Health Council of South Florida

March Quarterly Meeting

Southeast Florida Cancer Control Collaborative 

Conference Call Line Option: (786) 535-4360

Participant Code: 110 #

 

 MINUTES

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Attendees

1. Maray Salina- Memorial Cancer Institute

2. Marie Etienne- Miami-Dade College, HAPC, HANA

3. Sharon Cohan- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

4. David Cowan- Ali's Alliance Inc, The Cancer Directory

5. Corinne Danielson- Sari Center

6. Ann Fonfa- Annie Appleseed Project

7. Donna Goodwin- American Cancer Society Palm Beach

8. Sharon Greene- Department of Health Palm Beach County

9. Josh Hirsch- Susan G. Komen Florida

10. Cara Kondacki- Cleveland Clinic

11. Trivel McKire- Department of Health Broward County

12. Hayes Milani- Nutronco LLC

13. Susan Theroux- Delray Medical Center

14. Chris Cox- Cancer Alliance of Health & Hope

15. Roger Buckwalter- Cancer Alliance of Health & Hope

16. Linda Shappell- Memorial Cancer Institute

17. Tracy Ernst- Essential Candy

18. Stephanie Bryan

19. Samantha Sanders- JMC Hair Wear

20. Cynthia Thiry- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

21. Jennifer Tobon- American Cancer Society

22. Tenesha Avent- Health Council of South Florida

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Via Conference Call

1. Chris Varela- American Cancer Society Doral

2. Sam Mooneyhan-Florida Department of Health

3. Lenise Banwarie- Florida Department of Health Miami-Dade County

4. Fayola Delica- Haitian American Professionals Coalition (HAPC) 

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Welcome and Introductions:  

SFCCC Co-Chairs, Dr. Marie Etienne and Maray Salina and CCC Chair Roger Buckwalter greeted the members to the 10th SFCCC/CC joint quarterly meeting.  Members were asked to state their name, organization, and workgroup they are a part of.

 

CCC Business Update:

Roger Buckwalter, Cancer Alliance of Health & Hope, Community Cancer Council

 

Roger updated the attendees on Community Cancer Council activities since the last SFCCC/CCC joint meeting in April 2018. During the previous CCC meeting, presentations conducted were as follows: Medical marijuana from Stephanie Kronen of Curaleaf, American Cancer Society programs and latest efforts from Donna Goodwin of the American Cancer Society Palm Beach, new programs at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society from Sharon Cohan of the LLS, and integrative therapies to treat symptoms and side effects of cancer treatment from Corinne Danielson of the Sari Center. Roger requested suggestions on how members can stay abreast with each group’s updates/achievements. Roger also discussed how CCC facilitated help for patients and responded to inquires from members including housing assistance, assistance for surgery and free mammograms

 

Roger Buckwalter discussed cooperative projects. Roger noted the CCC receives regular updates on SFCCC from Donna Goodwin, American Cancer Society Palm Beach. Roger suggested distributing SFCCC organizational materials at CCC meetings. To increase CCC membership, especially in Broward County, a request was made for SFCCC members to encourage potential members to attend CCC meetings and vice versa.

Roger and Maray Salina, SFCCC Co-Chair, discussed collaborating on a list of speakers that can be shared among both SFCCC and CCC. Members discussed how to improve the Speakers Bureau List on the SFCCC website. Members noted the Speakers Bureau list needed to be more pronounced on the SFCCC website. Members also discussed the new trend of using a podcast to distribute information. The next CCC meeting will be on Tuesday, May 14 at 9:30am at American Cancer Society in West Palm Beach. Roger requested a speaker for the meeting.

 

Statewide Update:

Sam Mooneyhan, Program Director, Comprehensive Cancer Control Program

 

The State Cancer Plan is coming to an end. The state would like input from community members and the Collaboratives on the objectives that should be included in the next State Cancer Plan. In order to have a unified vision of the State Cancer Plan, the Council committee plans to conduct regional town halls and roundtable events so all Collaboratives are included in the plan development.  Sam discussed current funding opportunities and welcomed feedback on the direction of funding. Previous funding opportunities have focused on HPV vaccination, Colorectal Cancer, Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer Screening, and cancer survival projects with a focus on written survival care plan.  Maray and Ann discussed the importance of having a paper copy of the Survivorship Care Plan. There has been issues with survivors being provided with their plan after treatment since it is digital.

 

Evidence-based Cancer Control Strategies

Ann Fonfa- President, Annie Appleseed Project

 

Ann Fonfa discussed complementary medicine, chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Ann noted her focus is on finding the evidence of treatment toxicity through complementary medicine. Ann discussed the role being physically active and decreasing stress levels has on one’s cancer risk. The theme of the 13th Annual Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Cancer Therapies Conference was immunotherapy from the natural perspective. Gratitude Farms donated organic fruits and vegetables and Farmer’s Table donated prepared food for opening reception. Ann encouraged everyone to eat organic foods and noted bell peppers and strawberries are the most sprayed with pesticides. Ann described the importance of empowering patients to utilize complementary medicine and emphasized the need for more physician education around evidence-based complementary and alternative cancer therapies. The next Annual Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Cancer Therapies Conference will be on February 27-29, 2020.  

