Defeating Cancer Together: Sinai Hospital Pilots New Model to Get Patients the Right Care Sooner
Josh Teal was mentally and emotionally shutting down. After being diagnosed with stage 3A colon cancer, the father of two started sleeping in later and avoiding social interactions. His medical oncologist, Division Director Pallavi Kumar, M.D., knew he needed to refocus and remember his treatment goals.
"She said, 'Look, we're going for a cure here, not palliative care,'" the 43-year-old Eldersburg resident recalls. "In the anxiety of it all, I had lost sight of that. She told me what I needed to hear."
Dr. Kumar's ability to speak with candor was thanks to years of experience treating gastrointestinal (GI) cancers like Teal's. Now, as LifeBridge Heath's director of medical oncology, she wants to make sure every patient gets the same level of specialized expertise with a new model of care that matches each patient to one comprehensive, dedicated team based on the type of cancer that's diagnosed. Each patient's team will include a physician, an advanced practice provider, a registered nurse navigator and a medical assistant, all of whom will stay with the patient from diagnosis to survivorship.
"The goal is for patients to know that they have a core team from the very beginning that understands their diagnosis and will comfort and guide them along their entire journey," Dr. Kumar explains.
Now being piloted at Sinai Hospital with plans to roll it out to Carroll and Northwest hospitals, the approach is proving to be immensely valuable in helping patients get the right care sooner.
"When you have a single team that's seen hundreds of cases like yours, everyone on the team understands the disease, its treatment regimens, and the side effects of those treatments inside and out," says nurse navigator Joan Marie Lake. "Your entire team can anticipate and recognize nuances faster."
"It also gives patients immediate access to our long-standing relationships with other specialists," adds advanced practitioner Kristie Davalli, C.R.N.P. "If Dr. Kumar's team is calling a GI surgeon's office, they know we're calling about something serious. Appointments that often take three months to get can be on the books in a couple of days."
The emotional benefits of the one-team approach are just- as important.
"One of the joys is that we really get to know our patients. They're going through something very traumatic, but when we ask them about their vacation or their daughter's wedding, we make a personal connection," says Davalli.
That bond goes beyond office visits. Patients can also call their care team when they have concerns.
"When something feels urgent to patients, they feel so much better knowing the person on the other end of the call," says Lake. "They can trust that we're working on their concern, and that we're going to call them back."
Teal experienced those open lines of trust and communication firsthand.
"I probably drove Joan and Kristie nuts with all my calls, but I never once felt rushed off the phone," he says. "I felt like I could talk through things, and they always took my questions seriously."
In May, Teal was joined by his team to ring the ceremonial bell after completing his 12th and final round of chemotherapy. "I'm glad to not have to see them anymore," he says with a laugh, "but if I do, they'll all get big hugs. They always had my back, and I feel very grateful."
Photo: Josh Teal enjoys a summer afternoon with his wife, Niesa, and their 10-year-old son, Aiden.