Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has awarded grants totaling $175,000 to the American Cancer Society Eastern Division and Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS) to support comprehensive navigation services for patients with cancer both independently and as part of a collaborative effort among several hospitals in central New Jersey. Navigation is viewed as an integral component of cancer services.

Several studies have linked patient navigation to improvements in patient outcomes and survival rates, particularly for patients with cancer. Navigators help coordinate patients’ care and guide them to resources that can provide psychosocial support and address financial concerns, language or cultural issues, and day-to-day needs such as transportation.

The grant to PHCS supports the expansion of a successful patient navigation programme at the system’s acute-care hospital, University Medical Centre of Princeton at Plainsboro (UMCPP) in Plainsboro, New Jersey. The programme was first piloted at UMCPP’s Breast Health Centre in East Windsor, New Jersey, under the guidance of a breast health navigator, and also among UMCPP’s patients with lung and esophageal cancer. The move toward a Comprehensive Oncology Patient Navigation Programme will expand navigation services to encompass all cancer patient categories at UMCPP’s Edward & Marie Matthews Centre for Cancer Care.

The Matthews Centre for Cancer Care at UMCPP regularly refers patients to the American Cancer Society, and the two jointly offer the “Look Good Feel Better” programme. In addition, the Matthews Centre for Cancer Care regularly offers collaborative programs with Cancer Support Community Central New Jersey and frequently refers patients to Cancer Care for counseling and psychosocial services.

PHCS used the BMS grant to expand its patient navigation staff to include a full-time senior navigator at UMCPP, fund a patient orientation programme and provide more materials to help patients better understand their diagnoses.

“We envision a programme in which all patients who receive a cancer diagnosis at UMCPP [approximately 800 to 900 per year] and patients who are returning for cancer treatment [approximately 200 per year] will be routed through an integrated programme in which they will be supported from inception to aftercare,” said Judy Neuman, CTR, director, Cancer Services, Edward & Marie Matthews Centre for Cancer Care at UMCPP. “We believe that making this available to our patients will help them to better cope with their diagnoses and to better understand and manage their experiences through a complex healthcare system as they receive treatment.”

The ACS will use its Bristol-Myers Squibb grant to support onsite patient navigation programme and services for underserved, newly diagnosed cancer patients in Mercer and Middlesex countries in New Jersey. In addition, the grant will enable ACS professional staff to develop or work with existing patient navigation teams at area health systems, including the Matthews Centre for Cancer Care at UMCPP. ACS professional staff will spend two half-days per week at UMCPP as well as at the sites of its other health system collaboration partners.

ACS uses a team-based, on-site approach to providing underserved patients with increased access to essential non-clinical services including transportation, financial assistance, support services and cancer information. ACS navigators also link patients to hospital and local community resources. Another key feature of the program is the close collaboration with health system partners: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Capital Health System and UMCPP.

"A cancer diagnosis can be a life-changing experience for patients, their families and their caregivers," said Natasha Coleman, MPH, regional vice president, ACS. "Our patient navigators will be able to provide cancer patients in Middlesex and Mercer countries support every step of the way, from explaining what to expect with chemotherapy to making sure patients have transportation to and from appointments. Fighting cancer is a difficult, challenging journey; with the help of this grant, patients don't have to go through it alone. This close collaboration with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, University Medical Centre of Princeton at Plainsboro and Capital Health System allows all health partners to increase our capacity to serve newly diagnosed and underserved patients in our area.”

Collaborations such as those among UMCPP, ACS and other service organizations have the potential to make a significant impact on the lives of cancer patients, says Murdo Gordon, senior vice president, Oncology, US Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “Bringing together organizations with common goals, similar programmes and potentially complimentary services can lead to efficiencies in immediately tangible ways,” he says. “With the coming changes of the Affordable Care Act, the financial impact on organisations and individuals will likely be profound, and the entire cancer community will need to work together to address these concerns. Collaborative approaches, such as those being taken by UMCPP and the American Cancer Society, which bring together meaningful services from various providers to support a given community, is a refreshing solution.”

Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases.