April 14
Who takes care of you during the transplant process?
Kami Faulkner, BSN, RN
Post Liver Transplant Coordinator, Portland VA Medical Center
Rev. Shelley Varner, M.Div., BCC
Clinical Chaplain, Portland VA Medical Center
There are many professional people we meet throughout the transplant process at OHSU and the VA Medical Center. Kami Faulkner, Post Liver Transplant Nurse Coordinator, monitors your lab tests and sets up plans for patients with members of the transplant team based on your lab results. She teaches new post-transplant patients about their medications, changes in lifestyle, how to avoid organ rejection, and how to stay healthy. She is also the first one patients should call if they are having any medical issues.
Shelly Varner, Staff Chaplain, provides spiritual and emotional support to patients and families as part of the liver transplant process, both before and after surgery.
Whether you are an OHSU or VA Medical Center transplant patient, it is important to know what professionals you can turn to in order to navigate both the physical and spiritual challenges of being a transplant patient. Kami and Shelley will talk about some of the common issues they encounter in their professional roles at the VA Medical Center. Their roles correspond with similar professionals in the OHSU transplant program, so patients of both hospitals can relate to the services and resources they provide. Both of these people are invaluable to the transplant process.