Message from the Director: April 22, 2008
Members,
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has awarded more than $6.3 million in grants to cancer-related programs that have Cancer Center members as principal investigators or Cancer Center staff facilitating the grant-supported program. All of the grants fall within the AMC Cancer Prevention & Control Program.
Colorado Colorectal Screening Program
$5,599,979
PI: Tim Byers, MD, MPH
The Colorado Colorectal Screening Program, which includes co-director Holly Wolf, PhD, Andi Dwyer and Krystal Morwood, is probably the nation's best example of how to ensure indigent people age 50+ who don't have health insurance will be screened for colorectal cancer. The program collaborates with the Colorado Community Health Network, Colorado Rural Health Center and ClinicNet to screen indigent patients, and it also funds patient navigators at many participating clinics. By the end of this fiscal year, the program will have screened about 5,500 Coloradoans. The 2008-2009 funding from CDPHE should allow an additional 6,200 people to be screened. In total, CCSP has received more than $18 million from CDPHE.
Collaborating to Conquer Colorectal Cancer in Colorado
$215,000
On the other end of the spectrum, this program, which comes out of the Colorado Cancer Coalition's Colorectal Cancer Task Force, is creating a targeted marketing campaign to increase the number of insured people age 50+ who are screened for colorectal cancer. Krystal Morwood, Andi Dwyer and Lynn Gorham, our PR manager, are part of this task force, which also includes people from about two dozen other organizations. Holly Wolf, PhD, MPH, is executive director of the Colorado Cancer Coalition.
SunSafe Colorado for Preschools and Childcare Centers
$252,826
PI: Lori Crane, PhD
SunSafe Colorado comes out of the Skin Cancer Task Force of the Colorado Cancer Coalition. Using this new grant, Lori and other members of the task force will work to improve sun protection practices and policies among childcare providers and preschool teachers, and educate these caregivers and parents of preschool-age children in Colorado about the importance of protecting children from sun exposure. They also want to increase shade in preschools and childcare centers by providing mini-grants to centers to build shaded areas.
Patient Navigator and Community Health Worker Training Collaborative
$249,005
PI: Betsy Risendal, PhD
Patient navigators are proving to be key to help cancer patients figure out how to move through the healthcare system and find resources like transportation and financial aid. But training and educational programs are sparse. This program will implement a rigorous quality control program on curriculum content and delivery that Betsy and her colleagues developed during the program's initial funding period (2006-2008). They will also develop three online training modules so they can deliver at least 85 percent of patient navigator training online. Finally, they will lay the groundwork for professional certification of patient navigators in Colorado. Including this new grant, the program has received $867,228 from CDPHE since 2006.
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By now, you should have received an invitation in the mail to the Paul Bunn Tribute Dinner on May 13. This is the fancy affair I mentioned a few weeks ago that is a fundraiser for a $2 million endowed chair for the new Cancer Center director. If you didn't get an invitation (mailed to your office address), please dontact Libby Printz, 303-724-3156, and she'll get the information to you.
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Finally, if you can't attend the dinner, think about joining cancer survivors, supporters and others at the LIVESTRONG Day Colorado Rally and Glow Stick Vigil on May 13 at 7 pm on the State Capitol building steps. For more information, you can contact livestrongdaydenver@yahoo.com. Have a great week!
Paul A. Bunn, Jr., MD
James Dudley Chair in Cancer Research
Professor and Director, University of Colorado Cancer Center