Meet Our Oncology Nurse Navigators
Meet Our Oncology Nurse Navigators
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Kayla Byrd, RN, OCN
Mobile: 210-430-7109
Fax: 210-730-9693
Email: [email protected]
Kayla Byrd is a Registered Nurse, (RN) with over 16 years of experience in healthcare. She has been designated as an `Oncology Certified Nurse` since 2014. During her career she has pursued and gained knowledge in both inpatient and outpatient settings, including positions in acute care hospital settings, home health, pre-op and recovery, in-patient and outpatient infusion, radiation, and leadership. In 2018, she found her passion for helping guide patients through a collaborative effort of private sector care supported by community-provided resources. In 2021, she became an oncology nurse navigator with Baptist Health System.
In 2023, Kayla was asked to launch the Lung Program at Baptist. In this role, she assists thoracic oncology patients, working closely with pulmonology, radiology, thoracic surgery, pathology, medical oncology, and radiation oncology specialists. Additionally, she manages the Baptist Lung Nodule Conference, the Baptist Thoracic Tumor Board, the Low-Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) Screening Navigation Program, and is helping to stand up the Baptist Incidental Findings Program and Baptist Pulmonary Clinic.
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.