2023-2025 Recipients

Statewide Virtual Oncologic Care Coordination During COVID-19 Pandemic will receive $10,000 annually to sustain the initiative for two years. Contributing faculty and staff members are Veronica Quattrini, DNP, FNP-BC (SON), Eun-Shim Nahm PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA (SON), Ameera Chakravarthy, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, FNP-BC (SON), Kyle Hatten, MD (SOM), Kelly Moyer, MD (SOM), and Bianca Cornelius, CRNP (UMMS). Head and neck cancer care often requires multiple treatment modalities including surgery at a tertiary care center with adjuvant treatment, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy, performed in community cancer programs at various locations. The current proposal aims to expand multi-institutional oncologic tumor boards that facilitate a treatment recommendations and oncologic care plans for patients designed between various centers, optimizing transition of care, functional and oncologic outcomes using an interprofessional team including DNP NP students and medical students. While the implementation of a virtual meeting platforms has been trialed within multiple hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first program in Maryland to bridge oncologists who provide multidisciplinary care with the same team for the same patient from different locations. The program will continue to complement in-person care with a virtual meeting format to integrate physically distant teams and generate a consensus recommendation, treatment plan, and surveillance regimen. The treatment plan and longitudinal care of the patients will be created, coordinated, and implemented with the support of DNP NP students and medical students as part of the IPE curriculum. To learn more, contact Dr. Quattrini at vquattrini@umaryland.edu.