MEMORIAL’S CANCER PROGRAM RECOGNIZED
Physicians at The Cancer Center at Memorial Hospital are, left to right, Sabrina Witherby, Anthony Thomas and Iole Ribizzi-Akhtar.
PAWTUCKET, RI – The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has awarded Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island’s Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program a three-year accreditation with commendation. This designation recognizes Memorial’s cancer program as offering the best in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
This is the second consecutive three-year accreditation with commendation received by the cancer program. Only one in four cancer program in hospitals nationwide receive this special designation. To meet Commission approval standards, programs must undergo a rigorous evaluation process and an on-site review of performance every three years.
The Commission on Cancer is dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education and monitoring of comprehensive quality care.
“We are extremely pleased to have been granted this three-year accreditation with commendation. It reflects the hard work of the physicians, nurses, tumor registry and other ancillary staff to provide quality care to our patients,” notes Anthony Thomas, D.O., chief of hematology/oncology. “We are committed to evidence-based medicine and to being at the forefront of cancer care. As such,” he adds, “we have substantial number of research studies available to our patients for all kinds of cancers and we continually look toward promising therapies on the horizon as well.”
Memorial’s program demonstrates a collaborative effort of surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists and other cancer specialists to provide the best cancer care.
MCMH PHYSICIAN RECEIVES SERVICE TO MEDICINE AND COMMUNITY AWARD
Photo (left to right): John Tampas, M.D. '54, Executive Secretary, UVM College of Medicine Medical Alumni Association Alumni Executive Committee; Kerry W. Crowley, M.D. '80; and Frederick C. Morin III, M.D., Dean, UVM College of Medicine
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Kerry W. Crowley, M.D., a 1980 graduate of the University of Vermont (UVM) College of Medicine and Maine Coast Memorial Hospital physician, received the UVM Medical Alumni Association’s Service to Medicine & Community Award at a reunion awards ceremony held in June. The Service to Medicine & Community award recognizes alumni who have achieved an outstanding record of community service.
Dr. Crowley is a family and geriatric physician in Gouldsboro, Maine, where he serves as medical director of the Eleanor Widener Dixon Memorial Clinic , an outpatient department of Maine Coast Memorial Hospital.
A native of Hancock County, he was recognized as the “Family Physician of the Year” by the Maine chapter of the Academy of Family Physicians in 2000. He has served as the Town Health Officer of Gouldsboro currently serves as a honorary trustee of Maine Coast Memorial Hospital and was a Maine Coast Memorial Hospital Trustee to the Maine Health Alliance for over ten years.
Dr. Crowley has served as coach, assistant coach, and board member for the Ellsworth Travel Soccer Club and helped with YMCA basketball.
deNicola Breast Health Center awarded Accreditation
Nashua, NH – The deNicola Breast Health Center at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center received a Three Year/Full Accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. The deNicola Breast Health Center is one of only three breast centers in the State and the only one in southern New Hampshire to earn this accreditation.
”The deNicola Breast Center is an excellent, comprehensive breast care program. . .and pulls together a highly skilled and compassionate multidisciplinary care team that provides state-of-the-art breast cancer care,” noted the NAPBC surveyor James Frank, MD.
NAPBC accreditation is given only to those centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance. During the survey process, the center must demonstrate compliance with standards established by the NAPBC for treating women who are diagnosed with the full spectrum of breast disease. A breast center that achieves NAPBC accreditation has demonstrated a firm commitment to offer its patients every significant advantage in their battle against breast disease.
Receiving care at a NAPBC-accredited center like the deNicola Breast Health Center ensures that a patient will have access to:
* Comprehensive care, including a full range of state-of-the-art services
* A multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate the best treatment options
* Information about ongoing clinical trails and new treatment options
* Quality breast care close to home.
Dana-Farber awarded $6.5 million federal grant to study the development of a universal vaccine against influenza A
BOSTON, MA – The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded a group of researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute a $6.5 million, five-year grant to fund research focused on developing a universal vaccine against human influenza A viruses.
Ellis L. Reinherz, MD, faculty director of the Cancer Vaccine Center at Dana-Farber and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is the principal investigator for the Dana-Farber grant. The other Dana-Farber collaborators include Vladimir Brusic, PhD, Bruce Reinhold, PhD, Jonathan Duke-Cohan, PhD, Derin Keskin, PhD, and Guanglan Zhang, PhD.
“This grant will enable us to investigate a new approach in an effort to develop a T cell-based vaccine against human influenza A viruses,” says Reinherz. “Our ultimate goal is a vaccine that targets the conserved viral segments that cannot vary from one viral strain to another, thereby providing protection against all seasonal and pandemic flus. Such an advance will eliminate the need to alter the vaccine when there is a new global threat, as is necessary for current antibody-inducing approaches.”
The grant is part of the NIAID’s newly launched nationwide research initiative to define changes in the human immune system in response to infection or to vaccination. Dana-Farber is one of six U.S.-based Human Immune Phenotyping Centers that collectively will receive a total of $100 million over five years to conduct this research. The other centers are Baylor Research Institute, Dallas; Emory University, Atlanta; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; Stanford University, Calif.; and Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Support for the first year of this initiative will come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Patricia Abbott, a Mastectomy Fitter at Winchester Hospital, Earns National Certification
Winchester, MA. – Patricia Abbott, a mastectomy fitter at Winchester Hospital, has completed a rigorous process to earn orthotic fitter certification from the Board of Certification/Accreditation, International (BOC) in Owings Mills, Md. She assists clients in A Caring Place, a boutique located within Winchester Hospital’s Community Health Institute in Woburn which offers prostheses, head coverings and clothing with personalized fittings.
Patricia Abbott
BOC certification is awarded when an individual has successfully completed extensive educational training and practical experience under supervision, passed a comprehensive examination and meets nationally accepted standards of practice. Certified practitioners in orthotics and prosthetics (O&P) are professionals who are qualified to fabricate and/or fit appropriate prescribed devices to individuals. O&P devices are used to support, align, prevent or correct bodily or skeletal conditions.
“I feel extremely fortunate to have been led down this path in my life which gave me the ability to help women in a very special way,” Abbott said. “It’s so satisfying to know that what I have learned is going to help someone else return to activities they have always enjoyed. Winchester Hospital has been supportive of my efforts, and now I will be able to return that support by doing everything I can to help others.”
“We’re proud that Patti has earned this certification,” said Sue Powers, associate director of Winchester Hospital’s Community Health Institute. “She has a very caring and kind way with our clients. Patti also has great knowledge of all the product lines, so she is able to provide many good suggestions for individual needs.”
“The goal of O&P practice is to help people maintain or regain the mobility that allows them to stay healthy,” said Claudia Zacharias, president and chief executive officer of BOC. “With the American population spanning five generations, we are seeing people in every age group experiencing mobility issues. That means the need for O&P services is increasing. It’s a genuine pleasure to welcome Patricia as a certified practitioner in the O&P field.”
A resident of Wilmington, Abbott worked in the semiconductor industry for nearly 20 years before transitioning to health care. She took the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course through Winchester Hospital and earned her certification two years ago.
