In 2007, Georgia became home to one of only 10 health systems in the nation participating in the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) upon the selection of St. Joseph's/Candler and the Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion (LCRP) in Savannah. The NCCCP was a three-year pilot program initially. However, in the spring of 2010, it was announced that the Lewis Cancer and Research Pavilion was selected for on-going participation as the NCCCP moved from a pilot to an official program.
The focus of this national network of community cancer centers is to expand cancer research and deliver the latest, most advanced cancer care to a greater number of Americans in the communities in which they live. The NCCCP locations extend the reach of research available through actual NCI designated research centers into more U.S. states, cities, and towns, including rural areas and inner cities.
In April, 2010, the NCCCP announced that they have expanded the program and started a new phase. St. Joseph’s/Candler was notified that the LCRP was awarded $1.49 million for funding of ten new cancer projects. The National Cancer Institute is using $80 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to expand cancer research at the 16 current sites of the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) and at the14 new sites.
These new projects will flex the LCRP’s research arm even more with new clinical trials, studying ways to better engage physicians in minority communities and analyzing how multidisciplinary care affects patient outcomes. The NCCCP is a network of community-hospital cancer centers that is working to provide research-based cancer care spanning the full cancer continuum – from prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship through end-of-life care. The program is designed as a community-based platform to support basic, clinical and population-based research initiatives.
The expansion uses approximately $40 million of ARRA funds to support additional research opportunities within the original network of 16 NCCCP sites and another $40 million of ARRA funds to expand the network to include 14 new community cancer centers in eight new states.
New programs funded by $1.49 million from the National Cancer Institute’s Community Cancer Center Program at the Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion.
- Early Phase Clinical Trial Infrastructure Development
- Identification of Effective Strategies to Engage Community Physicians in Minority Communities to Enhance Clinical Trial Accrual
- Improving the Effectiveness of NCCCP Community Outreach Programs in Addressing Cancer Healthcare Disparities
- Improving the Coordination of Care for Healthcare Disparities across the Continuum of Care in the NCCCP
- Partnerships with NCCCP and the Community Networks Program Institutions to Increase Screening in Racial/Ethnic Minority and Other Underserved Population
- The Impact of Multidisciplinary Care on Processes and Outcomes of Cancer Care
- Infrastructure Support for Multidisciplinary Care
- NCCCP Pilot State Cancer Plan Partnership Project
- Survivorship and Palliative Care: Smoking Cessation Among Cancer Survivors
- Developing Effective NCCCP Communication Strategies
http://ncccp.cancer.gov/About/profileGA.htm
