Centra certified in new model for cancer survivors’ care

Centra has become the first-ever health care system to be certified by a new nationwide program aimed at bolstering care for cancer survivors through an innovative marriage of oncology and rehabilitation expertise, officials announced Monday.

The concept of offering rehabilitative services tailored specifically to the needs of those who’ve survived cancer — and its difficult treatments — is still relatively new, although more hospitals are recognizing the need for it.

Centra, as part of its own efforts to improve its cancer care, spent two years working with Dr. Julie Silver, a Harvard Medical School professor and breast cancer survivor.

Silver, author of the book “After Cancer Treatment: Heal Faster, Better, Stronger,” was working at the time to develop a cancer rehabilitation program that could be applied by hospitals across the nation. She chose Lynchburg as her first subject after meeting a Centra physician at a conference and accepting an invitation to tour the hospital. 

“When I went through my treatment, I realized how good I felt before and how terrible I felt afterward,” she said. “To me, as a (rehabilitation expert), that didn’t make any sense. We focus on making patients feel better. I realized this piece of cancer care was missing.”

Silver’s program, dubbed the Survivorship Training and Rehab, or STAR program, is built on a set of protocols that instruct hospitals in how to bring a broad range of staff members together to help cancer survivors return to full physical and emotional health. The program pulls from models for other conditions, such as heart attack and stroke, where follow-up rehab has been the standard for years.

“Once you realize there’s a need for this, it seems very obvious,” Silver said. “Of course it makes sense to get rehab after cancer treatment because it is so toxic … But right now, many cancer survivors get lost in the transition from acute care to survivorship. There are no services. Literally, healing is left on the table.”

Under the STAR program, which Silver is already preparing to bring to other hospitals, Centra will assemble a team of specialists from both the oncology and rehabilitation departments to develop personalized plans designed to restore a patient’s strength and improve his or her quality of life. Team members will come from a variety of backgrounds, including doctors, nurses, physical therapists, dietitians and social workers.

“This is taking us to the next level,” said Betty Zaring, a referral development coordinator for Centra who helped implement the local STAR program. “We’re saying we’re not just going to work in one area of treatment. We’re all going to work together to provide service and help our patients maximize their quality of life.”

With a STAR certification, Centra will be entitled to staff training programs and continuing education support. Those and other STAR services will be administered by Oncology Rehab Partners, a health care company co-founded by Silver.

George Dawson, president and CEO of Centra, called it an “extraordinary opportunity” for the hospital.

“I think this is an opportunity for national learning,” he said. “To help pave the way, nationwide, for more effective teamwork that will better serve patients.”