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The launch featured guest speaker and STAR program developer, Dr. Julie Silver, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and cancer survivor, according to a press release from the hospital. The hospital's oncologists, physical and occupational therapists, speech pathologists, dieticians and other medical professionals attended the event and 28 STAR-certified professions were recognized for attaining certification on their own time, according to the release.
The hospital’s physical medicine and rehabilitation and oncology services departments began training in the Massachusetts-based Oncology Rehab Partners’ STAR certification program in fall 2012, according to the release.
"Oncology Rehab Partners is a leading expert in the field of survivorship care and certification uniquely qualifies facilities like Greenwich Hospital to offer premium oncology rehabilitation services to survivors suffering the sometimes debilitating side effects of cancer treatment," representatives said in the release.
According to Ronald Ponchak, director of Greenwich Hospital's physical medicine and rehabilitation, cancer rehabilitation services "are a critical component of cancer care and survivorship plans because they can significantly improve quality of life for patients under treatment, in remission or living with the disease," according to the release.
“Although surviving cancer is more common today, as medical interventions and treatments have advanced, the majority of cancer survivors fail to return to previous levels of normal activity and function due to the toll of their fight against the disease,” Ponchak said in the release. “This certification provides our clinicians with a proven program to deliver excellent cancer rehabilitation care.”
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