Transplant Support Services
Overview
The Vanderbilt Transplant Center provides support services to help you and your family through each step of the transplant process. We help you manage all aspects of your organ transplant, from finances and insurance to making sure you have the emotional and psychological support you need.
Why Choose Vanderbilt
We offer the following services to support you before, during and after your organ transplant:
- Financial counseling
- Infectious disease program
- Nutrition counseling
- Psychiatric services
- Quality of life research, which gathers feedback from patients to help us improve our care
- Return-to-work program
- Social work services
- Transplant pharmacists
Financial Counseling
Financial considerations are an important part of having an organ transplant. Each of our solid-organ transplant programs has a financial counselor who will help you understand the cost of transplantation, your individual benefits and the cost of medications after transplant.
You can reach our transplant financial counselors Monday through Friday during business hours. For more information, call:
- Heart and Lung: (615) 936-3500
- Liver: (615) 936-5321
- Kidney-pancreas: (615) 936-0695
Before your transplant evaluation, please call your insurance provider to learn if your plan covers transplantation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Infectious Diseases
Our Transplant Infectious Disease Program is a very important part of the ongoing success of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center. We have full-time infectious disease doctors devoted to this program. These doctors make daily rounds among the transplant patients at Vanderbilt and the Nashville VA Medical Center.
Nutrition Counseling
Nutrition screening and counseling is an important part of the care we offer to transplant recipients and living donors. A balanced diet can help you maintain your health through your transplant journey and avoid some of the side effects of medication therapies. Our nutritionists work closely with you to personalize a diet that will meet your unique needs. For more information, call (615) 936-3952.
Psychiatric Services
We offer psychiatric services, including treatment for symptoms that happen during the transplant process, to all of our transplant patients. The transplant psychiatry team talks with all candidates for transplantation and provides follow-up care to address any ongoing problems associated with transplantation. For more information, call (615) 936-3555.
Quality of Life Research
Our Quality of Life and Outcomes Research Group monitors results in terms of quality of life from your perspective. This group also studies patient satisfaction, their return to work and the economic impact of transplantation.
All adult transplant candidates and recipients can participate in this group’s work. Your responses provide useful information about your health-related quality of life, emotional well-being, overall health, return to work and satisfaction with your transplant. This feedback helps us address concerns of transplant patients and their families. Through this process we can promote changes that ensure the best possible results for all.
For more information, contact Irene Feurer, PhD, director of the Quantitative Services and Transplant Outcomes Research at (615) 322-8989.
Return-to-Work Program
Our Return-to-Work Program helps you transition back to your job or a new one after surgery. Going back to work can help you regain your emotional and financial well-being. We can help you with:
- Career counseling
- Job placement
- Job search and interview skills
- Resume writing
- Social Security consulting
- Vocational evaluation
- Vocational rehabilitation consulting
For more information, contact Joanne Ball, MST, CVE, ABVE, program director, at (615) 936-3647.
Transplant Pharmacists
Transplant pharmacists are unique resources for all solid-organ transplant programs. A transplant pharmacist will review and monitor your medications. This specialized pharmacist helps you, your caregivers and the transplant staff understand your medications. Transplant pharmacists also make sure you know how to take your medications properly.
To reach our transplant pharmacists, call:
- Heart: (615) 936-3500
- Kidney-pancreas: (615) 936-0695
- Liver: (615) 936-5321
Social Work Services
Social workers with Vanderbilt Transplant Center and the Nashville VA Medical Center meet with you and your family during evaluation for a transplant. We help you develop realistic expectations about the challenges that may arise when you return to your home, your work and your community after your transplant.
Our social workers provide patients with information about:
Contact a social worker with each of these transplant programs: