Sidney Health Center is on a journey to become a Cancer Care Center of Excellence. In 2018, Sidney Health Center’s Cancer Care service began working with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on a consulting basis. ASCO is the world’s leading professional organization for physicians and oncology professionals caring for people with cancer.

Through this process ASCO staff have visited the Cancer Care Center to observe and assess the work flow including access to care in rural America. These visits have brought to light what is going well, recommendations for improvement, and attention on a larger scale in regards to cancer care.

Monica Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, 2018-2019 President of ASCO, is planning a visit to Sidney on March 6 to meet the staff at Sidney Health Center, interview cancer patients, tour the facility, sit in on a Cancer Coalition meeting and end the day with a town hall social. The purpose of the visit is two-fold: Dr. Bertagnolli is interested in learning about the challenges cancer patients, caregivers and staff experience in a rural area, as well as bringing awareness to the work of the community.

The Cancer Care Town Hall Social will be held at the Sidney Country Club from 4:00 – 6:00 PM with appetizers and refreshments. The general public is invited to attend this informational meeting and conversation about cancer care. A brief program is scheduled for 5:15 PM featuring Dr. Bertagnolli and Sidney Health Center’s physicians, Dr. Chad Pedersen, Medical Oncologist and Dr. Ralf Kiehl, Radiation Oncologist.

Dr. Bertagnolli is the professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, and an associate surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Since joining ASCO in 1995, Dr. Bertagnolli has served on the Board of Directors (2007-2011), as well as on numerous committees, including the ASCP/CAP/AMP/ASCO Colorectal Cancer Guidelines Committee (co-chair 2011-present), the Cancer Prevention Committee (2001-2004 and 2007-2010), and the Planning Committee (2008-2011), among others.

In addition to her ASCO involvement, Dr. Bertagnolli currently serves as vice president of Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups, group chair of Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, president of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Foundation, and CEO of Alliance Foundation Trials, LLC. Since 2012 she has served on the National Academy of Medicine’s National Cancer Policy Forum. In 2011, she received the Partners Healthcare Partners in Excellence Award: Personalized Cancer Medicine Partnership Team, and in 2015, she received the CEO Roundtable on Cancer Charles H. Sanders Life Sciences Award.

For more information regarding this event, please call Sidney Health Center’s Cancer Care Suite at 406-488-2504 and visit with Kathy Jensen, Cancer Care Director.