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.
One visit counts for 2 seminars.
Due to the overwhelming number of patients attending seminar meetings, we have split the group in half in order to accommodate patients.
Please refer to this REVISED seminar schedule.
FOR PATIENTS WHOSE LAST NAME ENDS IN A-L:
| April - June 2013 |
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| Date | Time | Speaker | Meeting |
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| Tue, May 21 | 3:00-4:00 PM | Selim Arcasoy, MD | Frequently Asked Questions |
| 4:00-5:00 PM | Nilani Ravichandran, FNP | What To Do When "The Call" Comes |
| Tue, June 18 | 3:00-4:00 PM | David Fedoronko, MD | Psychological Factors in Transplant |
| 4:00-5:00 PM | Jamila Demorizi | Insurance, Finances & Transplant Medication Costs |
FOR PATIENTS WHOSE LAST NAME ENDS IN M-Z:
| April - June 2013 |
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| Date | Time | Speaker | Meeting |
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| Tue, May 7 | 3:00-4:00 PM | Hilary Robbins, MD | Acute & Chronic Rejection |
| 4:00-5:00 PM | Julia Sze, RN, MS | Life Changes Before, During & After Transplant |
| Tue, June 4 | 3:00-4:00 PM | Selim Arcasoy, MD | Frequently Asked Questions |
| 4:00-5:00 PM | Nilani Ravichandran, FNP | What To Do When "The Call" Comes |
| Wed, June 12 | 3:00-4:00 PM | David Fedoronko, MD | Psychological Factors in Transplant |
| 4:00-5:00 PM | Jamila Demorizi | Insurance, Finances & Transplant Medication Costs |
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.
If you arrive early, please wait outside in the lobby as other meetings are taking place in the heart center.
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
2013
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM |
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| Monday, May 13 | Monday, November 11 |
| Monday, June 10 | Monday, December 9 |
All meetings will take place in the Transplant Center:
PH-14 Room 101
622 West 168th Street
New York, NY 10032
PLEASE NOTE, THESE MEETINGS ARE FOR CAREGIVERS ONLY
To check on last minute changes, please check our voicemail message prior to each meeting: Phyllis Sachs, LCSW @ 212-305-6266 or Rena John, LMSW @ 212-305-6068.
Click here to download the 2013 Meeting Schedules Flyer. 
Other Transplant Support Resources
The following organizations provide information and support to transplant recipients:
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