Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute

#Tandem24 is wrapping up today. What an incredible learning and networking opportunity this has been. For those attending the conference, we hope you have been able to visit the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute booth #501 to learn about the incredible work our clinicians are doing every day as well as career opportunities available with the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute.   Let us introduce two more nursing colleagues who round out our spotlights.     Colin Chow, ARNP, Mountain View Hospital: Colin knew at an early age that he had a strong desire to positively impact people’s lives. He found his niche working as an oncology nurse five years ago. During that time Colin became one of the nurses for Nevada’s first stem cell transplant program and knew he had more growth to do from there. Colin became a nurse practitioner specializing in stem cell transplant. He now practices at Mountain View Hospital in Nevada. Colin says he is “so proud to be part of the Sarah Cannon family not only for their commitment to the care and improvement of human life, centers of excellence, or global expertise, but because they uphold the true meaning of ‘family.’ The individuals who I have worked with from the organization or have come in contact with have been incredibly helpful and welcoming.” Angela Maxwell, RN, Medical City Dallas:  In her 22 years as a registered nurse, Angela has cared for others in many different roles. Her journey in oncology nursing began in 2017 at the Bone Marrow Transplant unit of Medical City Dallas. Since then, she transitioned to transplant coordinator and most recently, to the PI and quality coordinator role. Angela says by working on the floor before taking on other roles she learned what the transplant process looks like from admission to recovery. Her ability to see the big picture helps her provide quality care and make changes that will keep the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program going strong.  “I am proud to be a part of the Sarah Cannon family because we are part of a network that genuinely cares about the patients, not just the metrics. Each hospital within the network can rely on each other for support, evidence-based research and guidance, and the benefit of experience within our programs. We are stronger together,” Angela said.    Thank you, Colin and Angela, for being an incredible example of how we care like family. To learn more about our career opportunities, please visit our careers page: https://bit.ly/3UNOavO  Enjoy the final sessions of #Tandem24! Thank you ASTCT and Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR)! We are already looking forward to next year! 

The first couple of days of #Tandem24 have already been inspiring, informative, and transformational. The next two days will offer additional opportunities to learn about the innovative strides being made in blood cancer research and treatment. Katie Bruce, clinical pharmacy specialist, will present on “High-Risk Neuroblastoma” in the pediatric population at 9:30 a.m. Central Time today. Tomorrow, Stephanie M Larson, senior director of transplant & cellular therapy clinical programs, will present at 9:30 a.m Central Time on “Interactive Education: One Way to Measure Success” as well as on “Building the Infrastructure for Gene Therapy in 2024” at 3:15 p.m. Central Time.

Today, we are proud to announce that HCA Healthcare’s Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute (SCCI) has successfully established an integrated management process that safely transitioned more than 75% of HCA Healthcare’s CAR T-cell therapy patients into an outpatient setting for monitoring. The program model resulted in more than 1,200 hospital bed days saved for the first 100 patients of the program compared to historical results, and approximately 20% of patients avoided hospitalization altogether. Piloted at four Sarah Cannon Transplant and Cellular Therapy Network (SCTCTN) sites and using new technology for at-home patient monitoring, trained outpatient clinical teams, including nurses, clinical pharmacists, advanced practice professionals, social workers and case managers, have created a model to help reduce the time patients spend in the hospital after treatment during the typical two-week monitoring period. “Patients heal better outside the hospital if they can get these complicated therapies, which carry risk for significant complications, safely in the outpatient setting,” said Dr. Navneet Majhail, physician-in-chief of blood cancers, Sarah Cannon Transplant & Cellular Therapy Network. “We have leveraged technology and developed clinical pathways to care for patients receiving CAR T-cell therapies. Our clinical teams have accomplished this by standardizing care across a network of several cell therapy programs.” Best Buy Health’s remote patient monitoring platform, Current Health, tailored for CAR T-cell therapy patients, collects continuous vital sign data and monitors symptoms through integrated wearable devices. Learn more about the initiative to safely transition a substantial portion of CAR T-cell therapy monitoring into patients’ homes: https://bit.ly/3OVhoVX. #ImproveMoreLives

We are proud to highlight Misty Evans, pediatric nurse practitioner at the Sarah Cannon Transplant and Cellular Program at TriStar Centennial Medical Center, for being recognized by the ASTCT as the 2024 Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Special Interest Group (SIG) Lifetime Achievement Award recipient at #Tandem24. “I cannot think of anyone more deserving for the Lifetime Achievement Award,” shared Dr. Haydhar Frangoul, medical director of pediatric hematology/oncology for the Sarah Cannon Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program at TriStar Centennial Medical Center. “She has been a leader at the local and national level. She is compassionate, caring and provides outstanding patient care.” This award recognizes a Special Interest Group member for their outstanding work and dedication to APP practice in hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and cellular therapy. Dr. Evans previously served as the chair of the Advanced Practice Provider Special Interest Group of the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) and has remained dedicated to providing exceptional contributions to the field through presentations, mentorship, and leadership.   Thank you, Dr. Evans, for all you do to impact patient lives and the field of transplantation and cellular therapy nursing practice. Congratulations on your achievements!

We hope all #Tandem24 attendees have been enjoying this week’s conference as much as we have! We invite you to join us this afternoon as Dr. Haydhar Frangoul, medical director of pediatric hematology/oncology for Sarah Cannon Research Institute and HCA Healthcare’s Children's Hospital at TriStar Centennial Medical Center, participates in the “Sickle Cell Disease: Haplo Versus Gene Therapy Debate.” The discussion begins at 1:45 p.m. Central Time with Dr. Frangoul taking the stage at 2:08 p.m.

The #Tandem24 Meetings, hosted by ASTCT and Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) are off to a great start! This annual conference features healthcare professionals and researchers from around the world that are collectively focused on improving and saving the lives of patients with blood-related diseases. To kick off our nursing spotlights, we are proud to introduce Shanelle Griffin, clinical nurse coordinator at @St. David’s South Austin Medical Center. She has been with the Sarah Cannon Transplant & Cellular Therapy Program since 2018 and is proud to be part of a program that has growth in medical advances and impacts the lives of patients. In addition, being a part of the Sarah Cannon Transplant & Cellular Therapy Program supports the professional development of its colleagues by allowing them to advance to different roles within the program. Each day, Shanelle strives to make a meaningful connection with her patients on a personal level and take their minds off of the diagnosis that has drastically changed many aspects of their life.   “I try to remember simple things about their personal life such as their children, grandchildren, their jobs, or that trip that they can't wait to take,” shared Shanelle. “This helps me to build trust and a strong rapport with the patients and their caregivers so when I see them at future appointments, they know that I care about them personally and I am not just here to treat their diagnosis.”   Thank you, Shanelle, for being an incredible example of how we care like family. If you’re attending the conference, we encourage you to stop by the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute booth #501 to learn about the incredible work our clinicians, like Shanelle, are doing every day as well as career opportunities available with the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute. To learn more about our career opportunities, please visit our careers page: https://bit.ly/3UNOavO

TriStar Centennial Children's Hospital is incredibly proud to help transform the lives of sickle cell disease patients. This morning's Good Morning America segment featured sickle cell disease warriors Jimi and Victoria. Jimi and Victoria took part in the CRISPR-Cas9 clinical trial to treat sickle cell disease. They were both treated by physicians at TriStar Centennial Children's Hospital and Sarah Cannon Research Institute. Jimi says he learned about the clinical trial after reading an article about Victoria, the first person to take part in this clinical trial. Watch this story as the two meet for the first time and share their stories of bravery: https://gma.abc/3I2HbYE

Thank you Dr. Kurbegov for this piece.