Casey DeSantis launches program to reimagine Florida’s cancer care
TAMPA, Fla. (FLV) – First Lady Casey DeSantis launched an innovative approach to fight against cancer on Thursday.
The “Cancer Connect Collaborative” is a group of medical professionals partnering with government leadership to analyze, rethink, and reimagine Florida’s approach to cancer care, she announced.
The collaborative will work to “break down traditional healthcare silos to ensure accountability, best practices, and of course, positive outcomes for Floridians,” the first lady said.
“Cancer Connect Collaborative” will focus on five primary goals, according to a press release:
- Data about the proliferation and treatment of cancer should be both timely available and easily accessible. The Collaborative will seek to identify the reasons data is slow to move or hard to access and dismantle those barriers.
- When it comes to treating cancer, best practices shouldn’t be proprietary. The Collaborative will seek to streamline, encourage and incentivize the sharing of treatment best practices among public and private entities so that everyone is treated with the most effective treatment possible.
- Cutting the red tape and fully unleashing the power of innovation in the battle against cancer. Technology improves at an exponential rate yet application lags. The Collaborative will identify the reasons that technology gets held up — whether it be special interests, over-litigiousness or bureaucratic red tape — and recommend ways to eliminate these barriers.
- The Cancer Connect Collaborative will provide recommendations for the implementation of the Governor’s proposed $170 million in funding to improve the pace of cancer research and novel technologies. For record breaking funding, the Florida taxpayer deserves results. The Collaborative will deliver.
- We know a lot about cancer— what causes it, and in many cases, what preventative steps can minimize the risk of a diagnosis. It’s time to open the tap on cancer information, and the Collaborative will be tasked with identifying the ways to ensure this is done.
DeSantis held a roundtable in Tampa with the initial members of the collaborative, including Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Jason Weida, Rep. Sam Garrison, R-Fleming Island, and other medical professionals.
“Through this collaborative, we need to empower Floridians with the most accurate, up to date information, so that we can make better positions to put ourselves and our families in the driver’s seat, to hopefully prevent, or catch a cancer diagnosis early,” DeSantis said.
The first lady said she hopes that the program looks at this moment as an opportunity to reanalyze and rethink the way Florida approaches cancer care.
The collaborative will obtain better situational awareness for the current cancer rates and reoccurring rates.
“Currently, there is about a two year lag between the time that data is collected, submitted, and analyzed, if at all, we know that’s clearly not good enough. We need real time data to assess current trends and act as quickly as possible to address concerns,” DeSantis said.
The data collaborative will not only look at diagnosis rates, but also treatment protocols, and success rates to be able to further innovation and best practices.
DeSantis said the collaborative will also investigate and recommend best practices currently in use, not only in Florida, but across the country, and work to bring those solutions to healthcare systems across the state.
The collaborative will look at new options to fund research and solutions to other research entities and hospitals, including non-National Cancer Institute facilities, where the majority of cancers are treated every year across the state.
“As somebody who has personally lived through hell, I cannot thank this collaborative enough for your service for your time and your unwavering commitment to find solutions to ultimately saving lives, and giving people like me hope,” the first lady said.
