Cancer Network News Summer 2016

NEWS YOU
CAN USE
WellStar Douglas
STAT Clinic Opens
Patients with lung, chest and esophageal cancers
living in the Douglas community may now be able
to start treatment faster. The brand new STAT
Clinic at WellStar Douglas Hospital will let patients
collect information from a multidisciplinary team
of specialists and make treatment decisions faster
than ever before.
“One of the most important things for patients is
getting treatment started quickly,” said Michelle
Kellett, director of Diagnostic Services at WellStar
Douglas Hospital. “The Clinic’s goal is for
treatment to start in days, not weeks or months.”
After an abnormal lung scan, patients using the
STAT Clinic meet with a multidisciplinary team of
physicians and specialists in one day in one setting.
“The patient will come in and any physicians who
may need to be involved in patients’ care will be
WellStar Douglas STAT Clinic ribbon cutting ceremony.
there, grouped together to discuss a treatment
plan,” Kellett said. “The patient is relieved from
driving to multiple appointments to see several
physicians.”
Additionally, there’s another vital member of a
patient’s cancer team: the nurse navigator. The
nurse navigator program provides patients and
their families with support from the moment they
are referred to the STAT Clinic through treatment
and follow-up, at no additional cost. “We provide
patients with resources and education,” said
Kimberly Foster, RN, Douglas STAT Clinic nurse
navigator. “Because we understand the healthcare
system, we can get the patient’s needs met quickly.”
Other members of the team at the STAT Clinic may
include a dietician, social worker and counselor.
It’s the Journey ® Donates
$40,000 to the WellStar
Foundation
The $40,000 donation will be used to provide breast
imaging procedures to women in our community that
do not have insurance coverage for women’s health
services. WellStar has received funds from It’s the
Journey for the past three years, because there are
several locations within our service area that have
been identified as target areas for women in need.
(L-R): : Lynn Hanks, executive director of women’s imaging;
and Pooja Mishra, former director of operations for the
WellStar Cancer Network hold up the big check.
SUMMER 2016 • ISSUE 4 02