My work desk is quite close to Cindy's and I observe and hear a lot of the work that she does on a daily basis. This morning, Cindy answered a call from a member to her direct line. This is not unusual as she gives this number out to all of the members she works with so they can call her directly with any questions or concerns. I could only hear one side of the conversation, but I could tell that this was a tough one. Cindy was asking lots of questions about the member's whereabouts- Where are you located? What can you see around you? Is anybody with you? What are you driving? She was trying to help the member get to his appointment at one of our MOBs, and he was lost. She turned to me and mouthed, "I'm concerned". I tried to help her by finding phone numbers and contacts at the MOB, so we could have a staff member assist the member in getting to his appointment. The member was to have an MRI that day to see about potential brain mets. Cindy was concerned that, indeed this member did have brain mets based on the conversation they were having. We successfully found someone to help at the MOB, and Cindy stayed on the phone with the member until he got into the building. After about 5 minutes of ending that call, the member called again and said the front desk turned him away because he was late, so he was getting back into his car to drive home. At this point, Cindy knew this had gone too far. She performed a quick neuro assessment over the phone to determine if the member was AxO x 4 - he passed. She tried to encourage him to be seen in the ED and offered to get him an ambulance. Again, only hearing one side of the conversation, I could tell that the member refused. Cindy became his GPS- she guided him turn-by-turn to get him to the nearest hospital. Once the member was at the front door of the hospital, she had him hand his phone over to whoever came out. Cindy spoke with someone to give them the details and ask if he could park his car there and if they could help get him to the ER immediately. Turns out the member was not quite at the ER yet. Again, she tried to get him an ambulance ASAP for concern he could not make it safely. The member declined, and she stayed with him, guiding him to the ER. Finally, and safely, he made it. Cindy spoke with a nurse on the member's phone and gave her the rundown. The member made it inside the ER safely. These calls with the member took almost an hour, but Cindy never gave up on helping them.

This is not a new scenario for a cancer coordinator. Cindy probably has these calls at least once a week, if not more. Members are scared and sick and need help- and Cindy is the kind and compassionate voice on the other end of the line, guiding them to the right place. Cindy is not only a nurse in these situations but a therapist most of the time. She deals with complicated emotions and family situations. She fights for the member's rights and advocates for timely and proper care. I am in awe of the work that she does every single day. God most certainly has put her here in our members' lives for a purpose.