Harold P. Freeman Award Presented to Queen’s
Above: (Front) Tina Clothier, ACS Chief of Staff, Office for Organization and Development; Lani Almanza, ACS Community Manager of Health Initiatives; Jocelyn Nishioka, QMC Patient Navigator; Debbie Ishihara-Wong, RN, QMC Director of Oncology Services; Darlena Chadwick, RN, QMC VP of Patient Care; and Jackie Young, PhD, Chief Staff Officer for Mission. (Back) Mark Clanton, MD, Chief Medical Officer, ACS High Plains Division; Joe Wikoff, ACS Board Chair; Mike Dany, ACS Hawaii Pacific, Inc., and High Plains Division CEO; and Schonda Yamry, QMC Patient Navigator.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) 2009 Harold P. Freeman Service Award was officially presented to the Oncology Patient Navigation Program at The Queen’s Medical Center by ACS representatives last week at Queen’s Tumor Board meeting. Queen’s program is one of four recipients of the award for 2009. The HarHarold P. Freeman Service Award is given to individuals, groups, organizations or companies who demonstrate exemplary achievement in saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer by improving the quality of life for cancer patients in underserved, at-risk communities. The award acknowledges projects aimed at reducing cancer disparities amongst underserved populations and is presented annually in the High Plains Division, which includes Kansas, Hawaii, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The award is named after Harold P. Freeman, MD, a past president of the ACS. Dr. Freeman placed priority on issues relating to the medically underserved as president.
“We are delighted to announce these winners,” says Mike Dany, American Cancer Society Hawaii Pacific, Inc., and High Plains Division CEO. “The awardees all deserve this recognition for the hard work they do to diminish suffering from cancer in our disparate populations.” Queen’s Oncology Patient Navigation Program was recognized for their specific effort to target both the Native Hawaiian and Filipino populations, which have the highest incidence of cancer death in Hawaii. Queen’s has the first hospital-based navigation program in Hawaii. The program uses the Harold P. Freeman patient navigation model, the gold standard for patient navigation. Since it started in September 2006, the program has served over 1,600 cancer patients.