Development of a Hospital Ostomy Peer Visitor Program

The WOC nurses at a Boston hospital developed an Ostomy Peer Visitor program to support patients with new ostomies transitioning from hospital to home. Central to the program are BWH volunteers, experienced in ostomy peer visitation, who visit patients in their hospital rooms.  After approval by the Nursing Directors and Educators of the selected units, a welcome “tea” was held to introduce the Visitor and program to nursing staff of the units. The program was piloted for three months with one Visitor seeing patients. The Visitor’s shift began with WOC nurses providing names and pertinent information about patients who may welcome a visit. To determine if a patient was interested and able to meet, the Visitor conferred with their RN. Thirty patients were visited during the pilot, including eleven ileostomies, eight colostomies, and eleven urostomies. Visits averaged twenty-five minutes. The Visitor observed that many patients were concerned and fearful about being in public, accepting their body, and feeling normal again. Fewer asked about managing their ostomy care. Patients needed to tell their stories and were grateful for a compassionate listener who shared their medical experience. At the end of the pilot, a Survey Monkey with eight questions was sent to nursing staff for feedback about the program. Results showed that respondents were supportive of the program and valued the Visitor as a knowledgeable resource with life experiences. Nurses stated that after visits, patients appeared calmer and happier, reassured, and grateful. The reason patients occasionally declined visits included being too tired or sick, or not ready to talk. Suggestions to improve the program included adding a male visitor, matching the type of ostomy, adding another visitor day, and telephone visits for patients who were discharged without a visit. The program will continue with plans to incorporate these suggestions for improvement.