By Julie Randle, Suburban Journals, July 18, 2007
The transplant mentor program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital provides patients a different perspective on transplant surgeries.
Matched with a mentor, a patient is given the opportunity to learn from someone who has been through a transplant.
"The goal is to enhance the process and to provide a different perspective on the process besides the medical community''s opinion," said Rebecca Bathon, a clinical social worker and part of the transplant mentor program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Mentors and patients are matched by hospital social workers. Mentors are matched with patients who need the same type of transplants, but diseases may vary. Social workers try to match patients with the type of mentor they seek, whether that is based on same sex, age, profession or language.
"It's really driven by what a patient wants," said Karen Politsch, a clinical social worker and part of the transplant mentor program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Patients learn about the program through brochures, as well as and during their assessment and evaluation process.
The program was started in 2002. In its history about 200 mentors have been trained and hundreds of matches have been made between patients and mentors. Some connections are short-term while others turn into friendships.
"Mentors are very honest. They don''t make this pretty. They tell it like it is," Bathon said.
For more information, call (314) TOP-DOCS.