While meeting your cancer team, you'll also meet a very important member of that team—your Patient Navigator.
Your Patient Navigator will be an on-going, consistent point of contact for you and your family through the full continuum of care at Tanner Health System following a cancer diagnosis. In addition to assisting you with everything from paperwork to scheduling and referrals, your Patient Navigator will provide you and your family with emotional support and help you access any additional support services that you may need.
Your Patient Navigator will:
- Provide support as you move through different points in the healthcare system, lessening the confusion of the processes involved
- Provide valuable education to you and your family on a variety of treatment, nutritional, financial or social issues
- Provide information about Tanner, community and/or national resources
- Assist with completing necessary paperwork to access the healthcare system (insurance, funding, etc.)
- Assist with scheduling tests, diagnostic procedures and treatments
- Educate and explain disease treatments, side effects, adverse reactions and reportable signs or symptoms
- Assist in identifying barriers to care (transportation, financial concerns, childcare, etc.) and resources available
- Referrals to supportive care services, including dietitians, social workers, home care assistance, clergy, etc.
- Educate and reinforce discharge instructions following procedures, surgeries, etc.
- Provide educational tools and information for you and your family
The ultimate goal of Tanner’s Patient Navigator program is to provide a seamless and coordinated process involving all of the healthcare providers involved in your cancer treatment and to provide education and support for you and your family.
Meet Tanner's Patient Navigators:
Jane Baker, RN, MSN, CBPN-IC
Baker is a certified breast patient navigator in breast imaging and cancer care through the National Consortium of Breast Centers. She earned a bachelor's in nursing from the School of Nursing at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., and a master's in child health nursing at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Baker, who has extensive experience in pediatric and emergency department nursing, joined Tanner in 2007, where she was a registered nurse in the intensive care unit and emergency department at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton. In 2009, Baker became a patient navigator at Tanner Breast Health, a position that she loves and finds to be extremely rewarding.
Carole Eddleman, MSW
An oncology patient navigator, Eddleman earned a bachelor's in healthcare administration at Auburn University and a master's in social work from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She worked at Tanner in the early 1990s, providing patient navigation assistance in the radiation center, leaving in 1995 to raise three children. Eddleman returned to Tanner in August 2011, and she is excited to be a part of the Tanner Cancer Care patient navigation program.
Jessica Triplett, LCSW
The newest member of Tanner's patient navigator team, Triplett earned a bachelor's in social work at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., and a master's in social work at Loyola University in Chicago, Ill. Most recently, Triplett has been working as an individual and family therapist. She joined Tanner in March 2012 and looks forward to providing assistance and support for cancer patients at Tanner.