Summer, 2012
In This Issue

LetterGreetings!

This summer has flown by, and it's hard to believe that fall is almost here! At Oncology Rehab Partners, we've been very busy with a lot of new things, including STAR Program� Prehab, which launched in July. We are asked a lot of questions about "capitation" and "accountable care", and STAR Program Prehab will help your patients have better outcomes from the very start. It is also a great way to encourage patients to receive their cancer care at your institution. If they are plugged into prehab right away, they'll appreciate and be drawn to the comprehensive approach of the cancer care continuum.

We also announced the second statewide initiative-implementing STAR Programs throughout Massachusetts in the coming months! These statewide initiatives-first in Rhode Island (thanks to the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation) and now in Massachusetts (thanks to The Friends of Mel Foundation)-have received a lot of attention, and we've begun to have foundations approach us about sponsoring an initiative in their home states. We're excited to be working with foundations to bring cancer rehab to survivors throughout the United States. We very much appreciate the visionary leadership of the foundations and are looking forward to working with them and others to make evidence-based cancer rehabilitation available to all survivors.

Finally, I wanted to share how much "buzz" is happening around cancer rehab. From the cover story in Cure magazine this month to survivors chatting on the internet to hospital executives discussing this in boardrooms, cancer rehabilitation is a hot topic. And, for those of you who are STAR Certified™ Clinicians and Providers, you are well trained and perfectly positioned to lead the way in this important part of cancer care. At a recent survivorship conference organized by MindStream Education, one oncology nurse who is getting her PhD told me that she is changing her doctoral thesis from general survivorship care to cancer rehabilitation!

It's very exciting to see this shift and to realize just how much healthcare professionals and survivors are beginning to value evidence-based cancer rehab. Keep up the great work in cancer care, and let us know what's happening at your institution!

Warm Regards,

Julie Silver, MD

 

newprogramsNew STAR Programs Launched
latestnewsThe Latest in Cancer Rehabilitation

Below are some great educational resources related to cancer rehabilitation.  

Clinical Series Live, through the Massachusetts Medical Society, brings together leading experts in breast cancer to discuss the latest research and developments. Choose interactive CME lectures from a wide range of topics and speakers, including Oncology Rehab Partners' Co-Founder, Julie Silver, MD, discussing "Evidence-Based Cancer Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation in Women with Breast Cancer".

CancerCare� Connect Education Workshop� on "Managing Post-Treatment Neuropathy". Dr. Julie Silver sits on a panel of experts in part four of The Tenth Annual Cancer Survivorship Series: Living With, Through and Beyond Cancer.

Cure Magazine article, Road to Recovery: Cancer Rehab Defines the New Normal. Read the cover story in this issue about cancer rehabilitation and the STAR Program.

technologyupdatesTechnology Updates

A new Continuing Education module, Cancer Rehabilitation in Geriatric Survivors, has been released. This module is available to all active STAR Programs after the first year and is located in your "My Training Center". It has also been added to the "Course Catalog" and is available for purchase to all individual STAR Certified Clinicians and Providers who are not part of a STAR Program.

Cancer Rehabilitation in Geriatric Survivors

This module defines and describes the unique cancer rehabilitation issues in geriatric cancer survivors. The primary focus of this module is the underserved needs of this population. It aims to help rehabilitation clinicians, mental health professionals and others to develop age-appropriate strategies that address issues such as treatment-related sequelae and the role of comorbidities in geriatric cancer care. The module covers assessment, treatment and support and offers relevant strategies that are appropriate in this population that is at risk for both age-related functional decline and comorbid conditions. This module also underlines the risk-benefit ratio inherent in any cancer care decision, particularly in at-risk populations, such as the elderly, who have distinct vulnerabilities.

If you have specific questions regarding online training or technology, please contact Terri Bailey at terri.bailey@oncrehab.com.

partnersPartners

Soon, thousands of Massachusetts cancer survivors will have increased access to crucial rehabilitation services that will help them heal from cancer treatments, thanks to a new statewide initiative launched in collaboration with Oncology Rehab Partners and The Friends of Mel Foundation.

The initiative's goal is to make cancer rehabilitation the standard of care for all cancer patients, and healthcare facilities wanting to provide state-of-the-art services will be able to develop and implement them through STAR Program� Certification.

The Friends of Mel Foundation provided partial funding to the first healthcare facilities in Massachusetts that committed to implementing cancer rehab services through STAR Program Certification. Based in Hingham, The Friends of Mel Foundation was founded by the friends of Mel Simmons, a long-time Delta Air Lines flight attendant who had breast cancer and is remembered for her quick smile and kindness to others.

With a mission to help transform the lives of individuals living with cancer, The Friends of Mel Foundation's support of the Massachusetts initiative will make it possible for survivors across the state to get rehabilitation care, so they can recover their strength and energy and feel their best.

Stay tuned for more information on the Massachusetts organizations part of this initiative!

upcomingeventsUpcoming Events

Academy of Oncology Nurse Navigators Third Annual Navigation & Survivorship Conference

September 14-16, 2012

Phoenix, Arizona

 

More information and registration details!

 

The Friends of Mel Foundation Conference: THE ART OF LIVING - Life Beyond Cancer

A conference for people facing life after cancer treatment

 

Saturday, September 15, 2012

8:00AM - 4:00PM

Quincy, Massachusetts

 

More information and registration details!

webinarsWebinars with

Dr. Silver 

 

Join Dr. Julie Silver in a live webinar as she discusses how to develop an evidence-based cancer rehabilitation service line.

 

Click on the link below that corresponds to the webinar you would like to join:

 

Friday, August 10,  12pm EST 

 

Thursday, August 23, 12 pm EST

 

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us at info@oncrehab.com.

 

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newsfromORPNews from Oncology Rehab Partners
 

STAR Program� Prehab

We have announced the launch of a new offering for healthcare facilities: STAR Program� Prehab. This is an optional add-on, with no additional cost, to all of our STAR Programs.

Prehabilitation is the precursor to rehabilitation and includes evaluations and interventions that are designed to obtain a baseline status and improve pain or functional limitations prior to beginning cancer treatments. An emerging and important new field in medicine, prehabilitation is critically important because it prepares patients for upcoming cancer treatments, which are typically toxic and can negatively impact physical and mental function as well as quality of life.

STAR Program Prehab is an evidence-based and best practices model of cancer prehabilitation that is designed to help survivors improve their strength and coping skills before treatments begin. Prehabilitation has been demonstrated to decrease morbidity due to treatment side effects, and it is started shortly after diagnosis, at the time patients are being scheduled for cancer treatments. STAR Program Prehab is the newest component of Oncology Rehab Partners' STAR Program� Certification.

STAR Program Prehab uses a multidisciplinary approach and includes exercise and nutritional and psychological strategies to prepare patients for the challenges of cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation therapy. Prehab may be offered to patients individually or in a group setting. Survivors are evaluated to assess their physical and emotional health and to identify existing medical problems that may be quickly improved before cancer treatments begin. In addition to prehab, participants also receive verbal and written instruction on strategies they can employ to increase strength and energy, manage stress, and adopt healthy lifestyle habits prior to treatments.

STAR Program Prehab is currently available to all STAR Program Certified facilities. Over the next months, Dr. Julie Silver will present the expert-directed webinar, Cancer Prehabilitation: Getting Patients Emotionally & Physically Ready for Upcoming Cancer Treatment.  To learn more about STAR Program Prehab or to register for the webinar, contact info@OncRehab.com or call 508.393.4600.

 
ONCOLOGY REHAB PARTNERS
www.OncologyRehabPartners.com
info@oncrehab.com * 508-393-4600