Entrepreneurial Assignment: Stomafitter Experts for Ostomates

Although I am happy with my current “apparatus,” I tend to be curious about other appliances… mostly outspouts. Occasionally, I will request product samples from various companies.

It seems to me these suppliers or someone with nursing degree skills who sports a stoma and has entrepreneurial tendencies could start a new successful business. Develop a company for training folks to become an on-site “Stomafitter Expert.” These well-trained Stomafitters would make house calls to assist in individual home set-ups and the most suitable, effective, and healthy well-suited fit. This would eliminate months, days, and hours of grief and expense to ostomates. Maybe some type of disability insurance to help this cause?

It appears most of us are released from our surgeries and sent home to fend for ourselves. I know I was and have read many similar stories on this site. A “Stomafitter” would be trained in all equipment available, how to use it, and how to fit it properly. These specialists would then be on-call for those in need of assistance - not only new ostomates but those who have experienced many changes over time and now require assistance in proper fitting and appliances to get the assignment (so to speak) done. Yeah, this could be accomplished through the internet but would be much more valuable with personal visits. Forgive me, my head is full of strange ideas or maybe possibilities? …time to water the plants… jb

Great idea!

Hello JB.
Thank you for a very interesting concept.
I have long since felt that there are more effective ways of ‘fitting’ stoma devices so that they work more efficiently and effectively. 
I do believe that the devices we use should be ‘bespoke’, to fit each individual and their circumstances
 To this end, I am consistently experimenting with DIY stuff to improve on what we already have on offer from manufacturers. Of course, the result is that I have a whole range of different devices for my use, which may or may not be suitable for others.
One of the concepts that I had was to use 3D printing to make devices to fit precisely, but it was (rightly) pointed out, that this sort of personalised producing and fitting, would not be ‘profitable’.
This notion of ‘profit’ from other people’s misfortunes, takes me into the realm of politics, which we generally try to avoid on this site.
I have hundreds of rhymes addressing these sorts of issues but have refrained from posting them here. 
Best wishes
Bill 

It's always good to try new things. I've been using my current system for around 10 years but always try any new samples that come out.

I'm in the UK. We are very lucky over here and spoiled in a lot of ways with choices. We have all our companies that supply ostomy products have their own stoma/ostomy nurses that will visit us at home if we're having any problems and just for a stoma health check-up if we ask for one and bring a good selection of samples we can try with them. (In the UK, it's recommended to have a stoma health check-up every 12 months just to see if there are any products more suitable for us and to pick up on anything before it becomes a problem.) ... Wish it was the same service for everyone all over the world.

In the US, lawyers would do everything they could to find the tiniest flaw in your stoma service, then lawsuits would commence. Behind every great idea is a lawyer waiting to pounce.

 

Hello Osties... yeah, I was thinking about what JB was talking about, and you know she's basically talking about a well-trained stoma nurse, which I believe we do have here in the United States.

It's sad that maybe elsewhere there's no such thing as even a stoma nurse, but I have found that there are licensed clinical nurses that do house calls through certain agencies, and I believe you have to contact the agency, maybe through the hospital, to get in touch with them.

 

I have a friend who does that, and she goes around and helps people as a visiting nurse with whatever needs they have. She told me one time her patient was somebody with a stoma, and she said she wasn't allowed to even touch it because she's not certified, but the people felt very comfortable with her, and they said go for it, and she helped the patient replace the appliance.

She could have lost her license in doing that, she admitted to me.

So you know there are people out there who really want to help but can't, and then there's people who can help who don't. So I think what people need to realize is we have stoma nurses that need to be trained, maybe better educated if it's their job to provide us with the products and services. I guess maybe depending on your country and insurance, you can be very lucky at finding one. So I think the stoma nurse sums it all up, and her qualifications will give you an idea whether or not she knows her stuff or is talking nonsense.

By the way, in case nobody noticed, we definitely have two nurses who have stomas on this website. You may want to reach out to them or make a note of this. They are very knowledgeable, and they have posted tremendous information about care and products. Sometimes, as a community, we need our own to help ourselves, and this is a great start just having the two nurses that we could just send a message to in regards to anything.

So we might need to build on something like that if we're a community that wants to improve things for other people who especially don't have access to a stoma nurse.

So we should think about that. I mean, I think it's within our capacity to do this, so why not?

JB, when I first got mine and went in to my ostomy nurse for a checkup, she took my bag off, cleaned everything, and applied a new one in about 2 minutes. I told her that she could make a lot of money doing house calls helping people change their stuff and teaching them what to do. Of course, she never did it, but I agree, it could be a business opportunity for the right person.

Things that can never be resolved… Religion and politics—no amount of air (hot air or otherwise) should be wasted on either. Nor should any of your brilliant written poetry… Just breathe.

Amazing! This is exactly what I am talking about and is needed by all ostomates, and kudos to companies providing such a service. Makes one want to move to the UK, except for me, as I would and do shiver me timbers (and other parts) when the temperatures dip below 80 degrees… jb

I have been to see three very nice, very knowledgeable stoma nurses in my three-plus stoma years. None of them even suggested I could stay in my own home and have a traveling trained Stomafitter (nurse) come to my house. Our stomas and shitbags (sorry, got carried away) are very personal to us, and a short review with a stoma nurse in an office or hospital situation is something I will not do. The struggle is real. It is not only impersonal, it is stressful and time-consuming and, in some cases, a hardship. There seem to be many on this site with issues that could best be resolved by a home visit as opposed to driving somewhere for a brief one-on-one consult. Attention to detail for the perfect fit and all available options is what is needed - kinda like the old Fuller Brush Man! (A bit of levity here for those that might have been around back then - FYI, I was very young, just sayin').
The nurses I've seen are employed by hospitals, and you must go there for any help, and they apply whatever the hospital uses for all stoma patients. My idea was mainly directed at having a training school for “Stomafitters,” then having multiple suppliers employ them and provide them with free samples to take into the home for review and fitting. Possible sales increase for them.
Like I said, just one of my mind-wandering crazy thoughts - they do entertain me. Alex is right - possibly a good opportunity for someone to tackle and build a “Stomafitter Conglomerate” providing training programs for Excrement Management - turning waste into a profitable resource…jb

