Patient Education Colorectal Cancer: Your Care and Recovery | Page 44

Ostomy Care
Enterostomal Therapist
You will be scheduled to see an Enterostomal Therapist (ET nurse) at the
Mount Carmel Wound Care Clinic before your surgery. This nurse has special
training and is a certified Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurse.
At this appointment, the ET nurse will:
• Mark where your stoma will be on your abdomen.
• Teach you how to care for the stoma after surgery.
• Talk with you about lifestyle issues — emotional, physical, and sexual
concerns.
• Provide information about resources and support groups.
During your hospital stay, an ET nurse will see you to:
• Provide more teaching and training to you and your family about caring
for your ostomy.
• Teach you how to clean the area (where skin redness around the stoma is
common) to prevent irritation and infection.
Before you are discharged from the hospital, the ET nurse will:
• Make sure you feel comfortable caring for your ostomy.
• Provide you with the supplies you need to care for your ostomy at home.
A starter kit with product samples will be delivered to your home.
• Answer any questions you may have about lifestyle issues, resources, and
support.
A Case Manager may arrange for a Home Health Care (HHC) company to
send a nurse to visit you to:
• Make sure you are comfortable caring for your ostomy at home.
• Explain how to order the proper supplies that you need to care for your
ostomy.

43