PROVIDENCE – The Avon Foundation has awarded $500,000 to the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital to support its breast cancer patient “navigator” program over the next two years, the hospitals announced recently.
This is the third consecutive grant awarded to the program by the Avon Foundation, the hospitals said, and the first multi-year grant. The program has been funded by Avon since its inception in 2005.
The “navigator” program is designed to increase the number of people who complete the recommended treatment plans once they have been diagnosed with breast cancer by assigning “navigators” to act as advocates for the patients, assisting them from diagnosis through treatment.
Advocates provide assistance in complying with treatment plans, emotional support, arranging transportation for appointments, providing explanations of diagnoses and how to follow treatment plans, and education and support for the patient’s family members.
While navigators are available to work with all breast cancer patients, the grant allows them to focus their efforts on patients who speak English as a second language as well as the poor, the elderly and the uninsured, the hospitals said.
The Comprehensive Cancer Center is a collaboration among Lifespan partners Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital and Newport Hospital, using multidisciplinary clinics to coordinate all aspects of care and treatment for cancer patients at each hospital.
For more information about the Comprehensive Cancer Center, visit www.lifespan.org/services/oncology.
Your Business Has Gone Global. Has Your Insurance?
A decade ago, “doing business internationally” was mostly a large-company concern. Today, a manufacturer in…
Learn More
Lifespan is a nonprofit health care system – including The Miriam, Bradley, Newport and Rhode Island/Hasbro Children’s hospitals – that has 11,140 employees, 2,677 affiliated physicians and 1,155 licensed beds as of the end of fiscal 2006. Additional information is available at www.lifespan.org.
