Volunteer members of the new St. Joseph Hospital Foundation Circle of Care program are available on-call to other Circle of Care members 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each of these Healthcare “Navigators” is trained to assist you and yours during a visit or stay.

Navigators may answer questions or steer inquiries to appropriate sources within the Hospital system; they may facilitate contacts, schedule visits, or arrange solutions for a host of other issues. Does a family doctor need notice? Should a neighbor walk the dog? Would you like the Navigator to be with you in the waiting room? Would you appreciate company, a cup of coffee, or help with a restless child?

Healthcare Navigators are not PeaceHealth staff, but Circle of Care volunteers familiar with Hospital layout and protocol. Each has signed a confidentiality agreement and has passed a test addressing issues of confidentiality. The Navigators volunteer their time for the same reasons they are supporting the Hospital financially:

“Because it feels best when you’re giving back”
Lynette Jensen

“I wanted to be part of this important Circle of Care program.”
Mo West

“I’ve hoped for this to happen from Day One. I’m so appreciative it’s happening now…I think this service will make lives easier for patients and staff, that it will make friends for the Hospital, and let people know the importance of belonging to the Circle of Care.”
Joanne Robinson

For information about Healthcare Navigator services, the Circle of Care, or special Circle of Care briefings by physicians, please contact the Hospital Foundation at (360) 788 6866.

“By that I am truly humbled,” confessed Laura Schlenker, Emergency Department Manager, citing a host of impacts already evidenced by the completion of Phase II. Among these: the capacity to handle an increase in ER visits of over 20,000 people this year, 60 more patients per day receiving quality care; a rise in patient satisfaction, also a decline in those leaving before treatment. “And for the pride and hope you have given staff, I have such a grateful heart.”

While numbers suggest the scope of need, Joanne Robinson described how profoundly personal care resonated for a friend battling lung cancer—how important it was that they offered guidance and comfort through what might have otherwise felt like an immense and frightening system. Nancy Steiger shared her own ED experience, soon echoed by murmured stories from around the room.

The gathering was concluded with tours of the remodeled facilities, directing attention to new the donor recognition panels.

“We will have fulfilled our promise when every PeaceHealth patient receives safe, evidence-based, compassionate care: every time, every touch.” PeaceHealth Vision Statement 2012

Evidence-based.
The phrase forms an essential part of St. Joseph Hospital’s Mission and Promise, following directly and appropriately from “safe.” Clinical trials provide evidence essential to providing the best possible treatments. Dr. Michael A Taylor, from St. Joseph’s Hospital Cancer Care Center Radiation Oncologist, emphasizes this point in his video. “This is the main way we’re going to going advance cancer care for our patients.”

With some trials come issues for a patient to consider, carefully, in conversations with a doctor; they also offer access to the newest medications and treatments, presenting possibilities for better outcomes than achieved by more conventional approaches. In every case, trial participants help refine the science that improves and extends our lives.

The same can be said for the facilities that volunteer to participate in studies, Qualifying for these is an enormously time consuming and labor-intensive process. In the dynamic field of radiation oncology, St. Joseph’s is the only Washington hospital west of the mountains and north of Seattle to pass the rigorous Quality Assurance Review administered by the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Taylor identifies the implications of this registration: “We’re able to enter patients in trials because we’ve received a stamp of approval from a very demanding body. The fact that we’re willing to accept the challenges (of achieving accreditation) demonstrates our commitment,” also the sophistication of St. Joseph’s technology and skilled staff. “And none of the staff hours required for the process are paid for by any agency but the Hospital, and by donations to the Hospital Foundation.”

Paradoxically, that reliance also creates independence–and another example of what CEO Nancy Steiger calls St. Joseph’s “best kept secrets. ” When selecting which pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry trials to offer patients, St. Joseph’s Hospital doctors and staff remain insulated from outside influence. “Our motivations for participating in trials are not clouded by reimbursement,” insists Dr. Taylor. “We only accept a proposal we believe may serve a patient and answer important questions—well-designed national studies and inter-group trials, with extensive peer review. We do not accept very early experimental drug trials; we’re looking for programs clearly dedicated to finding the best ways to treat a patient. Our first concern is to make sure the patient is well-served.”

By well-served Dr. Taylor means consistent with Mission, over time. Patients in trials may require additional imaging and laboratory tests, and long term monitoring. They may face insurance issues and medication costs—even transport for more frequent doctor visits. “Cheryl Patz, our Clinical Trials Coordinator, does a terrific job—all our staff do—making sure people get the extra support they need,” including attention from psycho/social workers dedicated to facilitating every part of the process. “It’s so important to have someone there to help you through, and to integrate the process,” says Dr. Taylor. “I can’t emphasize that enough.”

Time and money…“Trials take an enormous amount of effort. And it’s worth a tremendous effort, worthy of a tremendous amount of support.”

