Mercy Health — Lourdes Hospital’s Courtney LeNeave, RN, BSN, CN-BN, has received a certificate of achievement in genetics from Harvard Medical School. LeNeave is Lourdes’ cancer genetics nurse navigator.
LeNeave earned the certification by passing a rigorous exam after completing Harvard’s HMX Fundamentals Program, a three-month long online educational opportunity. A nurse for more than 23 years, LeNeave joined Mercy Health – Lourdes Hospital nine years ago as a nurse navigator. She obtained her nurse navigator certification in radiology and oncology through the National Consortium of Breast Centers, after which she moved into her current specialty role as a nurse navigator in the field of oncology genetics.
Each patient that undergoes a Mercy Health — Lourdes Hospital cancer screening also completes a heredity and genetics questionnaire to determine if their risks would warrant genetic testing. Genetic testing is a simple, non-invasive process that helps estimate a patient’s chance of developing cancer. In her role as a navigator, LeNeave guides patients through every step of Lourdes’ genetics program. She provides patients with their results and answers their questions, including consulting with a genetic counselor for more complicated results. She is the patient’s advocate and ensures patients leave with both confidence and understanding of their genetic testing. LeNeave follows-up with those patients that require further testing and care.