With a mission to make state of art, patient-centered radiation oncology care more accessible to its community, South County Health in Wakefield, Rhode Island, turned to Varian Advanced Oncology Solutions (AOS) for access to a team of physicists and dosimetrists to help maintain the quality of care they sought to provide.
Advanced care with the personal touch
According to South County Health, their facility is one of approximately 5,000 community hospitals in the United States, and one of only five providing radiation oncology in Rhode Island. The next closest facilities are nearly an hour’s drive away. To enhance and expand services to its community of 100,000 residents, South County Hospital renovated its radiation oncology department and upgraded its technology to offer the range of treatment options available at much larger centers, along with the added personal touch of a smaller, local clinic.
To complement its gold-standard technology, South County Health has contracted with Varian’s Advanced Oncology Solutions for physics and dosimetry support. An innovative and flexible services engagement designed to meet the needs of smaller centers like South County provides for a full-time onsite physicist, dedicated remote dosimetrists, and backup professionals to ensure quality as well as continuity of service for absences and unforeseen circumstances.
Tapping a deep pool of expertise
“We're always in evolution about how to best use the multi-million-dollar technology that South County has invested in to deliver state-of-the-art radiation,” explained Daniel Fass, MD, South County radiation oncologist. “We have the functionality of a major academic radiation therapy department. We needed the expertise to match, beyond that which a single physicist or dosimetrist can provide.”
“We have observed that it becomes increasingly challenging to run a radiation oncology service with just a single physicist and dosimetrist on staff,” said Dave Blaich, Clinical Physicist with Varian’s Advanced Oncology Solutions. “That model can’t deliver the same depth, breadth, and quality that a larger, more diverse group can offer. At AOS, we have more than 65 physicists and some 140 plus dosimetrists on our staff. Through engagements with AOS, smaller centers can tap into our collective experience as necessary.”
Once Varian was identified as the solution for physics and treatment planning, Brianna Venagro, team lead for the South County radiation oncology department, was excited. “Varian brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the clinic that was missing before,” she said. “Rather than one person’s point of view, we gained a team of talented professionals with everyone executing to the same vision.” That team includes the Varian transition team, the assigned physicists and dosimetrists, their managers, and the extensive global network of Varian experts backing them up. “With the Varian team, we are secure in the knowledge that everything is being done for patient safety. That’s a lot of pressure for someone to have on their shoulders alone,” Venagro added.
Goals set; goals met
The partnership with Varian’s AOS resulted in immediate benefits for South County Health, and for patients. “Our goal to have 30 patients concurrently under treatment is being met,” reported Venagro. Faster turnaround from dosimetry has helped maintain that pace. “The Varian benchmark is to provide the physician with contours of organs at risk 24 hours after simulation. As a result, approved plans that used to take up to 2 weeks, are now typically ready within a week,” said Blaich.
According to Justin English, AOS dosimetrist, the team has fine-tuned their planning techniques to accommodate the customer's preferences. “It is rare for Dr. Fass to send a plan back for replanning. We have adapted to Dr. Fass's preferences, and all plans are carefully reviewed before the physician sees them,” he said. As a result, patients can start treatment sooner. “The average time from simulation to start of treatment has been reduced by half from two weeks to one,” reported Venagro, adding that referrals to South County Health for radiation oncology have doubled since the engagement with Varian was launched.
Dr. Fass sums up the value of the Varian relationship: “Now, research aside, even academic centers aren’t able to bring more assets to bear for the patient than our smaller community hospital.”