Home >
Day Kimball Healthcare’s Breast Health Program Resulting in Faster, More Comprehensive Quality Care for Breast Cancer
Day Kimball Healthcare’s Breast Health Program Resulting in Faster, More Comprehensive Quality Care for Breast Cancer
January 19, 2015
Source image does not exist. (/_resources/common/images/pagethumbs/mammogram-250x250.jpg)
Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer we observe in Northeast Connecticut. To better serve this population, Day Kimball Healthcare instituted a Breast Health Program in 2011, which has prospered over the last three years both in terms of helping our patients avoid long commutes for treatment and the quality improvements found within our treatment process.
At the inception of the Breast Health Program, time into treatment for a woman diagnosed with breast cancer was over 30 days, and approximately 20 percent of our population diagnosed with a breast cancer chose to seek treatment at distant facilities for a variety of reasons. Day Kimball Healthcare heard the concerns of our community and launched the Breast Health Program to improve our ability to serve local women diagnosed with breast cancer.
The Breast Health Program diagnoses about 50 cases of breast cancer per year from the 8,000 mammograms performed at Day Kimball Healthcare. Thanks to the program, a patient diagnosed with breast cancer will now experience a smoother, more efficient transition into her first treatment. In 2013 DKH exceeded the 30 day national standard of care for “time to first treatment” and came in at 25 days.
Day Kimball Healthcare’s integrated Cancer Care, delivered at the Day Kimball Hospital Rose Bove LaRose Cancer Center, also offers the variety and quality of surgical and oncological services that women need as evidenced by the fact that more than 90 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer at Day Kimball Healthcare are choosing to remain here for their treatments and follow up care.
Breast Cancer Statistics for Windham County, CT:
| | DKH* N=37 | CT** |
| Stage 0 | N=4 | |
| Stage I | N=13 | |
| Stage II | N=9 | |
| | Based on tumor size 5 | |
| | 59.4%
(N=22 Stage I and Stage II based on tumor size, no positive nodes) | 62%
(early; defined as "limited to the organ in which it began, without evidence of spread.") |
| | Based on node 4 | |
| Stage III | N=6 | |
| | 27%
(N=10 Stage II based on node and Stage III) | 30%
(regional: defined as "cancer has spread beyond the original (primary) site to nearby lymph nodes or organs and tissues.") |
| Stage IV | 5.4%
N=2
| 6%
(distant: defined as "cancer has spread from the primary site to distant organs or distant lymph nodes.") |
| Unstaged | 8.1%
N=3
| 2%
(defined as "those cancers for which there is not enough information to indicate a stage.") |
| | | |
* DKH: Summary by Body System, Sex, Class, Status and Best CS/AJCC Stage Report 2012 (provided 8/26/14)
** CT DPH: http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3134&q=396512&dphPNavCtr=|#50319
Breast Cancer Statistics for Patients Served by Day Kimball Healthcare
| | DKH Cancer Registry 2012* | CT Tumor Registry** | National Stats, NIH*** |
| Breast Cancer | 28.9% | 29% | 23.9% |
* DKH: Summary by Body System, Sex, Class, Status and Best CS/AJCC Stage Report
** CT DPH: http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3134&q=396512&dphPNavCtr=|#50319
*** NIH: http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2011/results_merged/sect_04_breast.pdf
Notable Clinical Observations at Day Kimball Healthcare
What was noticed in working with just the Day Kimball Healthcare patients is that we have a disproportionately high number of women who are Asian-American coming in with higher stage breast cancers, and that many of our higher stage breast cancers are from the state of CT defined under-served towns of Putnam, Plainfield and Danielson.
In response to this the Breast Health team members began making a concerted effort to reach out to the Asian-American community by contacting employers and local community groups with literature translated into Asian languages and an Asian-American Registered Nurse in an attempt to engage the communities in discussions and navigation into screening services. We are continuing this effort but at this point in time we have not found any increase in screening numbers for the targeted groups and in reality have experienced a great deal of cultural behaviors that discourage screening attempts. It is to be noted that most of the targeted groups are employed and have excellent health insurance that cover screenings.
In the last three years, Day Kimball Healthcare has augmented its staff of cancer care professionals to facilitate the delivery of efficient, high quality cancer care. New staff members include:
Mandeep Dhami, MD, Oncologist/Hematologist
Dinesh Kapur, MD, Oncologist/Hematologist
Jie Yang, MD, Oncologist/Hematologist
P. Holland-Caprera, RN, BSN, MBA,OCN, Director of Hematology/OncologyServices
Theresa LaCasse, RN, OCN, Nurse Navigator
C. Dziura-Duke, MS, RD, CSO, Registered Dietician specializing in Oncology
A. Soriero-Durand, MSW, Social Worker
Jane Burlingame, RN, BSN, OCN, Clinical Coordinator
Day Kimball Healthcare Surgeons Specializing in Breast Cancer Surgery
Dr. Michael Baum
Dr. Ronald Franzino
Dr. R. David McCallum
Infusion Suite and Oncology Certified Registered Nurses
Our infusion suite staff RNs maintain a high percentage of certification in oncology, 67%. We also have several new staff Oncology Nurse Clinicians that have joined our team:
Sharon Laurito, RN, OCN
Anne Marie Chase, RN, OCN
Susan Hibbard, RN, OCN
Megan Belanger, RN
Jayme Dandeneau, RN
Rene Delude, RN
Kayla Stidsen, RN
Cancer Care Support Staff
Many improvements in the way our patients flow through the clinic have been made with the pharmacy, administrative and clerical staff. These staff members keep the whole clinic on track and provide the support services needed to ensure our patients are well cared for:
Eileen Berti, Registered Pharmacist
Daniel J Cahill, Registered Pharmacist
Lauren King
Lisa Briere
Cindy Long
Ron Vincent
Leona Preston
Arlene Flynn
Alice Beldon
Sara Olin