“Adding together all the 2009 new volunteer research participants, we reached a remarkable total of 253 volunteers in Whatcom County who are helping to find answers to the prevention and treatment of cancer. The dedication and commitment of the participants are truly amazing, and we greatly appreciate them.”— Cheryl Patz, RN, OCN, CCTC, Clinical Trials Coordinator

“Clinical trials are voluntary research studies, conducted in people, that are designed to answer specific questions about the safety and/or effectiveness of drugs, vaccines, other therapies, or new ways of using existing treatments.” — Clinical Trials and Drug Development, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Benefits of Circle of Care membership include:

• CEO Briefings – these events include current plans and news of the Hospital from Nancy Steiger, Chief Executive Officer, and other speakers.

• Healthcare navigation benefits - we are offering these benefits to people to personally assist them when they seek care at the Hospital. At the very core of these benefits is access to our Hospital liaison 24/7 to assist you with your needs pertaining to your Hospital visit. These benefits are personal, not preferential. You will receive the same excellent care everyone else who visits St. Joseph Hospital receives. Our staff will be available to assist and guide you.

• Displays of Circle of Care donors at the Hospital

• Annual donor recognition Gala - our annual black-tie optional event is both entertaining and inspirational. Awards are given to philanthropy leaders in our community and prominent speakers round out the evening.

Are you interested in learning more? Please call the Office of Development at (360) 788-6866.

Click to download a pledge form -> Circle of Care pledgeform

John Bremer, donor to St. Joseph Hospital:

“The hard-working people of St. Joseph’s Hospital meet our healthcare demands, giving world-class service regardless of our ability to pay. It’s an honor to help their endeavor to justly serve Whatcom.”

Crystal Mills, donor to St. Joseph Hospital:

“I feel like I’m investing in my future,” said Crystal Mills, laughing softly. “I’ve been in St. Joseph Hospital numerous times, including many visits to the Emergency Department. I’ve always been impressed with the care I receive. It sounds strange to say, but I’m at home there; I like them a lot…Most of the time I donate to the to cardiac department,” from which she has acquired “a remarkable collection of stents.”

Dr. John Schroeter, donor to St. Joseph Hospital:

“The Hospital Foundation is special for several reasons. As a local anesthesiologist I directly see the work being done for my community. I think of everyone in my community as family, friend, or neighbor; all worth supporting…I believe the relationship between our anesthesia group and the hospital administration has never been better or stronger. Continuing to strengthen that relationship is important to me because the coming years could be uncertain times for healthcare, and to fulfill our respective missions and visions will require cooperation. I can support the hospital vision by embracing high-quality clinical care, and by financially supporting programs when I am able. Donating is also selfish because giving feels good.”

“Much of the work being done at St. Joseph Hospital falls into the category of ‘best kept secrets.’ Our job at the Foundation is to share with the community the remarkable work being done by our local physicians and the caregivers at the Hospital. The more people who know about St. Joseph Hospital and our commitment to excellent medicine and compassionate care, the more they will feel compelled to support it, as many of you already do.”

-Nancy Steiger, Regional CEO & CMO, “CEO Briefing on Radiation Oncology” at Mt. Baker Theatre in Bellingham, WA on November 12, 2009

If some stories beg to be told, so do certain statistics. Especially when these numbers reveal how treating every patient with safe, evidence based compassionate care—every time, every touch—translate to remarkable rates of cancer survival. Extending lives provides a base measure, suggesting also symptoms relieved, illnesses managed.

Every Hospital program hopes to provide the finest care. At St. Joseph’s Cancer Center, survival rates for the most common cancer sites exceed those reported in the National Oncology Database, for cancers of the breast and prostate, by about two percent; and ten percent for lung and colorectal cancers.

The Cancer Center’s Dr. William Hall put the significance of these figures into perspective, in comments distilled from his November 12 presentation to members of the Circle of Care:

“When you look at ten percent differences in cancer specific survival–ten per cent higher than the national numbers–you realize something important…that St. Joseph’s care improves longevity better than any novel treatment developed in the last twenty years. Let me stress that: by coming to St. Josephs Hospital for treatment of lung and colorectal cancer, it improves the chance for survival by a percentage greater than more than any new treatment developed in the past two decades.”

The reasons for this success are many. Among these: awe-inspiring radiation technologies presented to the Circle of Care by doctors William Hall and Dag Jensen, scanning tomography that provides video voyages through living organs, and cross-section images that allow for precise targeting of tumors.

Nancy Steiger notes that a highly trained and experienced medical staff, cutting-edge technology, and the mission orientation of PeaceHealth combine to form a local health care system of the highest quality. Another factor that contributes to the caliber of care in Whatcom County is the extent to which our community is engaged and supportive of the hospital. Circle of Care donors support the growth and development of health care in Whatcom County. The excellent medicine and compassionate care for which St Joseph Hospital and PeaceHealth are becoming known cannot be taken for granted. These are community resources which require the kind of nurturing and support offered by Circle of Care donors.

-Written by Seth Norman