Baystate Children’s Hospital Archives

2017

Impact Grant

Dr. Satkiran S. Grewal, Md

Springfield, MA

The $50,000 grant will be utilized towards enhanced care and experience of our patients as well as for improved research services for pediatric oncology patients at our institution. One-Half ($25,000) of the Impact Grant funding will be used to partially fund an Advanced Practitioner position to promote coordinated care and an enhanced experience for patients and their families. Providing comprehensive care and a quality patient experience involves more than just administering the correct medication. It involves accurately following complex treatment protocols, maintaining 100% patient safety, providing high quality continuous education for the patient and caregivers about their diagnosis and treatment, coordinating care among many providers, and offering emotional, social and financial support for the family during a difficult time. As our team provides the services to our patients and their families, we also deal with the reality that these indispensable services are poorly reimbursed, if at all. This half of the Impact Grant will partially fund a nurse practitioner so that she/he can provide and facilitate these vital services to pediatric cancer patients and their families, greatly enhancing their care and overall patient experience.

The Impact Grant funding will also be used to support our participation in Consortium clinical trials through the Children’s Oncology Group (COG). As a member of the COG, our institution actively participates in cancer research clinical trials. This participation allows us to offer cutting edge treatment to our patients, both as frontline therapy and also in cases of relapsed cancer. Traveling to a distant research center for therapy is not an option for many of the families in our area. Having COG protocols open to enrollment at a Baystate Health facility allows them to receive the same level of care close to home. Through local implementation of COG trials, our program also contributes to finding cures for childhood cancers. To participate in these clinical trials and to be able to offer these trials in a safe and effective manner, several staff members are required. Specifically, a Principal Investigator and a Clinical Research Associate expend several hours every week in activities that include, but are not limited to: keeping protocols up to date, meeting Institutional Review Board mandates and standards, explaining clinical trials to eligible patients, and maintaining oversight of the children in the clinical trials. Half of the Impact Grant will be applied to significantly help offset the cost associated with providing this vital service to our patients.