Suffer from Kidney Stones? Here's How a Nurse Navigator Can Help

Lisa Pepin struggled with kidney stones for 20 years, going to Backus Hospital’s Emergency Department for relief when they get particularly bad.

But when her condition worsened during the pandemic, she emerged from one particular hospital visit with a connection she believes “saved her life.” After that visit, the Canterbury woman received a phone call from Bethany Buckridge, nurse navigator for the Tallwood Urology & Kidney Institute Stone Center.

“She was the first person who listened to me and what I was going through,” Pepin recalled.
That connection and the knowledge that Buckridge was her advocate, quickly arranging appointments with a Stone Center specialist, was more helpful than surgical stents and other treatments she’s had through the years.

“She asked me, ‘What can we do?’” Pepin said. “It’s been a journey, but she is the most wonderful person. If I have a question, she finds an answer. Before, I’d call and didn’t feel supported. They didn’t know me the same way she does. She has changed my life.”

To read more of her story, click here.