Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Addressing Ostomy Care and other GI Issues

Our acute care facility’s gastrointestinal (GI) diseases site team’s mission is to achieve the most current care for our patients with GI-related cancer.  The team meets six times a year.  The participants in this meeting include the GI physicians, surgeons, radiologists, oncologists, our genetic counselor, our lead Wound, Ostomy, and Continence (WOC) nurse, cancer navigators, and selected managers and nurses.   Its objectives are to: 1) improve communication, information, and education with primary care physicians (PCP); 2) educate patients and physicians about colorectal cancer screening and treatment; 3) streamline processes to offer timely and superior GI cancer care while adhering to evidence-based protocols in GI cancer work-up and treatment; 4) incorporate genetic counseling into the colorectal cancer program; 5) develop a survivorship program; 6) offering supportive services for GI patients; 6) update the team regarding the drug trials conducted in our facility; and 8) participate in our facility’s marketing efforts.  From 2010 to the present year, the team has successfully reached many important goals: disseminating information to the team regarding the ostomy care process in the facility (pre-operative marking, ostomy education, ostomy support group, discharge planning); highlighting the three staff WOC nurses’ roles; providing free colon cancer screening to the community; supporting the facility’s marketing endeavors; completing a pancreatic cancer screening algorithm; fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in our facility; and enhancing our relationship with our community partners such as the PCPs and home health agencies.