then the better the recovery will be. I want to make sure that they have clear instructions. So, I also advocate to make sure that they understand what entails the surgery and what entails the procedure that they're about to have. I feel that when you give patients the information and the tools that they need before surgery, that is going to help them a lot to have the best possible outcome and the best possible experience during and after surgery.

Host: Wonderful. Well, so, let's say I'm about to go into surgery. We've done all the preparation. You've helped me navigate all of that. Now, it's the day of, what can you, as the surgical navigator, do for me and my family during my actual surgery process?

Carla Vera Sanchez, BSN: Right before surgery, there is always a couple questions that patients still have or family members have. So, I resolve those questions for them. I answer those questions. I provide the education necessary. I also like coordinate with the surgical team. So if there is anything going on that the patient needs advocacy for, I will be the one doing that. And then, with the families, I can be updating and the surgery status and how recovery is going, just to make sure that the whoever is waiting for that patient in the waiting room has all of the information that they need to have that peace of mind, that the patient is in great hands during the surgery.

Host: Okay. So, let's say surgery's done. What does post-surgery support look like? How long does that typically continue?

Carla Vera Sanchez, BSN: So usually, we will follow up with the patient post-surgery, when they're in the room. At that point, I'm making sure that a couple things are like being covered. So, I want to make sure that the patient is comfortable. I want to make sure that they're not having any severe pain. And making sure also that the family, if there's any family at the bedside, that they're already in the room with the patient.

Then, I will work with the providers to ensure that their patient is getting the right medication sent to the pharmacy. I will make sure that they have the followup appointment already scheduled. And then, I will provide them my contact information to see if there's any questions that they have once they go home. Because once again, they're post-surgical, they're in the room and sometimes before they're being discharged, they might have some questions that were not answered. So at that point, I'm there to help them also with education in regards of like any complication after surgery. I always provide education about infection and how to prevent that, and pain and how to prevent that, complications such like a blood clot and how to prevent that. And I feel like the support that I give is very unique to each patient because when you provide that personalized support, you're really like focusing on the wellbeing of the patient, and it's not general. It's very specific to what they have and what questions they have and what concerns they have.

 I also make sure that they're being able to follow up with their doctors. So, I will give them a phone call a couple days later to make sure that they do have that post-op schedule and that they are able to see the doctor. Sometimes if they have questions afterwards or they have some concerns, it's easier contacting me than calling the doctor's office and waiting for a phone call back in a couple hours.

They have answers quicker when they contact me. And I'll try to always provide the education that they need because I feel that with the education and the knowledge that they get after any surgery, there is like a peace of mind of knowing what to expect and knowing what's going to happen next.

Host: Well, what about beyond surgery? What kind of services do you offer to patients beyond just the surgical process?

Carla Vera Sanchez, BSN: So, we also try to see more like the continuum of care. So if there is other issues that patients also report from the center of patient navigation, we try to work with social issues such as "What if I'm not able to get transportation to my appointment?" Or "I'm having some issues with insurances. Is there anything that you guys can do financially to help me?" Or is there some issues with medications and copayments? So, we try to do also the social part of it where we're helping them to ensure that their recovery is being done. Are they having some issues with not having enough supplies for taking care of their dressings, incisions after surgery? So, things like that. I always try to obtain as much as information as I can from them to be able to help them afterwards.

Host: Well, that sounds like a really big job and very specific to each patient. I'm sure, like you said, every surgery is different, every patient is different and every experience is different. But for patients who might benefit from surgical navigation services, what's the best way for them to get started?

Carla Vera Sanchez, BSN: Once they are aware that they need the surgical services, they can definitely give us a call for the Center of Patient Navigation. And then, we will provide all of the support that they need. Sometimes we get the immediate referrals from the doctor's offices, letting us know that maybe a patient is having a hard time trying to prepare for surgery. And then, we will be there to guide them.

Host: Great. Well, Carla, thank you so much for joining us today.

Carla Vera Sanchez, BSN: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

Host: That was Carla Vera Sanchez, Clinical Navigation Coordinator at Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall. If you or a loved one could benefit from surgical navigation support, reach out to MSLCs Center for Patient Navigation by calling 845-458-4444. To learn more about all of MSLC's patient services, visit montefioreslc.org. Thanks for listening to Doc Talk, presented by Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall. For more information, please visit montefioreslc.org. And please remember to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and all the other Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall podcasts.