SBANE Member Wins Globe 100 “Top Innovator In Medicine 2012”

June 13, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                           CONTACT: Leslie Wolfe Arista617-713-4130

 

DR. JULIE SILVER WINS GLOBE 100 “TOP INNOVATOR IN MEDICINE 2012”FOR BRINGING CANCER REHABILITATION TO HOSPITALS THROUGH ONCOLOGY REHAB PARTNERS AND STAR PROGRAM® CERTIFICATION

BOSTON, May 20, 2012 — Dr. Julie Silver, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a cancer survivor, has been named The Globe 100 Top Innovator in Medicine 2012 for her Northborough, Massachusetts healthcare company, Oncology Rehab Partners, and her model of cancer rehabilitation, STAR Program® Certification, which is being implemented by hospitals, cancer centers, and rehabilitation practices in more than 30 states. “I’m very appreciative of the honor. It’s a powerful validation of the importance of cancer rehabilitation as a necessary next step after treatment to improve survivors’ quality of life,” Dr. Silver said.

The Boston Globe’s second annual Globe 100 Most Innovative in Massachusetts awards honor individuals across a wide range of fields who have contributed to our economy and communityin innovative ways over the past year. A panel of six esteemed judges chose the state’s 12 top innovators from a large pool of nominees in a variety of key industries. