Patient Navigation
Getting care is rarely the hard part. Keeping track of it is. A referral here, a lab there, a bill from an office you do not recognize, a pharmacy that says your prescription is not ready. Patient Navigation exists so that no one has to hold all of that alone.
Through our Longitudinal Care Coordination (LCC) program, patients are paired with a navigator who stays with them across visits. Your navigator is a trained student volunteer who works alongside your medical team, and who you can reach during the week.
What Your Navigator Does
Keeps your whole picture in one place
Your navigator knows your conditions, your medications, your referrals, and what you are waiting on. You do not have to re-explain your history to a new team every visit.
Chases the things that fall through
The lab that never came back, the specialist appointment that never got scheduled, the pharmacy that says it has no record of you. Your navigator follows up so you are not the one making the calls.
Is reachable between Saturdays
Clinic runs once a week, but care does not pause in between. Your navigator is the person to reach when something changes and it cannot wait until the weekend.
Connects the non-medical pieces
Food, housing, transportation, interpretation, legal questions. If something outside the exam room is affecting your health, your navigator loops in the right team.
How You Get a Navigator
You do not apply. Once you are an established HAVEN patient, your care team assigns navigation based on what your care involves. Patients managing several conditions at once, waiting on specialty referrals, or facing barriers outside the clinic are prioritized.
If you would like a navigator and have not been assigned one, say so at your next visit or call (203) 200-0673. Asking is enough.
What your navigator can do
- Explain what a diagnosis, a lab result, or a referral actually means
- Schedule, reschedule, and confirm your appointments
- Track your referrals and tell you where each one stands
- Loop in social services, insurance counseling, or the medication access team
- Help you prepare for a specialist visit and tell you what to bring
- Follow up after a hospital or emergency department visit
What your navigator cannot do
- Give medical advice or change your treatment plan on their own
- Handle emergencies. Call 911, or 988 for a mental health crisis
- Guarantee a specialist appointment or its timing
- Act as a licensed social worker, therapist, or legal representative
Navigation and Compass
These two go together, and it helps to know which is which.
Patient Navigation
The ongoing service. A person who keeps your care organized, week to week, for as long as you are our patient. This is what you are reading about now.
The Compass Program
The destination. A three-to-five-year plan your navigator walks you through, ending with permanent coverage and a primary care provider who is yours after HAVEN.
How Compass worksOne more thing your navigator handles: the non-medical barriers. Food, housing, utilities, transportation, and interpretation all run through Social Services, and your navigator is the one who makes the introduction.