Salem Cancer Institute—Linking
Patients to Care
Winter 2008
Nancy Boutin, M.D., radiation oncologist and medical director of the Salem Cancer Institute, and other local physicians wanted to make cancer patients’ experiences as easy and as comfortable as possible. For 18 months, Dr. Boutin and the other physicians worked with hospital leaders, exploring how to ease the process for people with cancer.
The result was the Salem Cancer Institute, which strives to provide the highest quality oncology care to patients and their families— in a coordinated, efficient and supportive manner.
“The Institute is a collaborative effort driven by the Mid-Valley medical community to provide top-notch cancer care with a personal touch,” says Eric Laro, M.D., chair of the Salem Cancer Institute. “We feel the services made available by the Institute will help patients and their families through difficult times.”
The Salem Cancer Institute is a partnership between Salem Health and the many physicians who have patients with cancer. “Any community physician who cares for cancer patients can be part of the Institute,” says William “Bud” Pierce, M.D. “This approach allows for many different types of physicians to be involved—while maintaining their regular practices—and to work together to ease each individual patient’s cancer experience.”
No one has to face cancer alone
“Cancer-care coordinators are key to the program,” says Dr. Boutin. They provide patients with a personal, compassionate contact who offers support, information and guidance throughout the patient’s healthcare experience. “The care coordinators also can be resources for physicians,” says Dr. Boutin. For example, a physician who only sees a few cancer patients in a year might contact a care coordinator for assistance in providing the care a patient needs.