A woman who has just been told by her doctor that she has breast cancer likely has numerous questions about what to do next.

Connie Haglunds job is to offer a hand.

As a nurse cancer patient navigator at Loma Linda University Medical Center, Haglund is charged with helping patients make their way through the sometimes complicated health care process: from coordination of care, to assembling a multidisciplinary team to develop a personalized treatment plan for each patient.

Patients can often get very overwhelmed by the whole process, Haglund said. I tell them I am there to provide them the education that they need and to help them get answers for any question they might have. For the most part, patients feel very relieved that they are not on their own.

The conference is set for Sunday, Sept. 30, through Wednesday, Oct. 3, at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa, 74-855 Country Club Drive, Palm Desert, Calif., 92260.

As host hospital for the event, Loma Linda University Medical Center will be giving conference attendees tours of the different hospitals within the organization, including Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda University Medical Center East Campus, and Loma Linda University Heart & Surgical Hospital three of the six hospitals in the system. Health care professionals, hospital administrators, and health care providers are among the delegates expected at the conference.

Among the services to be highlighted at the tour of the hospitals is the cancer patient navigator program, which supports the Planetree concept of co-location. This concept calls for pulling together different care providers, who dont typically work together, into one space where they can collaborate to design the best treatment plan and have continuous conversation. This creates an ideal scenario for care that is specifically tailored to and supportive of each patient.

Founded by a patient in 1978, Planetree is a not-for-profit organization that works with hospitals and health care organizations all over the world to improve the delivery of health care by putting the needs of patients first.

Judy Chatigny, executive director of Loma Linda University Cancer Center, said adopting Planetrees philosophy of putting patients first helps demystify health care for many patients and helps them manage the stresses brought on by their illness.

Steps taken to improve the patients treatment experience range from restructuring the Cancer Centers waiting room to make it more comfortable for patients, to redesigning the centers logo to include an inspirational Tree of Hope.

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Loma Linda University Medical Center to highlight Planetree philosophy of putting patients first in health care