Jennifer Bires, Executive Director at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Innovative Persistence in Action.
That was the theme of this year’s ACS National Navigation Roundtable Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Those words couldn’t feel more timely or more urgent.
Over two days, I witnessed something powerful: a collective, cross-sector commitment to making patient navigation sustainable, accessible, and equitable. And I left with both hope and a deeper understanding of just how much work lies ahead.
Here are a few moments that still resonate:
I had the honor of presenting alongside Dr. Carmen Stokes, Belinda Paulicin, and Marianne Pearson on ‘Stronger Together: Connecting Clinical and Community Navigators to Transform the Patient Experience.’ We highlighted how partnerships, like the one between Smith Center for Healing and the Arts and Inova Health’s Peterson Life with Cancer, are building collaborative programming to support young adults with cancer in the DMV. When we bridge clinical systems with community care, we don’t just fill gaps – we create continuity and community.
Dr. Jill Biden led a powerful panel alongside Tracy Battaglia, Julie McMahon, and Arif Kamal, celebrating progress on reimbursement for navigation and highlighting the need that still exists. Their message was clear: navigation changes lives, and the system must catch up.
The three-year strategic planning sessions centered member voices to map a future focused on sustainability, equity, and systemic access. I was inspired by how many are working to turn strategy into practice.
Presentations by Krista Nelson, Christina Bach, and NNRT Leadership by Karen Raven Costello reminded us of the critical navigation work being done by social workers.
The work by Christopher Lathan stood out – showing how navigation can be a driver not just for care, but for career pathways, workforce equity, and deep-rooted community partnerships.
As access to care becomes increasingly complex, navigation is no longer optional. It’s foundational. We are building something transformative, but transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when we advocate, collaborate, and act.
Take a moment to fill out the Navigation Survey on reimbursement codes. Your input helps drive the future of this work and helps highlight barriers getting in the way of sustainability.
A huge thank you to Michelle C., Karen Costello, Zarek Mena and Donna Moore Wilson who planned an incredible meeting.
The American Cancer Society National Navigation Roundtable (ACS NNRT) is distributing this brief survey in order to gather feedback regarding current experiences with the new billing codes to support the reimbursement of patient navigation services. ACS NNRT will use the information gathered via the survey to develop recommendations to improve design and uptake of these codes. The survey is designed to gather feedback from institutions, who are and are not currently implementing the new codes.”
More from Jennifer Bires on OncoDaily.
