Sarah Lotsoff has found her calling in helping those struggling with substance use disorders. After losing her brother to an unintentional overdose while she was still in college, Sarah became deeply entrenched in harm reduction programs on her campus to raise awareness around addiction and recovery. As graduation approached, Sarah began searching for ways to continue this work.
Looking at university programs for opportunities, she stumbled across the partnership between UCSF and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG) and discovered the innovative Addiction Care Team (ACT).
“I wanted to work with people directly,” said Sarah. “Working with people in a hospital during a pivotal point in their lives is really meaningful.”
Sarah is a patient navigator for ACT. In this role she connects patients to community resources, educates on harm reduction, and acts as a bridge between them and their health care team. This role is critical in ensuring people don’t fall through the cracks after discharge.
Sarah highlights ACT’s robustness and how innovative the program is to have in a hospital setting. She explains that having a multidisciplinary team that staffs a wide variety of practitioners including specialized nurses, behavioral health clinicians, fellows and attendings, and patient navigators is something really special.
“Getting so many perspectives from people who see patient care differently is very rewarding,” said Sarah. “I’m learning so much about how complex it is to be a person and all the ways that you need care.”
As the title suggests, patient navigators are inherently patient-centered. Sarah discusses the importance of not coming to patients with an agenda and instead focusing on motivational interviewing where she can hear directly from them about their goals.
“It makes people feel seen in a way that historically they probably haven’t,” said Sarah. “We’re in a unique position to have longer conversations with people and then be able to advocate for them.”
By building trust and social rapport, patient navigators like Sarah meet patients at their most vulnerable when they’re often intimidated by the health care system. Standing by their side throughout their health care journey, patient navigators provide both knowledge and comfort.
“To see people so hopeful and open to new experiences is very meaningful,” said Sarah. “It’s really great to know that you played a little part in helping them get there.”