Since the end of the Design for Healing campaign in March 2013, Princeton HealthCare System (PHCS) Foundation has been involved in the PHCS service-line business planning process. This is a process that seeks to better understand our strengths and the clinical areas where we can affect smart growth. By reviewing best practices from across the country, we were able to establish benchmarks and goals for our programs. In examining the ever-evolving needs of those we serve, as well as current methods employed by other providers, we are able to determine opportunities that exist for PHCS to better serve the needs of more people.
PHCS Foundation has been identifying funding opportunities for several service lines. Critical fundraising efforts associated with each service line are supported by Service Line Advisory Committees. With volunteers and physicians, the Foundation has identified individuals who may have an affinity for a particular service line and who wish to help. Seven service lines, and several programs falling outside these seven, will be supported by the Foundation, and flexibility will be maintained in order to encourage additional donor-centric ideas.
Poised for smart growth, the Edward & Marie Matthews Center for Cancer Care at University Medical Center of Princeton (UMCP) is one critically important service line. The Matthews Center provides community-level, coordinated, individualized care by a team of outstanding medical professionals: board-certified physicians, nationally recognized and certified oncology nurses, dedicated nurse managers, oncology educators, and a certified nurse navigator. Using the latest advances in technology and science, this team delivers to our service area innovative, sophisticated care close to home.
The UMCP state-of-the-art Center for Cancer Care has been accredited with a commendation by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. The Commission has awarded to the Matthews Center the Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award, a distinction enjoyed by less than one-quarter of programs surveyed in 2011. The Matthews Center is also fully accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. Again, less than one-quarter of New Jersey’s acute-care hospitals have received this designation.
The Cancer Advisory Committee of the PHCS Foundation, chaired by Rachel P. Dultz, MD, is comprised of Foundation Board members, physicians, and community volunteers, who are dedicated to seeking funds to enhance the Matthews Center. These funds will expand genetic testing and counseling for various cancers; enhance opportunities for patients to participate in clinical research protocols, as appropriate; fund acquisitions like High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy equipment; foster tumor-site-specific, multidisciplinary programs to include breast, thoracic, colorectal, and gynecological oncology; and endow a Medical Directorship in Cancer. Funding will also enrich psychosocial support for patients and help to sustain complementary therapies like fitness and nutrition.
The PHCS Foundation’s limited number of service lines can be among the best regionally, as we are able to apply our resources in a thorough manner. Senior leadership at PHCS is on track to produce business plans for a number of clinical areas by this October.
The Foundation staff, planning teams, and Foundation Board of Directors will continue to pursue funding for important programs, medical equipment, and technology. For more information, please contact Tim Mathiasen at the PHCS Foundation at 609.252.8710.
Article as seen in Foundation News Fall 2014.