Navigating healthcare together

Community and Oral Health Nurse Navigator Kirsten Howie

When we talk about nurse navigation, it is a lot more than simply finding the right health service for a patient at the right time.

Our amazing nurse navigators across Metro North Health such as Community and Oral Health’s Kirsten Howie are showing an inspiring level of dedication, empathy, compassion and tenacity to support patients and families find their way through the health system.

“We are often dealing with very complex cases where patients and families can find themselves confused during extremely difficult and stressful circumstances, without knowing where to turn.

“At Community and Oral Health, we generally support the elderly, patients who are over the age of 65 and who have very complex health, welfare, legal and social challenges, requiring a variety of intervention, case management, care or transfers from overseas.

“Finding a pathway for them is often difficult and may require a unique care package set up for their needs.

“We see different patients every day. You never know who will knock on the door or who the next patient will be.”

Kirsten, who previously worked as a retrieval nurse helping extract seriously ill patients from mines and cruise ships, is the perfect person for the systems nurse navigator role.

It is obvious she is very passionate about the welfare of all of her patients.

In 2016, the Queensland Government instigated the Nurse Navigator program where 400 senior nurses were appointed across the various Hospital and Health Services to make it easier for patients to transition into care.

An evaluation of the Nurse Navigator program has found that nurse navigators have led to significant reductions in Emergency Department presentations, early discharge from hospital and reduced outpatient and inpatient visits for their patients.

The outcomes for our patients and their families are extremely significant.