 

Work Group Updates:

SFCCC Work group updates were provided are as follows:

 

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The Synergy and Networking/Membership Work Group are awaiting feedback from SFCCC members on the SFCCC brochure. Once approved, it will be sent for printing to the Miami Print Shop.

 

The Risk Reduction Work Group leaders will provide an update at the next Steering Committee Meeting.

 

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Chris Varela, Disparities Work Group leader, stated the Disparities Work Group have been focusing on 12 objectives in the Strategic Plan. Chris informed members the Public Housing Authority instituted a full smoking ban on all public housing authority properties owned by the government. One of the work group’s goal is to collaborate with the Public Housing Authority to assist in the process of going smoke-free. Other focal areas have been increasing HPV vaccination for both females and males, training ambassadors to conduct community awareness sessions, and increasing prostate screening awareness in high risk populations.

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Cara Kondaki, Survivorship and Quality of Life Work Group leader stated the Survivorship Symposium will be held on June 1 in Weston at the Cleveland Clinic. Various organizations such as Baptist, University of Miami, Memorial Healthcare, Holy Cross Hospital, and Palm Beach University will provide 30-minute presentations. Wendie Nemeroff, Survivorship Co-Chair work group leader, from Catholic Hospice has agreed to sponsor breakfast for the symposium.

 

 

Work Group Next Steps:

SFCCC Work Group updates were provided are as follows:

 

The Synergy and Networking/Membership work group leaders will provide an update at the next Steering Committee Meeting.

 

 The Risk Reduction Work Group leaders will provide an update at the next Steering Committee Meeting.

 

Chris Varela, Disparities Work Group leader stated the work group will collaborate with Sharon Green from the Palm Beach Department of Health on the smoking cessation objectives of the strategic plan.The work group will also collaborate with the University of Miami’s Sylvester Cancer Center on utilizing Community Health Workers (CHW) to assist in cancer control awareness efforts. On the next conference call, the work group members will begin planning for September, which is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Members will brainstorm ideas for the Prostate Cancer Awareness Campaign.

 

Cara Kondaki, Survivorship and Quality of Life Work Group leader stated the work group revised the Survivorship Symposium agenda. The Survivorship Symposium will include topics such as survivorship care plan, survivorship diet, next level of survivorship, mindfulness/stress reduction, and chair yoga. The work group has confirmed participation from Baptist Health South Florida, Holy Cross Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, Memorial Healthcare, and Palm Beach University. Cara also stated the nominations for the Humanitarian Awards will be sent through the SFCCC listserv. Trivel McKire, immediate past SFCCC Co-Chair, suggested using a rubric for judging the nominees for the awards. Trivel will work with Cara to develop the rubric.

 

 

New Business:

 

Member Announcements:

1. Sari Center will be having a 5K Race on April,6, 2019 at Riverbend Park.

2. Connie Danielson, Sari Center, promoted the 8-week Mindfulness course held at Good Samaritan Medical Center on Wednesdays beginning on May 1, 2019. The orientation session will be held on April 17, 2019. The price of the course is determined on an individual basis.  

3. Hayes Milani, Chief Executive Officer of Nutronco, promoted nutritional supplements for patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy.  

4. Ann Fonfa, President of Annie Appleseed Project, requested everyone to review the Annie Appleseed Project Facebook page and opt into the newsletter.

5. Cynthia Thiry, University of Miami Game Changer, advised everyone to review the University of Miami (UM) Game Changer website for educational materials. There will be a Sun Smart 5K event on Key Biscayne in Miami on March 10, 2019. The event will raise awareness and provide free melanoma screenings. UM and Miami Dolphins Cancer Challenge have collaborated to give an event on April 6, 2019. This event will consist of a bike/run/walk in Miami Gardens, Florida.

6. David Cowan, Ali’s Alliance/Cancer Directory, advised members to review the Cancer Directory. The Cancer Directory was created to empower cancer patients.

7. Donna Goodwin, American Cancer Society (ACS) West Palm Beach promoted Relay for Life held on March 30, 2019 at the West Palm Beach Fairground from 3pm-1pm. Relay for Life in Martin County will be held on March 30, 2019 from 12pm- 12am at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center. ACS will also be hosting the Martin County Festival of Hope from 2m-10pm at Memorial Park.

8. Dr. Marie Etienne, SFCCC Co-Chair, Miami-Dade College (MDC), notified members the Haitian American Professional Coalition (HAP-C), Haitian American Nurses Association (HANA), and MDC will host a biannual humanitarian medical mission from March 22-26 to Immokalee Florida. The teams will provide health services, education, screenings, with a focus on skin, breast, and colorectal cancer. Due to the population and location, the teams also discuss the problems of human trafficking.

9. Dr. Etienne will be hosting a Power and Influence luncheon on March 28, 2019 form 11am-2pm at the Biltmore Hotel. The proceeds will be used to provide scholarships to survivors of human trafficking.

10. The Haitian American Nurses Association (HANA) will be having a 35th Annual Scholarship & Award Gala on April 13, 2019 at the Westin Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale.

11. The Florida Nurses Association will have the 9th Annual Symposium at the Gulf Stream Park Theater.

 

 

Adjournment:

Meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.  The next SFCCC Quarterly Meeting will take place in June.