UCF Young Adult Patient Naviagation Programs Expanding

The energy around UCF’s Young Adult Patient Navigation program keeps growing.  Our newest navigator, Lindsay Ammons, began working this month at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Hospital.  Lindsay has a Masters in Social Work and clinical experience working at the Washington Cancer Institute, and she has hit the ground running.  Lindsay has quickly become a trusted member of her oncology team at Lombardi and is working one-on-one with young adult patients, building outreach to organizations in the DC area that have a focus on young adults affected by cancer, and developing programs to address the unmet needs of young adults.

Sharon Curran also joined UCF recently, providing “virtual patient navigation,” providing services to individuals who contact the UCF office by phone or email.  Sharon brings a unique professional and personal back.  Trained as a nurse, Sharon has worked in a hospital setting as well as now teaching nursing at Townson University.  Sharon is developing plans with a number of smaller hospitals in the Baltimore, including GBMC and Sinai to provide on-site young adult patient navigation.

Our patient navigation team, including Elizabeth Saylor, our navigator at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, Lindsay, Sharon and Craig Lustig, are meeting regularly to develop materials and resources for patients and families we’re serving in addition to continuously evaluating the impact our program is having on patients and families we’re serving.

UCF currently offers Patient Navigation Programs at the following Cancer Centers:

• University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center
• Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Greater Baltimore Medical Center Sandra & Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute
• Alvin & Lois Lapidus Cancer Institute at Sinai Hospital – coming soon
• Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center – coming soon

UCF Patient Navigation Program Mission:  To improve the ability of young adults to manage their cancer experiences and long-term cancer survival through:

• access to support resources tailored specifically to young adults;
• increased knowledge of their disease, treatment options and lifelong implications of
  treatment choices; and
• effective communication with their medical care team.

UCF Patient Navigation Program Vision:  Patient Navigation seeks to be the flagship patient support program of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults and the leading young adult navigation program model in the country.  The program reflects and is developed with a strong focus on the UCF mission; to enhance lives by supporting, educating and connecting young adults, and their loved ones, affected by cancer.

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