Great idea, JB. Here in Canada, I think we are in pretty good shape. When I was discharged from the hospital, I was offered the services of a nurse who would come to my home to help me with my appliance if I was not feeling confident in doing it myself. I also saw an ostomy nurse on a regular basis as an outpatient for the first six weeks or so. That nurse is still available to me to this day, and I have often contacted her via phone or email with problems that have come up. As far as I know, all the hospitals have ostomy nurses available to the public as needed. But having someone work with you to 'customize' your fit would be fantastic. I can't imagine most healthcare systems supporting something like this as it would cost a fortune. There is so much trial and error in finding just the right products, along with the fact that stomas can change a lot in the weeks and months after surgery. There would be some who could afford to pay someone with entrepreneurial spirit to take on a job like that, but many who could not.

Terry

I wanted to add something to my original post above and I think it might help ..

 

the thing is , we have mobile mechanics to come out to your vehicle with the vehicle you wish to potentially buy to check it out right ? and you pay them for the service that comes out of your pocket..  then we have interpreters who will actually come to your job site to help interpret for meetings fortunately by law,  the company has to pay for The Interpreter and yes these people both travel and I'm sure they have huge liability risks that they have to consider when they start charging individual people..like us.. and if you just happen to know a friend you might get a very very deep discount..

as far as a traveling stoma nurse??  I thought I'd just throw that out there and just see if by law possibly a stoma nurse could be reimbursed by the government like through I don't know the ADA law .. something for that nature where we would need some politics involved ..

I think to get that thing rolling  some fat bastard in Washington has to  be introduced..educated...etc..

so it won't be easy ..maybe it is possible?? that's a very good idea.. it's a huge undertaking ..so I was just thinking out loud and I wanted to post that..

and we all know until a representative in Washington has a son or daughter or a baby who's afflicted with an ostomy,  only then will we start hearing about it in the news and only then maybe you'll start seeing it make some press.

Absolutely!

G-Day JB,  Same as Bill, in Australia we can get a Stoma Nurse to call and help you at no cost and they are there for you 24/7. We are lucky but someone had to have started requesting it. As Warrior said until some high ranking assholes son gets a Stoma nothing will happen. Start a group and keep hounding the Bastards. Regards IGGIE

In Spain, that's what stoma nurses do... you meet them before surgery (if it's not an emergency one) to help you choose the stoma site, then they teach you how to manage changes while you're in the hospital, and then you see them at intervals after you have been discharged...

I went on insurance-covered hospital and assistance, but the Public Health service does the same...

It does not take away each and every question or doubt, but provides good mental safety...

 

Ok, everyone, let's move to Spain. 🤠

Hi, my name is Ryan and I agree that specialists should know what they supposedly specialize in, and of course, if they aren't an ostomate, they don't know much. My WOCN sent me away with MRSA by my stoma and said, "I can't help you." Luckily, the emergency department at the same hospital intervened. I tore my skin off while changing my pouch and realized I was in jeopardy. I'm okay now but will remember the incompetence.

 

The home health care nurse that came to my house did not have any clue about ostomies. My husband was present at the first change time at home, and he knew every bit as much from one hospital lesson as this home health nurse. Although I did have a nurse come to our home, it was no help at all, so our insurance company (Medicare) could have saved that money spent. jb

This topic is interesting for me because I would like to have a stoma nurse come to my home twice weekly for a change-out. I have severe neuropathy in my right hand, and maintenance of my ileo is becoming a problem. Also, at 89, I think about end-of-life issues. I will need someone to come several times daily to drain my pouch in the time between change-outs.

Bit of a stretch for losing the license. While you may interpret the laws to conclude this, in practice no one cares.

I used to work in the OR as a medical device rep. In cases where they had to fit an appliance to a new stoma, I would walk the surgical tech through the fitting at the end of the case as they were generally clueless with ostomies. Surgeons used to call me just to come to their clinic and talk face to face with a new ostomate. Am I licensed? No. Did anyone care? Yes. They cared that I helped people and wanted me there.

The same rules are technically on the books regarding giving nutritional advice without being a dietician. It's job safeguarding and nothing more.

.......

To V.S.

These threads can be difficult to understand. Wish we could post directly under the "reply to"... but no... several comments later... 5 weeks later too, you see a reply.

I just read your story, army brat. Ha ha. Wow. Thanks for your service. Nothing seems to stop you. CD... UC... same shit to me.

I had MRSA too and the same meds as you. Really does a toll on your body.

You look good and I thought, "He has a famous face." Has anyone told you that? I have been watching western movies. You could have been in some starring roles. Glad you bounced back. Your sis saved your life. That is awesome. You got lots going for you. Especially your youth. Welcome. Look forward to hearing more from you.

Yeah, this friend isn't qualified as a CHAA nurse. And by changing that appliance for her client, if something went wrong, that client could hold my friend responsible. That's all I meant. A legal action perhaps where she loses her CHAA license or certificate. Anyone can be a CHAA. No special training but they have to follow rules and need a PA or LPN close by.

Rules, right? Some don't care. Some do. In health care, you can get sued.

I am sure you know all this, my friend. It's for the viewers to think about.

I had to learn to do my own dressing changes since visiting nurses stopped attending to me because insurance ran out. That was for MRSA dressing and a recent open wound I'm recovering from.

Cheers.