Press Release From The Cancer Institute of New Jersey

August 3, 2006
Contact: Courtney DeNicola
732-235-9872
denicoca@umdnj.edu

Local Health Care Executive Selected for Prestigious National Fellowship
CINJ’s Chief Nursing Officer Named a
Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow

NEW BRUNSWICK — A member of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey’s (CINJ) senior leadership has been selected for a national Fellowship program focused on leading the country’s health care system into the 21st century.

Regina S. Cunningham, Ph.D., RN, AOCN, Chief Nursing Officer at CINJ and Assistant Professor in the Research Division, Department of Family Medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is one of only twenty nurses in executive leadership roles nationwide selected as a 2006 Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow. Now in its ninth year, the three-year Fellowship program is designed to strategically position the voice of nursing across many sectors of the economy in a health care system undergoing unprecedented changes and challenges.

“Nurses play a pivotal role in leading the redesign of health care delivery strategies now and into the future,” stated Dr. Cunningham. “The Fellowship is an outstanding
opportunity to develop additional leadership skills, work with a nationally recognized team of experts from within the health care industry as well as from other sectors of the economy, and benefit from the collaboration with other nursing and health care leaders from different parts of the country. It is an honor to be selected as a participant.”

As part of the Fellowship, Dr. Cunningham will have the opportunity to undertake a
leadership project to benefit CINJ, with funding support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and matching funds from CINJ. Dr. Cunningham is interested in collaborating with members of the cancer center and primary care practices to develop and evaluate a model of care delivery that will enhance access to high quality services for cancer survivors.

Advances in cancer screening, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care have increased survival rates for those diagnosed with cancer. It is anticipated that this number will increase substantially over the next several decades as the effectiveness of oncologic care is enhanced by further scientific discovery. Individuals living with and beyond cancer have special health care needs as a result of their illness experience. The projected model of care delivery would represent a coordinated, interdisciplinary collaboration tha would involve oncology specialists working with primary care providers. Oncology nurses would play a major role in transitioning care from the oncology-specific to the primary care setting. Relatively little is known about the long-term effects of cancer treatment and this project would create opportunities for research that would support CINJ’s mission of advancing research in the area of population science.

“Regina’s commitment to her work, staff and patients is extraordinary and we are proud of this and all of her accomplishments,” stated William N. Hait, M.D., Ph.D., Director, CINJ and Associate Dean for Oncology Programs and Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

As chief nursing officer, Dr. Cunningham is responsible for planning, directing,
coordinating, and improving the delivery of all nursing services to both adults and
children receiving care at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey. In addition, Dr.
Cunningham is an active member of the supportive care research group at the Institute. Her research interests include factors influencing outcomes in patients receiving cancer treatment with a focus on the role of the oncology nurse in improving outcomes, and issues of cancer survivorship.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey is New Jersey’s first and only National Cancer
Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, and is dedicated to improving the prevention, detection, treatment and care of patients with cancer. CINJ’s physicianscientists engage in translational research, transforming their laboratory discoveries into clinical practice quite literally bringing research to life. The Cancer Institute of New Jersey is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. To support CINJ, please call The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Foundation at 732/235- 8614.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Network is comprised of hospitals throughout the state and provides a mechanism to rapidly disseminate important discoveries into the community. Partner Hospitals: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Atlantic Health System (Morristown Memorial Hospital, Mountainside Hospital, Overlook Hospital). Affiliate Hospitals: Bayshore Community Hospital, CentraState Healthcare System, Cooper University Hospital (CINJ at Cooper)*, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, JFK Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton (CINJ-Hamilton), Saint Peter’s University Hospital, Somerset Medical Center, Southern Ocean County Hospital, The University Hospital/UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School*, and University Medical Center at Princeton.
*Academic Affiliate