Rein in Sarcoma has received a $100,000 gift to establish the Hallie Anne Brown Sarcoma Educational Initiative. The gift was given by the Barbara Bradley Baekgaard Family Foundation through Todd and Kathy Brown, parents of Hallie Anne Brown, who died from Osteosarcoma at the age of 16.
Because of this new initiative, RIS plans to work with medical systems to provide accurate and understandable information that physicians and other medical personnel can use when first presented with a suspicious lump. This information will increase the number of patients who meet established guidelines and are referred to specialty medical providers knowledgeable in the treatment of sarcoma—thus providing a seamless approach from diagnosis through treatment.
The Hallie Anne Brown Educational Initiative will enable RIS to refine protocols for best practices in sarcoma treatment, as well as fully develop and implement its educational marketing plan. The Medical Advisory Board and the Red Flags Committee is seeking input from physicians, health systems, other professional resources and program staff in this effort.
RIS will then collaborate with medical institutions in the upper Midwest to implement these protocols and educational programs. If this proves effective locally, the Hallie Anne Brown Educational Initiative will serve as a model for national education. It is hoped that, if fully implemented, sarcoma survivorship could be increased by as much as 20%.
Dr. Randy Hurley, RIS Sarcoma Advisory Board member and head of oncology for HealthPartners, has agreed to pilot the educational program through Regions Hospitals and the HealthPartners heath care system. RIS is also working with the University of Minnesota Medical School and other regional and national resources to design the pilot.
In addition to the educational components, Board member Dr. Larry Seymour, MD is heading up a task force of doctors and researchers to determine the most appropriate process to expand RIS Sarcoma research funding beyond the University of Minnesota to other major medical research centers in the Midwest and nationwide.
The Initiative was announced to a standing ovation by Pete Wyckoff at the close of the RIS Fall Fundraiser with the theme of “Let’s change the sarcoma story.”