Care Navigation Help Desk: Jane's story

People call Allina's Care Navigation Help Desk with many different needs and health care situations. Jane, the sister of a patient, provides these examples of how she and her sister found help through the Care Navigation Help Desk:

When Julie was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer last December, she and her sister Jane weren't sure what the future would hold. In subsequent months, Julie's health continued to decline and her doctor recommended she quit chemotherapy due to the side effects she had from the treatment. Jane thought Julie seemed depressed and that they both needed help figuring out what to do next.

That's when Jane went online to look for help. She found information about Allina's Care Navigation Help Desk, a place patients and their families can call when they need help finding health care resources and services. Jane called and talked to a registered nurse care navigator, who offered to work with Julie's doctor to get a referral for palliative care.

Palliative care is for patients living with a chronic illness who are not ready for hospice care (end-of-life care). Members of the palliative care team, including chaplains, nurses and social workers, focus on symptom management, education about disease progression, goals, concerns and nutrition.

Julie's palliative care nurse visited Julie at home three times over the summer to care for her and talk to her about her condition. When the time was right, the palliative care nurse recommended Julie begin hospice care. "Every since Julie went into the hospital, we’ve been glad we're hooked up with Allina," said Jane. "They’ve been able to help with home oxygen, palliative care and now hospice care. Not every health system has all those services."

Julie is still at home, receiving care from Jane and her nephew, in addition to many members of the Allina hospice care team. A hospice nurse visits twice a week and a social worker visits weekly. "She's been really helpful with information for the family," Jane said. Julie also receives massage therapy once per week and Julie and her family have talked to the hospice chaplain on the phone numerous times. "It's really comforting to me to talk with the chaplain," Jane said. "She and I had a nice long chat the other day." Jane hopes that sometime soon Julie will invite the chaplain to visit. "Julie is a person of great faith, but she kind of likes to keep her faith to herself," Jane explained.

Jane said that the hospice nurse said she saw a big change in Julie last week. The nurse visited over the weekend to check on Julie. "We had a lot of family members over last time, and the nurse spent time with us to explain what was happening and what to expect," Jane said.

"Having everything taken care of through Allina has just made things so much smoother for us, and better for Julie," Jane said.

If you or someone you loved could benefit from advance care planning, hospice, palliative care, home health care, home oxygen & medical equipment, advanced illness, housing referral & placement, private care giving or life care management, please call the Allina Care Navigation Help Desk at 651-635-9173 or 1-800-261-0879.

Return to Care Navigation Help Desk.

Patient names have been changed to protect their privacy.