Page 19 - BusinessWest 2023 Healthcare Heroes

the end of the year, it was over 50 scans a month. A year after we started, it was over 100.”
Now, that number is more than 250,
she said, adding that such screenings are important because, while lung cancer is the deadliest of cancers, there are usually no visible signs of it — such as unexplained weight loss, coughing up blood, or pneumonia — until its later stages.
“When patients are diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, the treatment is, by and large, palliative, not curative,” she explained, “which makes it extra important to try to diagnose these people with lung cancer at an earlier stage.”
In addition to her work coordinating the screening program, LeBlanc also handles work implied by her initial title — nurse navigator.
This is work to help the patient understand and prepare for the procedure they are facing, such as removal of a portion of their lung, and answer any questions they may have.
“When the surgeon leaves the room
... that’s when a patient will take that deep breath and say, ‘I have so many questions,’” she told BusinessWest. “It can be overwhelming, and this gives me an opportunity to answer those questions, which can involve anything from the
seriousness of the procedure to where to park or what to bring to the hospital with them.”
Meanwhile, she has taken a lead role
in efforts to build a strong culture within the thoracic surgery and cancer screening programs, where 14 people now work, and make it an enjoyable workplace, where birthdays and National Popcorn Day are celebrated, and teamwork is fostered.
“I think it’s important to enjoy where
you work, and when we’re happy, I think that carries over to patients, and they feel that,” she said. “At Easter, we have an Easter egg hunt, with grown, professional adults running around the office looking for Easter eggs. It seems silly, but it’s wonderful at the same time.”
Then, there’s that ‘World Conquering Plans’ board next to her desk. LeBlanc said she and the team at the practice have made considerable progress with many of the items on that list, including plans to expand the office into vacated space next door with an interventional pulmonary department and an ‘incidental nodule’ program.
The interventional pulmonary program
is a relatively new specialty that focuses on diagnosis of lung disease, she said, adding that an interventional pulmonologist has been hired, facilities have been created, and patients have been scheduled starting early
this month.
Progress is also being made on the
incidental nodule program, which, as that name implies, is a safety-net initiative focused on following up on the small, incidental nodules on the lungs that show up on scans other than lung cancer screenings and are often overlooked.
“The evidence is staggering concerning the number of people who have a
scan done, and they have an incidental finding, and there is no follow-up for that incidental finding,” she explained, adding that such findings often get buried or lost in reports. “When patients come to Dr. Rousou, they’ll often say, ‘I’ve had a scan every year for the last so many years; how come no one saw this until now?’”
Breathing Easier
As for the Center for Healthy Lungs ... that is a very ambitious plan, she said, one that exists mainly in dreams right now.
But, as noted earlier, LeBlanc has become proficient in making dreams reality and in drawing lines through items on her whiteboard.
That’s what Rousou and Chuang saw when they recruited LeBlanc — and kept on recruiting her after she kept saying ‘no.’
They could see that she was an emerging leader — and a Healthcare Hero. n
“The evidence is staggering concerning
the number of people who have a scan done,
and they have an incidental finding, and there is no follow-up for that inc”idental finding.
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