A woman who has just been told by her doctor that she has breast cancer likely has numerous questions about what to do next.

Connie Haglunds job is to offer a hand.

As a nurse cancer patient navigator at Loma Linda University Medical Center, Haglund is charged with helping patients make their way through the sometimes complicated health care process: from coordination of care, to assembling a multidisciplinary team to develop a personalized treatment plan for each patient.

Patients can often get very overwhelmed by the whole process, Haglund said. I tell them I am there to provide them the education that they need and to help them get answers for any question they might have. For the most part, patients feel very relieved that they are not on their own.

The conference is set for Sunday, Sept. 30, through Wednesday, Oct. 3, at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa, 74-855 Country Club Drive, Palm Desert, Calif., 92260.

As host hospital for the event, Loma Linda University Medical Center will be giving conference attendees tours of the different hospitals within the organization, including Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda University Medical Center East Campus, and Loma Linda University Heart & Surgical Hospital three of the six hospitals in the system. Health care professionals, hospital administrators, and health care providers are among the delegates expected at the conference.

Among the services to be highlighted at the tour of the hospitals is the cancer patient navigator program, which supports the Planetree concept of co-location. This concept calls for pulling together different care providers, who dont typically work together, into one space where they can collaborate to design the best treatment plan and have continuous conversation. This creates an ideal scenario for care that is specifically tailored to and supportive of each patient.

Founded by a patient in 1978, Planetree is a not-for-profit organization that works with hospitals and health care organizations all over the world to improve the delivery of health care by putting the needs of patients first.

Judy Chatigny, executive director of Loma Linda University Cancer Center, said adopting Planetrees philosophy of putting patients first helps demystify health care for many patients and helps them manage the stresses brought on by their illness.

Steps taken to improve the patients treatment experience range from restructuring the Cancer Centers waiting room to make it more comfortable for patients, to redesigning the centers logo to include an inspirational Tree of Hope.

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Loma Linda University Medical Center to highlight Planetree philosophy of putting patients first in health care

Seeking to soften his image, Mitt Romney has this week taken again to touting the health care reform law he enacted as governor of Massachusetts, saying it illustrates his empathy and care about the people of this country.

While running for president in 2008, and the following year while the Affordable Care Act was still being crafted, Romney was actively evoking Romneycare as a model for federal health reform. All that changed after President Obama signed the law in March 2010, at which point repeal became the Republican Partys raison dtre. Romney quickly latched on to the cause.

Thats when the relationship between the now-Republican nominee and his signature achievement as governor grew complicated. Heres a timeline.

April 12, 2006: Birth of Romneycare

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney signs health care reform into law.

February 2, 2007: Model for the nation

Preparing to run for president, Romney touts Romneycare in a Baltimore speech. Im proud of what weve done, he says. If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing it, then that will be a model for the nation. He repeats this message in multiple media appearances throughout his presidential run.

January 5, 2008: I like mandates

In a Republican primary debate, Romney defends Romneycare and its individual mandate. I like mandates. The mandates work, he says. If somebody if somebody can afford insurance and decides not to buy it, and then they get sick, they ought to pay their own way, as opposed to expect the government to pay their way. He continues to echo this message.

July 30, 2009: Adopt my plan, Mr. President

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Here's A Timeline Of Romney's Ever-Changing Opinion On Health Care

In 2009, when Congress began debating national health-care reform, filmmakers Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke beginning work on a health-care documentary. Three years later – with the Affordable Care Act now passed – they are about to release the final product. “ Escape Fire ” follows a primary care doctor and military veteran to explore the challenges facing American health care and the ...

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An interview with Matthew Heineman, director of ‘Escape Fire’

The old axis of access in U.S. health care - insured or uninsured - is being replaced by the kind of gradations and complexity in determining who-gets-what-when-for-what-price for which the airline industry has become famous.

Some recent data and reactions to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act reinforce the trend. Here's an overview:

Being able to afford any kind of seat. While the number of Americans left standing at the gate because they can't afford a health insurance "ticket" is declining, the scheduled takeoff in insurance coverage has run into mechanical difficulties. The Census Bureau announced this month that the number of uninsured dropped slightly in 2011 to 48.6 million, or 15.7 percent of the population. That slide is partly due to a health law provision allowing parents to keep children on their insurance plans until age 26.

