This summer Vanderbilt Health Employer Solutions began a pilot to provide nurse navigation services for Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). The service offers a faster, more convenient way for employees to get care when and where they need it throughout the Vanderbilt Health System.
Nurse navigator Yolonda Powell, RN, is available to MNPS employees to answer non-urgent medical questions, assess needs and guide them to the physical, mental and spiritual/emotional care that’s best. She can also help make an appointment with the MNPS clinics, a provider via telehealth, home care services, Vanderbilt Health specialists and more.
Powell is originally from Brownsville, Tennessee, about 45 minutes outside of Memphis. She graduated from the University of Memphis with a bachelor's in nursing and master's in nurse executive leadership. She served as a nurse in Memphis for five years, working in areas such as maternity, neurology and epilepsy. Powell moved to Nashville in 2021 and worked at the Vanderbilt Multiple Sclerosis Center before becoming Vanderbilt Health nurse navigator in March 2023.
Powell answered a few questions for Employer Insights:
What has been one of your most rewarding jobs as a nurse?
Working in the Vanderbilt Multiple Sclerosis Clinic was one of the more challenging but rewarding positions I’ve had so far. Some of the patients could walk, but some used a wheelchair or were a bit more homebound, and I wanted to help them any way possible. It’s gratifying to be there for people in whatever capacity they need me.
What made you want to take this new position?
The fact that the job involved care coordination—working with a team to help people find the right care—was interesting to me. And I was enthusiastic to be a part of something that helps a lot of people. This position gives me a good opportunity to be a part of a team that's really making a change.
How does the nurse navigation service address a person’s health holistically?
The goal of nurse navigation is to tend to an individual’s needs, whether physical, mental or spiritual and emotional, at a much earlier stage than they are usually treated. This approach can change a lot of negative health outcomes. We can help patients find a primary care provider or therapist, set up appointments and learn more about preventive health. For urgent needs, they only have to call one number to start the process: (615) 421–1711. For non-urgent needs, they can easily book an appointment with me online.
How does the service decrease the stress patients feel about choosing where to go to get help?
A lot of people go to the ER even if they don't have to because they don’t know where else to go. The ER is not only more expensive, but it also isn’t the best, most efficient or fastest place to go for many types of care. We hope this program makes the process of finding the right care at the right place much easier and less stressful for MNPS patients.
What do you wish people knew about this service?
First, Vanderbilt Health nurse navigation offers patient-centered care, so your care is not going to look like everyone else’s. We provide individualized care targeted to what you really need, whether that’s behavioral health services, appointments with specialists, spiritual care or even palliative care.
It’s also important to know that the service includes health visits in the home through the Vanderbilt Health OnCall team. If you’re too ill to make it to an appointment, we can come to you.
Above all, our program makes finding health care easier.
Why are you excited about this pilot with Metro Nashville Public Schools?
Our teachers deserve it. Any added benefit that can help them, I'm all for it. I had a teacher in my master’s program, Theresa Richardson, who was the most positive, enthusiastic teacher I ever had. I want to give back to those kinds of special people.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I like to walk Romeo, my pit bull mix, and I like to cook and go to sporting events like the Titans and Predators games.
