Five Questions With: Claudia E. Swain

"According to the National Cancer Institute, 85 percent of all cancer care in the United States can be provided by community hospitals."

Claudia E. Swain is interim vice president of development at the South County Hospital Healthcare System. She previously had worked as the development director at the South Kingstown Land Trust. Here she describes the purpose and planning for construction of a community cancer center.

PBN: What is the primary intent of the $6 million Capital Campaign for Cancer Care and what is the timetable for construction and opening?
SWAIN:
We have embarked on a $6.5 million campaign to put better services around our cancer patients, close to home, which will include the construction of a Community Cancer Center – an integrated home for our cancer program that will help create a more interdisciplinary care experience for our patients. Among other things, this will include a fully-redesigned infusion therapy center. We will begin construction in the fall of 2015.

PBN: What are the most prevalent types of cancer that will be treated at the new center and how many people will staff it?
SWAIN:
According to the National Cancer Institute, 85 percent of all cancer care in the United States can be provided by community hospitals. At South County Hospital, we provide high-quality cancer care – care that is as current and as effective as any hospital or institution – in a way that integrates as easily as possible into other aspects of our patients’ lives. And we do it with warmth and unparalleled attention to patients’ needs. At a time when all of one’s emotional and physical resources must be focused on survival, that is extraordinarily important.
While we are very well-equipped to treat most types of cancer, as a community hospital we do not provide the complete spectrum of highly specialized cancer care. However, in those circumstances in which care is best delivered at larger institutions, we continue to be here for our patients. We stay in constant communication with their physicians, facilitate referrals and other aspects of their care as seamlessly as possible, and remain poised to resume treating them at South County Hospital after they have concluded the portion of their care that is best delivered elsewhere.

PBN: What will be the principal advantages to having a modern infusion center under one roof?
SWAIN:
Our Community Cancer Center is designed for privacy, comfort, and seamless, high-quality care. Physicians and other care team members will easily confer with colleagues, patients, and family members in offices located just steps away from the new infusion center. Patients will access all cancer care services – except for radiation therapy, which is based in a nearby building – under one roof.
The result will be state-of-the-art care designed to meet the needs of patients who receive all of their care at our hospital, as well as those who receive part of their care from specialists located at other facilities.

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PBN: Why are you incorporating space for “healing meditation?” How popular is this technique?
SWAIN:
In preparation for construction of the center, a Patient and Family Advisory Council on Cancer Care was formed. Their mission was to create a partnership and communication forum composed of patients, family members, community members and hospital staff committed to support the hospital’s mission, provide essential input in the planning, implementation and operations of cancer services and advocate for the highest quality of care for cancer patients and their families. They have met monthly for over a year. The decision to include a space for reiki, massage and acupuncture services was their recommendation.

PBN: How much money have you raised so far and what fund-raising events are planned?
SWAIN:
We have raised $5.2 million to date. We are talking with individuals in the community, those that serve on boards and foundations, business owners, and all who want to have an impact on providing the highest quality of care for patients and their families during their cancer journey.
For more information or to inquire about making a gift, people should feel free to contact me at 401-788-1608 or at cswain@schospital.com.

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