The Valerie Fund
Battling cancer is difficult for anyone, but for children and their families, the long journey from diagnosis to treatment to recovery requires a team effort. That’s why HFNJ provided a $115,000 grant to the Valerie Fund in 2022 to support the hire of a Nurse Navigator for pediatric oncology and hematology patients at Goryeb Children’s Hospital at Morristown Medical Center.
Since its founding, one of HFNJ’s core values has been humanism in the delivery of medical care. The Nurse Navigator delivers this by serving as single point of contact in the dizzyingly complex oncology care system with multiple providers and specialists, and by serving as a compassionate and friendly face whom families can trust throughout an emotionally difficult process.
With the funding, the Valerie Fund was able to hire Ashley Mariconda, a certified nurse, to the new position, and she served more than 175 patients and their families over the first year of the program. Cancer treatment today requires tests – and lots of them. Accordingly, the Patient Navigator took the lead in scheduling the 250+ scans (including MRIs, CTS, PET, XRAYs, comprehensive hearing tests, and ECHO/EKG) which the physicians required to monitor patients’ progress.
A key part of the Nurse Navigator role involves identifying and eliminating barriers to treatment. Some families have transportation issues; others may require translation services to better understand educational materials. By developing a long-standing relationship with each family, the Nurse Navigator is in a position to take a “30,000 foot view” of each patient’s situation to anticipate and respond to potential barriers before they appear.
The Valerie Fund has secured other grant commitments to continue to fund this program for a minimum of the next two years, and to expand the program by adding a second hematology nurse navigator. And, with Mariconda’s caring and empathic approach to service delivery, patients and their families feel supported throughout the treatment process.