Lung Transplantation Patient Guide  Support Services
Support Services after Lung Transplantation
From the moment you and your primary pulmonary specialist begin discussing the possibility of lung transplantation, you will have many questions and concerns about this treatment option.
There are practical concerns and emotional reactions.
And there are certain lifestyle adaptations that will need to occur following the surgery — changes that will affect not only you but also your loved ones. Members of your transplant team will be there to guide you through each stage of your transplantation.
- Your nurse coordinators/PA will oversee your care — expediting tests and consultations and answering your questions.
- Your social worker will determine what emotional and practical support may be needed by you and your family during this period. She can connect you to those services in the community that can be of possible assistance.
- Your financial counselor will evaluate your medical insurance during the pre-transplantation and work closely with you to ensure that all possible expenses, including immunosuppressants, will be covered, perhaps through new or additional insurance — or sometimes alternative sources.
- A nutritionist will work closely with you to guide your healthy eating habits as you await your surgery and then assist you in adapting to your new and necessary post-surgical food and preparation requirements.
A delicious recipe is highlighted in every issue of the heart and lung transplantation newsletter.
Patient Education Seminar
The lung transplantation offers two-hour educational seminars.
It offers invaluable information to help you and your supports to learn more about transplant and to know what to expect.
The professional staff on the lung transplant team provide interactive lectures about organ donation, post-transplant medications, the role of exercise, organ rejection, nutrition, research in transplant, ethics, and infection control.
On occasion, during the second hour, the social worker will facilitate a discussion and support session to enable the participants to share their concerns, receive guidance and moral support.
All transplant candidates are required to attend 12 Seminar Meetings per year.
Post-surgical patients are encouraged to participate, not only because the sessions continue to be helpful but also because they themselves can offer their own unique perspective about the surgery to candidates waiting for a donor organ.
The program also offers non-mandatory, specialized support group meetings for: (1) caregivers — those responsible for seeing to it that the recovering transplant patients are taking their medications, moving about and getting the necessary care they require at home — and for (2) post-surgical patients to give them an opportunity to share their experiences with one another. These meetings are only for caregivers or for post-surgical patients, respectively.
They take place on Mondays, and they are facilitated by the social worker.
Lung Transplant Program Educational Seminar Meetings
Please Note: Patients Are Required to Attend 12 Seminar Meetings per Year
| January - July 2012 |
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| Date | Time | Speaker | Meeting |
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| Wed, 1/4 | 4:00-5:00 PM | Frank D'Ovidio, MD | Donor Selection/Ex-Vivo Project |
| 5:00-6:00 PM | Selim Arcasoy, MD | Frequently Asked Questions |
| Tue, 1/17 | 2:30-3:30 PM | Nilani Ravichandran, FNPC | When The Call Comes… |
| 3:30-4:30 PM | Carmen Saunders, RN | Importance of Pre-Transplant Testing |
| Wed, 2/1 | 4:00-5:00 PM | Matthew Bartels, MD | Rehabilitation, Exercise & Transplant |
| 5:00-6:00 PM | Brenda Klein, RD | Nutrition & Transplant |
| Tue, 2/21 | 2:30-3:30 PM | Jenna Scheffert, PharmD | Post Transplant Medications |
| 3:30-4:30 PM | Daryle Blackstock, PA | Post Transplant Hospitalization |
| Wed, 3/14 | 4:00-5:00 PM | Frank D'Ovidio, MD | Donor Selection/Ex-Vivo Project |
| 5:00-6:00 PM | Joshua Sonett, MD | Lung Transplant Surgery |
| Tue, 3/20 | 2:30-3:30 PM | Selim Arcasoy, MD | Frequently Asked Questions |
| 3:30-4:30 PM | Julia C. Sze, RN, MS | Life Changes Before, During & After Transplant |
| Tue, 4/17 | 2:30-3:30 PM | Lori Shah, MD | Acute & Chronic Rejection |
| 3:30-4:30 PM | Hilary Robbins, MD | Post Transplant Testing |
| Wed, 4/25 | 4:00-5:00 PM | Lisa McCaskill, RN | Life After Transplant & Post Transplant Care |
| 5:00-6:00 PM | Phyllis Sachs, LCSW | Working Together: The Patient and the Transplant Team |
| Wed, 5/2 | 4:00-5:00 PM | Jenna Scheffert, PharmD | Post Transplant Medications |
| 5:00-6:00 PM | David Lederer, MD | Risks and Benefits of Lung Transplantation: Expectations and the Unexpected |
| Tue, 5/15 | 2:30-3:30 PM | Carmen Saunders, RN | Pre-Transplant Testing Importance |
| 3:30-4:30 PM | Nilani Ravichandran, FNPC | Post Transplant Compliance |
| Wed, 6/13 | 4:00-5:00 PM | Lisa McCaskill, RN | Life After Transplant & Post Transplant Care |
| 5:00-6:00 PM | Matthew Bartels, MD | Rehabilitation, Exercise & Transplant |
| Tue, 6/19 | 2:30-3:30 PM | Selim Arcasoy, MD | Frequently Asked Questions |
| 3:30-4:30 PM | Hilary Robbins, MD | Non Pulmonary Complications of Transplant |
| Wed, 7/11 | 4:00-5:00 PM | David Fedoronko, MD | Psychological Factors in Transplant |
| 5:00-6:00 PM | Rena John, LMSW | Coping With Chronic Illness |
| Tue, 7/17 | 2:30-3:30 PM | Lori Shah, MD | Post Transplant Infections |
| 3:30-4:30 PM | Daryle Blackstock, PA | Post Transplant Hospitalization |
All meetings will take place in the Heart Center
Milstein Building, 1st floor,
177 Ft. Washington Avenue
New York, NY 10032
Please bring sufficient oxygen to last the duration of the sessions.
To check on last minute changes, please call social worker voice mail prior to each meeting:
Phyllis Sachs, LCSW @ 212-305-6266 or Rena John, LMSW @ 212-305-6068.
Lung Transplant Program
Caregiver Support Meetings
| 2012 |
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| Date | Time |
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| Monday, January 9 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
| Monday, March 5 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
| Monday, May 7 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
| Monday, July 2 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
| Monday, September 3 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
| Monday, November 5 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
Lung Transplant Program
Post-Transplant Patients and Supports Meetings
| 2012 |
|---|
| Date | Time |
|---|
| Monday, February 6 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
| Monday, April 2 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
| Monday, June 4 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
| Monday, August 6 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
| Monday, October 22 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
All meetings will take place in the Heart Center
Milstein Building, 1st floor
177 Ft. Washington Avenue
New York, NY 10032
To check on last minute changes, please call social worker voice mail prior to each meeting:
Phyllis Sachs, LCSW @ 212-305-6266 or Rena John, LMSW @ 212-305-6068.
Click here to download the 2011 Meeting Schedules Flyer. 
Other Transplant Support Resources
The following organizations provide information and support to transplant recipients:
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