Offering Support, Improving Outcomes, Promoting Awareness
What is the Tanner Oncology Advisory Council?
Tanner’s Oncology Advisory Council is comprised of about 15 community members who have been impacted by cancer in some way and are looking to give back.
The council continues Tanner Health System’s focus on providing superior patient care. Tanner strives to treat the whole patient – not just the cancer. With candid, honest feedback from individuals who have themselves undergone treatment, continuous improvements can be implemented in the continuum of care to ensure a better experience and improved outcomes for present and future patients.
Our Mission
The purpose of the council is summed up in the Tanner Oncology Advisory Council’s Mission Statement:
- Improve the patient experience and the quality of outcomes.
- Propose and participate in new programs and services.
- Promote cancer awareness and education to the community.
- Promote patient involvement.
These open-ended objectives illustrate the council’s goal to raise cancer awareness in the community through promotion of early screening and detection, as well as to ensure that comprehensive programs are locally available to efficiently treat cancer when it is detected.
Since Tanner is a community-based nonprofit healthcare provider, direct feedback from community stakeholders provides the organization with valuable guidance and perspective that many other cancer care providers lack.
A Partnership
This council is an autonomous group of active local residents who have themselves overcome cancer and now volunteer their time to support past, current and prospective patients. Better outcomes result when the community takes an active role in improving its locally-based oncology program.
The Way Ahead
Tanner Health System is committed to providing a complete continuum of care for patients with cancer. That includes improving patient access, providing state-of-the-art diagnostics and advanced treatments, providing support to patients undergoing treatment, and assisting patients with recovery and follow-up aftercare.
Tanner Oncology Services encompasses a comprehensive approach, ranging from highly skilled and board-certified oncologists to a vast medical staff of specialists trained to diagnose and help treat a wide range of specific cancers. The patient care team also includes support staff, such as dietitians, nurses, technologists, behavioral health therapists and counselors, clergy and patient navigators who can answer each patient’s questions and help each patient better understand his or her unique plan of care.
Not Without You
This program would not be possible without committed, sustained community support. The west Georgia community has supported Tanner’s cancer program for more than 20 years.
The Tanner Oncology Advisory Council is always interested in learning about new ways it can provide assistance to patients. From fitness to supporting the creation of a resource library for Tanner oncology patients, the council is interested in learning more about how it can work to improve cancer care for others in the community.
Reaching Out
Members of the council frequently appear with Tanner Oncology Services representatives at Tanner Speakers Bureau events, offering their very personal testimonials on how Tanner’s programs have affected them and encouraging people to take action against cancer.
Tanner Oncology Advisory Council members, left to right: Front row - Tommy Thomas, LMSW, ACSW; Venita Steed, RN; Rose Holley; Linda Picklesimer; Judy Presnell; Jan Robinson; Mindy Holm; Susan Helton, chairperson; and Jane Baker, RN; Back row - Donna Lindley; Hugh Mitchell; Joe Neal; Frank Kiblinger; Shellie Sherrod; and Bill Wise.
How to Reach Us
To learn more about the Tanner Oncology Advisory Council or to discuss Tanner’s oncology services, call 770.812.5946 or e-mail cancer@tanner.org.