Tag Archives: Requard Radiation Oncology Center

Auxiliary Donates $35,000 to Cancer Services at UM Shore Regional Health

Auxiliary-DonationAuxiliary Donates $35,000 to Cancer Services at UM Shore Regional Health

The Auxiliary of Memorial Hospital at Easton recently contributed $35,000 to the University of Maryland Memorial Hospital Foundation’s 2013 Year End Appeal, benefitting the Requard Radiation Oncology Center at University of Maryland Shore Regional Health’s Cancer Center.  Funds raised from the appeal will be used to support the purchase of new hardware and software to upgrade the Center’s two linear accelerators and the high dose rate brachytherapy equipment, which are devices used for the delivery of radiation treatments for cancer patients.

“These devices are critical to helping us treat and manage cancer in our Mid-Shore communities and the upgrades being funded will help to reduce treatment time for patients while increasing the accuracy of the treatment plans generated for each patient,” comments Brian Leutner, director of oncology services, UM Shore Regional Health.  “Updating this equipment will allow the Cancer Center to continue to provide the highest quality of care and treatment techniques to the patients that we serve.”

Leutner continues, “We are most grateful for the generous support of the Auxiliary of Memorial Hospital at Easton and UM Memorial Hospital Foundation, which will enable the Cancer Center to continue to provide first-class care to our family members, friends and neighbors when they find themselves in need of the best cancer treatments available.”

For additional information or to make a donation to the Year End Appeal supporting University of Maryland Shore Regional Health’s Cancer Center, contact Pat O’Shea, director of development, at 410-822-1000, ext. 5915 or e-mail poshea@shorehealth.org.

Photo: Brian Leutner, director of oncology services, UM Shore Regional Health (far left) accepts a check for $35,000 from Debbie Hayes, Auxiliary president. The Auxiliary of Memorial Hospital at Easton made the contribution to UM Memorial Hospital Foundation’s Year End Appeal benefitting Shore Regional Health’s Cancer Center.  Pictured in addition to Leutner and Hayes are Auxiliary members (from left to right) Terry Stephan; Mac McConnell; Elva Pierce; Diane Bisanar; Barbara Reinhart; Bill Hough; Lorraine Kelly; Sandy Engle; Marian Miller; Joe Shultz; Janet Grainger; Neal O’Shea; Pauline Lane; Liz Hennegan; and Emilie Joshi; and Kenneth Kozel, president and CEO, UM Shore Regional Health and F. Graham Lee, vice president of philanthropy, UM Shore Regional Health. 

 

 

 

 

 

Shore Regional Cancer Center Earns Accreditation in Radiation Therapy

Shore Regional Cancer Center’s Requard Radiation Oncology Center has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in radiation oncology as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Radiation oncology (radiation therapy) is the use of high-energy radiation to treat cancer.

“Our staff works very diligently to provide the best and most effective radiation treatment possible for our patients,” says Phillip Sawyer, MS, Lead Medical Physicist for the Requard Radiation Oncology Center. “This accreditation is the result of our staff’s ongoing commitment to patient safety and quality control every day.”

The ACR-ASTRO seal of accreditation represents the highest level of quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting specific practice guidelines and technical standards developed by ACR and ASTRO after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified radiation oncologists and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Patient care and treatment, patient safety, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR-ASTRO Committee on Radiation Oncology Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.

The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 34,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services. ASTRO is a professional organization serving more than 10,000 radiation oncologists, medical physicists and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of cancer patients.

In photo: Members of the Shore Regional Cancer Center radiation team (left to right) are Robin Ford, MS, RN, radiation oncology nurse; Vicky Dunlap, RTT, radiation oncology technical coordinator; Paula Larrimore, CMD, senior dosimetrist; Rich Seier, MS, DABR, medical physicist; Phillip Sawyer, MS, lead medical physicist; John Mastandrea, MD, radiation oncologist and medical director of the Requard Radiation Oncology Center; and Brian Leutner, RT (R) (T), MBA , Director of Oncology Services for Shore Health System.

Memorial Hospital Auxiliary Funds Cancer Care Equipment

The Memorial Hospital Auxiliary’s 28th Annual Tree of Lights fundraiser met its goal to purchase equipment for the Requard Radiation Oncology Center of Shore Regional Cancer Center in Easton. Donations made to the auxiliary during the holiday season were used to fund a $5,800 quality assurance radiation monitor that calibrates the equipment used to deliver radiation therapy to patients.

The monitor is used by specially trained staff at the Requard Radiation Oncology Center to check the amount of radiation being generated from the machine that is used to treat cancer patients. The monitor also measures the shape and energy of the radiation beam that will penetrate the targeted tumor.

“By law we are required to take daily measurements that validate the performance of our two linear accelerators, the machines we use to deliver radiation treatments for cancer patients. Every morning, before we treat the first patient, we take a series of technically complex measurements to ensure that treatments are both safe and effective for each person who comes to our center,” says Phillip Sawyer, MS, lead medical physicist for the Requard Radiation Oncology Center. “Having this data helps us define even more precise dosage calculation and treatment delivery so that we can help ensure that the radiation received by our patients is the most effective dose possible.”

The new monitor also tracks the performance of the radiation machines and gives the physicists an early warning sign that service may be required.

“This monitor really helps us keep our linear accelerators in working order so we are less likely to have downtime and unnecessary appointment rescheduling for our patients,” says Brian Leutner, director of oncology services for Shore Health System. “We are grateful to the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary for their continued generosity to the Cancer Center.”

For more information about Shore Regional Cancer Center, call 410-820-6800 or visit www.shorehealth.org/services/cancercenter.

In photo: Memorial Hospital Auxiliary volunteer Julie Wojcik looks on as Phillip Sawyer, MS, lead medical physicist for the Requard Radiation Oncology Center, reviews the daily data measurements collected by the quality assurance radiation monitor. The monitor was purchased by the Auxiliary through the 2011 Tree of Lights campaign.