But prospects of adding another 30 million Americans starting in 2014 and going forward under the health law's various mandates and subsidies are now up in the air. The Supreme Court did not ground the entire law, but it did invalidate the penalty designed to compel states to expand Medicaid to many above the federal poverty line. That decision could void tickets to health insurance for an estimated three million people, says the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation, and possibly a lot more, according to a critical analysis by two liberal legal experts.

A ticket isn't the same as a seat. As airline passengers have learned, having a ticket isn't the same as having a confirmed seat. In 2011, nearly one-third of physicians said they wouldn't accept new Medicaid patients because of payment issues; a smaller number of doctors have said the same thing about Medicare patients. Even with some private plans, you may be on permanent standby because the doctor of your choice does not accept your health plan.

Your private jet is ready. Of course, when money is no object, there are those who rate the equivalent of a private jet. That group would include individuals paying a reported $6,000 to $27,000 a month for "boutique" services like Guardian 24/7 (whose one-page public website simply says, "By Invitation Only"), World Clinic and PinnacleCare Private Health Advisory. The latter promises "medical research.at your fingertips," your complete health records instantly available online and "access to outstanding medical and emergency support anytime, anywhere."

First class, commercial flight. What's more interesting is what happens behind the curtain separating first class from other travelers on a commercial flight. Seated up front are the senior corporate managers who get "executive" physicals at places like the Mayo Clinic plus reimbursement checks for their out-of-pocket costs. One CEO with a total compensation package of about $9 million received another $23,000 to pay his medical bills, USA Today reported. These executive perks will be stopped by the health law in 2014 if loopholes can't be found.

Business class. Unlike Medicaid "recipients," Medicare 'beneficiaries' start off with a generous benefit at a modest price and can easily upgrade. They can choose a Medicare Advantage plan in which the average enrollee received more than $70 in additional benefits and reduced cost-sharing, as one recent study found. In addition, Medigap plans provide wrap-around coverage to pay costs traditional Medicare doesn't. And even middle-class retirees may be able to upgrade to low-end concierge medicine, like MDVIP.

Also traveling business class are those participants in the fast-dwindling number of health plans provided by unions, municipal employers or private companies where the worker contribution is minimal and benefits are generous.

Coach, but some people get better seats and prices. Patients with traditional Medicare coverage, a recent study found, are more likely than those with private health insurance to get needed care, to avoid access problems due to cost, to avoid medical bill problems and to be satisfied with their coverage. Medicare even reduces racial and ethnic disparities in access and drug expenditures.

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Analysis: Access to health care beginning to look like airline travel

It still divides us, but most Americans think President Barack Obamas health care law is here to stay.

More than 7 in 10 say the law will fully go into effect with some changes, ranging from minor to major alterations, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds.

Only 12 percent expect the Affordable Care Act Obamacare to dismissive opponents to be repealed completely.

The law covering 30 million uninsured, requiring virtually every legal U.S. resident to carry health insurance and forbidding insurers from turning away the sick remains as contentious as the day it passed more than two years ago. Theres still more than another year before its major provisions go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.

Although the overhaul survived a Supreme Court challenge in June, the November election appears likely to settle its fate. Republican Mitt Romney vows to begin repealing it on Day One while Obama pledges to carry it out faithfully.

But the poll found that Americans are converging on the idea that the overhaul will be part of their lives, although probably not down to its last comma. They dont totally buy what either candidate is saying.

People are sort of averaging out the candidates positions, said Harvard School of Public Health professor Robert Blendon, who tracks polling on health care issues.

Forty-one percent said they expect the law to be fully implemented with minor changes, while 31 percent said they expect to see it take effect with major changes. Only 11 percent said they think it will be implemented as passed.

Americans also prefer that states have a strong say in carrying out the overhaul.

Sixty-three percent want states to run new health insurance markets called exchanges. Open for business in 2014, exchanges would sign up individuals and small businesses for taxpayer-subsidized private coverage. With GOP governors still on the sidelines, the federal government may wind up operating the exchanges in half or more of the states, an outcome only 32 percent of Americans want to see, according to the poll.

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FOCUS: Most see health law being implemented