Meet Our Oncology Nurse Navigators
Meet Our Oncology Nurse Navigators
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Katy Flanagan, BSN, RN
Mobile: 210-440-4954
Fax: 210-730-9693
Email: [email protected]
Katy Flanagan is a native San Antonian who earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center in 2018. As a specialty surgical floor nurse, she primarily cared for patients before and after oncology surgeries. Through this experience, she discovered a special connection with breast cancer patients and refined her focus to caring for women undergoing breast reconstructive surgery.
Since 2024, Katy has been a Breast Cancer Nurse Navigator with Baptist Health System. Patients come to her through referrals from their physicians or on their own, following breast biopsies at imaging centers. There, patients receive a form offering navigation assistance from Baptist Health System. If they choose it, Katy is notified. She then reaches out to the patient and their close relationship begins.
Whether a biopsy is benign, high-risk, or malignant, Katy ensures patients receive their results in a timely manner and that they understand their pathology - the diagnosis and the details about their type of breast cancer. Katy then collaborates with all physicians and specialists involved and assists her patients in determining the best treatment option.
During patients’ cancer journeys, obstacles arise. Some are clinical, while others can be personal. No issue is too large or too small for Katy to address for her patients. Whether it be finding transportation or childcare or interfacing with specialists - Katy is committed to being her patients’ advocate and staunchest supporter.
Oncology Nurse Navigators FAQ
Although both work together to ensure patients are well taken care of, patient navigation and patient case management are not the same function.
- Case management is focused on the transition of an individual from inpatient care to outpatient /home discharge.
- Navigation is focused on minimizing barriers to care, distress mitigation, and improvement of adherence/timeliness to care treatment plans. It also empowers patients through education, identifying needed resources and ensuring communication with their healthcare teams. Additionally, navigators can get involved with the patient at any point in their journey, without a physician referral and at no charge to the patient.
Oncology Nurse Navigators are Registered Nurses (RN), with bachelor’s degrees in nursing or certifications from accredited nursing programs. After becoming an RN, they then focus their career path on oncology care, in both inpatient and outpatient settings, to gain valuable experience working with patients and medical providers across multiple disciplines providing cancer care.
Baptist Health System does not charge patients for oncology nurse navigation services. A patient can be referred by a physician or can self-refer.