ORLANDO – Melissa Andres, BSN, RN, OCN, manager of patient navigator at St. Vincent Health recently received a Best Practices Award in the community outreach category at the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators’ (AONN+) annual conference in Orlando. AONN+’s Best Practices Award recognizes navigators who have implemented novel initiatives to support patients with cancer. Andres was honored for implementing a proactive, streamlined navigation process for breast cancer services at St. Vincent’s Health.
The Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+) is the largest national specialty organization dedicated to improving patient care and quality of life by defining, enhancing, and promoting the role of oncology nurse and patient navigators. The organization, which has more than 5,000 members, was founded in 2009 to provide a network for all professionals involved and interested in patient navigation and survivorship care services in order to better manage the complexities of the cancer treatment process.