2b. Connecting Nurse Navigators and Patients
At Essentia Health, some cancer diagnoses are automatically connected with a nurse navigator. These diagnoses include breast, gastrointestinal, pulmonary, and head/neck cancers. A member of the cancer team will reach out to the nurse navigator coordinator to request a navigator for the patient. The coordinator is typically notified by one of the following:
- Radiologist
- Primary care provider
- Oncology provider
- Surgeon
- GI provider
- Pulmonary provider
If a patient has a different cancer diagnosis, patients and providers can request a nurse navigator. Once the nurse navigator is notified of the request, he or she will reach out to the patient to help guide them through their cancer journey.