Nurse Navigator
Baptist Health System Adds Advocate for Back Pain Patients
By Amy Morgan
If you’ve ever felt the crushing grip of back pain, you’ll remember it clearly. One moment you were leaning down to pick up something, and the next, you’re crumpled into a ball barely able to stand, much less walk.
Whether the onset of your agony is sudden or a flare from a chronic condition, it’s debilitating. One of the worse things about back pain is that rarely does it subside on its own. Acute discomfort can send people to the emergency room. Once there, caring professionals will rule out immediate dangerous health issues and administer temporary pain relief medication or steroid injections, but unfortunately, treatment for back pain can be a journey involving physical therapy, medication prescribed by a primary care physician, perhaps even a visit to an orthopedist or spine surgeon.
Discharged patients may still be hurting and uncertain of their plan.
Baptist Health System (BHS) has implemented a program to ease that transition and help patients better access the care they need. They’ve added a Spine Navigator – a registered nurse who’ll reach out to back pain patients seen at BHS emergency rooms as a point of contact and patient advocate.
The Spine Navigator is just the most recent of BHS’s patient advocate programs, North Central Baptist Hospital Chief Operating Officer Trent Kingman said. Baptist Health System successfully uses navigators to connect oncology, cardiac and perinatal patients to providers and community resources.
“We see the value navigators bring to our patient population,” Trent added. “Health care can be a scary and unfamiliar experience. Our navigators are registered nurses so they can offer a clinical perspective as well as be the one contact person patients can talk with to find their best care pathways. They don’t have to resort to the internet to figure out their next step.”
Spine Navigator Tina Stolhandske, B.S.N., R.N., will office among the other navigators at North Central Baptist Hospital (NCBH) on Madison Oak Drive to learn from their example as she develops the new spine position. Tina brings 16 years of experience in orthopedics, spine and pain management.
“I have seen first-hand how pain, acute or chronic, can be debilitating and life altering,” she said. “Pain impacts patients physically, emotionally, socially, and mentally. No matter where patients are in their journeys, they always have questions, need support and someone to go to when they don’t understand things. As a navigator, I will help bridge the gap of support.”
Not only has Tina seen how pain affects people in her work, she has experienced back pain herself. Her empathy and understanding, combined with her professional expertise, inspire her passion for her new role.
The Spine Navigation program has a mission to improve the journey to health and wellness for patients who have left the NCBH ER after an admitting diagnosis of back/neck pain.
Tina helps the patient differentiate their pathway, because not all back pain is the same. She’ll call and determine their priorities – are they looking for a provider in Stone Oak? Need an appointment immediately? Request a certain gender?
Based on patient desires, Tina will help patients narrow their choice of providers to allow for care in a timely manner. She also will warmly hand them off to a scheduler. No longer will patients wonder where to go or struggle to obtain an appointment.
“I am here to ensure patients get the care they need the way they want it,” Tina said. “While I may not have all the answers, I can help them get in direct contact with the offices and providers. When patients feel supported and understood, their anxiety decreases, which also impacts their pain.”
There is never a cost for consulting one of NCBH’s nurse navigators. “This is a service provided by Baptist Heath System for the simple reason that research has shown – and our own experience supports – that patients generally experience better results when they work with a nurse navigator,” Tina said. “It alleviates extra worry and facilitates access to care as they are guided through medical, emotional, and logistical/physical issues.”
“As navigation becomes more standard of care across service lines, we continue to look for opportunities to help patients seek and receive the care they need in a timely manner,” Trent said. “We’re excited to be moving into spine and committed to following with others.”
