Kickoff to take place March 23, 2 p.m. Kent Hospital Outpatient Rehab Facility

Please join Kent Hospital at its STAR Program for Cancer Rehabilitation kickoff event, Friday, March 23, 2012 at 2 p.m. The event will take place at the Kent Hospital Outpatient Rehabilitation facility, 1351 South County Trail, building 2, suite 200, in East Greenwich. All patients, physicians, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, nutritionists and clinical office staff are invited to tour Kent's outpatient facility and meet with program physicians and rehabilitation therapists.

Kent Hospital's STAR program certification is part of a statewide initiative currently taking place in Rhode Island. Women & Infants Hospital, also a Care New England Hospital, is currently undergoing training for certification. Through a generous donation from the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation, Kent Hospital and Women and Infants Hospital are making cancer rehabilitation the standard of care for its survivors. By partnering together, The Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation is allowing Care New England to lead the way in Rhode Island by offering excellent cancer rehabilitation services to its patients through the STAR Program.

STAR Program Certification, uniquely qualifies facilities to offer premium oncology rehabilitation services to survivors who suffer from debilitating side effects, caused by treatments. "This is the rehabilitation which brings the patient back to the fullest life possible with maximum function. And this life may be even better, more healthful, than the pre-cancerous lifestyle," said Dr. John Carbon who is a physiatrist, specializing in physical medicine rehabilitation at Kent Hospital.

To receive its certification, Kent Hospital executed Oncology Rehab Partner's unparalleled STAR Program Certification, a conventional medicine and evidence-based standardized model of oncology rehabilitation service delivery, successfully implementing the program's evaluation and treatment protocols and rehabilitation training. These services are covered by health insurance providers and will be offered to patients by a knowledgeable and sensitive medical staff that is specially trained to work with survivors of all forms of cancer.

Specialty caregivers from a pool of disciplines--including physicians, physical and occupational therapists, speech pathologists, dieticians, mental health professionals, etc.--will work together with each patient on a personalized rehabilitation plan to increase strength and energy, alleviate pain, and improve daily function and quality of life.

"Life after cancer and cancer treatment no longer has to mean a diminished quality of life," said Candace Dyer, MD, physician director of The Breast Health Center at Kent. "Most, if not all side effects can be addressed through the STAR Program. Cancer, cancer treatments and their after effects have long been ignored. Now, with the STAR Program many patients do not have to accept a "new normal" but can get back to their pre-diagnosis state and often surpass it in terms of quality of life, which addresses physical, mental and social issues that may have arisen."

STAR program certification from Oncology Rehab Partners provides hospitals and cancer centers with the tools needed to quickly and effectively implement an exceptional survivorship care plan.

Oncology Rehab Partners founder Julie Silver, MD, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and cancer survivor says, "By becoming STAR program certified, Kent Hospital has made survivorship a priority."