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Innovative Navigation
Maine Medical Center in Biddeford and Portland now have a new role for Oncology Nurse Navigators (ONN) to provide inpatient to outpatient support to patients with a new or suspected cancer diagnosis. In this role, the navigator will assess and address barriers to care, review and facilitate next steps in a patient’s care and provide education, ensuring that patients are well informed about their disease process and are receiving timely treatment.
Navigators assess and address barriers to care; anticipate needs upon discharge and make referral as needed:
• Primary Care Provider
• Insurance barriers
• Nutritional needs
• Medication barriers
Navigators facilitate care:
• Financial barriers
• Transportation barriers
• Psychosocial needs
• Language barriers
• Medical appointments/ physician referrals
• Expedite outpatient diagnostic work up
• Coordinate follow up with outpatient oncology
• Monitor pathology results
• Coordinate testing (e.g. imaging, labs etc.)
• Act as point of contact for patient and family
• Resource for symptoms management
• Place referrals for care and programs (e.g. outpatient nutrition, social work, financial support)
Navigators provide patient-family education
Members ofthenavigation, socialwork andsurvivorship teamsfrom acrossthenetwork recently metinScarborough foraneducational retreatandannualinpersonnetworking
• Meet with patient while inpatient for introduction and review of navigator role.
• Provide education related to new or suspected diagnosis.
• Review next steps in plan of care i.e., imaging, pathology, labs, other testing, appts.
• Cancer screening and prevention
Goals of Navigation Service:
• Provide patient advocacy
• Ensure patients receive timely follow up diagnostics and treatment.
• Ensure patients are well informed about their disease process.
• Improve patient and family satisfaction.
• Provide support to providers
• Decrease length of stay and re-admissions.
• Decrease unnecessary duplicate testing after discharge.
To learn more about cancer patient navigators across our system, visit our website here.
• Foster patient empowerment and provide patients with information and resources that increase their ability to make appropriate health care choices and receive medical care with an enhanced sense of confidence.
Meet Susan
Susan Raposa is a registered nurse with a unique blend of expertise in health care and community education. Susan became a registered nurse in 2009 and has spent most of her nursing career specializing in the field of oncology. Prior to joining the Cancer Care team at MaineHealth in outpatient oncology navigation, she was an Oncology Nurse Navigator at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. Previously, she worked at York Hospital Cancer Care providing clinical care in all aspects of IV therapy, including blood transfusions, biotherapy, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy administration. Throughout her nursing career she has primarily worked with patients coping with a cancer diagnosis-guiding them through the cancer care continuum.
“I am truly excited to be part of the oncology nurse navigation team at Maine Health,” states Susan. “In addition to the privilege of providing compassionate care and support to a patient and their family, a nurse has the unique opportunity to use their passion and purpose to touch another life in a meaningful way. I am inspired daily by the resilience and expression of hope displayed by patients who are coping with a new or suspected cancer diagnosis.”
“Personally, I am blessed beyond measure with a supportive husband (Dan), five children (Jen, Jaimee, Jim, Jesse, and Jenna Rose) and nine grandchildren. I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, gardening; and traveling to far-away places.”
Susan graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of New Hampshire. She is a current member of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), the Northern New England Clinical Oncology Society (NNECOS), the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), and the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN).
Meet Jayme
I graduated from the University of New England in 2010 with a degree in medical biology, and again in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in nursing. I have been working as a nurse for ten years and have worked at multiple MaineHealth locations, including Pen Bay Medical Center, SMHC in Biddeford, and Maine Medical Center. I have worked on the inpatient medical-surgical, cardiology, and surgical oncology units, and most recently, in the Medical Oncology clinic in South Portland supporting the hematology team.
My position as Medical Oncology Nurse Navigator is newly created and began in January, 2024. My primary focus is assisting patients at MMC with a new or suspected oncology diagnosis transition from the Emergency Department, Urgent Care, or inpatient units to outpatient oncology care. My role includes ensuring timely outpatient oncology follow up, assessing for barriers to care, providing support for patients and their families, and educating patients and their families about what to expect and next steps with their outpatient care.
I live in southern Maine with my husband and our two dogs, Dexter and Izzy. I enjoy hiking, paddleboarding, reading, and spending time outside.
