Page 74 - Senior Link Magazine Summer 2018- Online Magazine

HONORING J.T. & MARGARET

T ALKINGT ON

UMC Health System:

Supportive Care Program

BY SANDY OGLETREE

The primary goal of the Women’s Cancer
Care Program at the South West Cancer
Center (SWCC) is to improve patient
outcomes by bringing leading experts in
women’s cancer management together
with advanced technology needed to
diagnose and treat these cancers. The
5,000-square-foot expansion of the
SWCC, provided by the J.T and Margaret
Talkington Foundation, allows several
physicians from medical, surgical and
radiation oncology to work closely in true multidisciplinary fashion to provide
individualized patient-oriented treatment, with a specific focus on the patient’s
quality of life. This facility also provides a venue for extended cancer care services
particularly catered to women, such as genetic counseling, distress screening and
psychosocial counseling.
According to Dr. Rahman, Medical Director, Breast
Center of Excellence, “This facility design and approach
to cancer care has tremendously enhanced access by
consolidating services that were dispersed in separate
locations, optimizing clinical operations and flow of
care, and providing an environment that is conducive to
self-empowerment and creating ambience that promotes
tranquility and functional well-being.”
The J.T. and Margaret Talkington Foundation supported
the establishment of the Supportive Care Unit at UMC
Health System which served over 650 patients during
2016. A specially-trained staff and a team of Palliative
Care Specialists assist and support families and patients
who are facing complex physical, emotional, social, and
spiritual problems that often accompany advanced illness.
The supportive care unit includes 16 palliative care
patient rooms, family consultation room, a large family
room with kitchenette and a hydrotherapy room. The
unit is focused on providing patients with relief from the
symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness—whatever
the diagnosis.
Dr. Michael Ragain, Chief Medical Director of UMC
Health System, describes the Unit: “Combining the
beautiful facility with a caring staff has created a superb
environment for serving patients and families at the end
of life.”
An endowment was also established through the
generosity of the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Foundation
to support the operation, equipment and research needs of
the Unit.

74 Lubbock Senior Link