A source of hope’: President Biden touts support for cancer doctors, researchers during Ohio State visit
On March 23, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden brought his passion for cancer research to Ohio State, where he met with doctors to discuss innovation underway at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). Biden called the OSUCCC – James a “source of hope” that is breaking new ground in the nationwide effort to create a cancer-free world. The president came to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act, the landmark legislation that transformed health coverage in the United States while also providing funds for advancements in medical technology, some of which are now in use at the OSUCCC – James. He was joined during his visit by James doctors, including Arnab Chakravarti, MD, FASTRO, FACRO, professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, who shared details about the impact of the ACA support on patients in central Ohio. Read more about President Biden’s visit and Chakravarti’s life mission to develop next-generation precision radiation therapies for cancer patients.
New Center for Cancer Metabolism to aid development of therapies targeting metabolic pathways
A new Center for Cancer Metabolism (CCM) at Ohio State aims to become a world-renowned research entity focused on basic and translational studies regarding cancer metabolism and the development of therapies targeting tumor metabolic pathways. Researchers in the CCM, which is housed within the OSUCCC – James, apply multidisciplinary technologies and techniques to answer challenging questions.
The CCM is led by Director Deliang Guo, PhD, professor and vice chair for clinical and basic research in the Department of Radiation Oncology, and basic science director of the Center for Neurological Malignancies and Cancer Neurology. Guo also is a member of the Translational Therapeutics Program at the OSUCCC – James.
OSUCCC – James receives three national Press Ganey awards for excellence
The OSUCCC – James earned three national awards for excellence in patient care delivery from Press Ganey, a health care performance-improvement organization that works with more than 41,000 health care facilities. For the sixth consecutive year, the OSUCCC – James received a Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award® for Patient Experience for sustaining excellence in patient experience over a single year. The institution also received its third straight Press Ganey Pinnacle of Excellence Award® for Patient Experience in Inpatient Care (with regard to the non-HCAHPS sections of the hospital’s inpatient survey) for maintaining excellence over consecutive years. In addition, it received its second straight Press Ganey Pinnacle of Excellence Award® for Patient Experience in HCAHPS for maintaining excellence over consecutive years.
Pelotonia 2021 raises nearly $20 million for cancer research at Ohio State
Riders, Challengers, Volunteers and Donors in Pelotonia 2021 raised $19,313,532 for cancer research at the OSUCCC – James and boosted the 13-year total for this annual cycling event to more than $236 million, all of which goes to research thanks to the event’s major funding partners. Pelotonia Ride Weekend, which returned as an in-person event in 2021, drew more than 10,400 participants – including nearly 6,000 Riders along with approximately 2,600 Challengers and 2,300 Volunteers – when it unfolded Aug. 6-8. Register for Pelotonia 2022, which will take place Aug. 5-7, at pelotonia.org.
Prestigious new or renewed institutional designations, certifications and accreditations
- The Sickle Cell Program received a disease-specific care recertification from The Joint Commission following a review that yielded no findings or recommendations. In 2018, the OSUCCC – James became the only institution in the nation to have the Joint Commission’s sickle cell disease-specific certification, which involves evaluation of clinical programs for compliance with requirements and expectations for quality care and safety.
- The Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) certified the OSUCCC – James as an MASCCDesignated Center of Excellence in Supportive Care in Cancer for 2021 to 2024. The OSUCCC – James became only the second institution in the United States to receive this certification, which recognizes oncology centers that demonstrate best practices in supportive cancer care.
- The North American Skull Base Society (NASBS) designated The Ohio State University Skull Base Surgery team as an NASBS 2021 Multidisciplinary Team of Distinction (MTD). This designation is based on having at least four NASBS members with specific multidisciplinary expertise. The NASBS members who made Ohio State eligible are Dukagjin Blakaj, MD, PhD, Daniel Prevedello, MD, Brad Otto, MD, Matthew Old, MD, and Ricardo Carrau, MD. The Skull Base Surgery team is co-led by Prevedello and Carrau.
- The Division of Palliative Medicine in Ohio State’s College of Medicine achieved re-designation as a European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Designated Centres of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care Programme. The division, directed by Jillian Gustin, MD, first achieved this designation in 2016 and regained it in 2021.
- The nurse residency programs for the OSUCCC – James and for Health System Nursing both earned their second American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC) Practice Transition Accreditation Program® (PTAP). Both programs earned accreditation with distinction.
- The James Oncologic Physical Therapy (PT) Residency became the first oncology PT residency in Ohio – and only the sixth in the United States – to gain accreditation by the American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE). The residency is a collaboration between The James and the Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy Program in the Ohio State College of Medicine’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
OSUCCC – James to extend global reach via participation in Magnet4Europe
Caregivers at the OSUCCC – James are working with staff at a large hospital in Germany as part of Magnet4Europe, a trial funded by the European Commission to determine the feasibility of redesigning hospital work environments in six European nations under principles of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®. Through this initiative, over 70 hospitals in Belgium, England, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Norway are supported by one-to-one “twinning” with an experienced U.S. Magnet-recognized hospital to promote capacity building via transfer of knowledge, skills, tools, technology and best practices. The OSUCCC – James is paired with Klinikum Bremerhaven-Reinkenheide GmBH, a 723-bed hospital in Bremerhaven, Germany.