• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Awards More Than $400,000 to Texas Cancer Centers Serving Patients Displaced By Hurricane Katrina

Posted on: Monday, 15 May 2006, 12:06 CDT

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has awarded more than $400,000 to members of five Texas cancer centers to improve blood cancer care in a region still reeling from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The money will be used by cancer centers in Texas that are caring for patients forced to relocate from the Gulf Coast, and will support a variety of patient-focused programs, including the hiring of extra personnel to treat patients whose care continues to be compromised by storm-related damage and disruptions.

"Texas healthcare facilities are still feeling the impact of last year's terrible hurricanes," said Robin Kornhaber, M.S.W., senior vice president, Patient Services, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. "With these grants, we're helping some of the state's premier hospitals that have taken on the additional burden of providing vital care to patients with leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma who were forced to evacuate from New Orleans and Mississippi."

The grants are: - Texas Children's Hospital, Houston - for a part-time child life specialist - The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston - for a clinical research nurse - M.D. Anderson - for improved care of patients undergoing lumbar punctures (spinal taps) - Baylor College of Medicine, Houston - for a new hematology-oncology fellow to help treat patients - Center for Cell and Gene Therapy/Bone Marrow Transplant, The Methodist Hospital, Houston - for various patient services, equipment and educational materials - Baylor Sammons Cancer Center, Dallas - for help in purchasing educational supplies and materials, and help in assisting indigent patients purchase prescriptions

The Society also recently awarded $230,000 to Tulane Cancer Center's Bone Marrow Transplant Program in New Orleans, epicenter of last year's terrible Gulf Coast storm season. The money will help rebuild the center's clinical research program in leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and replace vital machinery and support personnel, among other needs. The Society also awarded more than $114,000 to the Ochsner Cancer Institute, New Orleans. The grant will support a part-time social worker, a part-time R.N. coordinator for the pediatric hematology/oncology program and a part-time R.N. coordinator for the adult hematology/oncology program.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, headquartered in White Plains, NY, with 66 chapters in the United States and Canada, is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The Society's mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society has invested more than $424 million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, the Society made 2.5 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

For more information about blood cancer, visit http://www.lls.org/ or call the Society's Information Resource Center (IRC), a call center staffed by master's level social workers, nurses and health educators who provide information, support and resources to patients and their families and caregivers. IRC information specialists are available at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

CONTACT: Andrea Greif, +1-914-821-8958, greifa@lls.org

Web site: http://www.lls.org/

Source: PRNewswire

More News in this Category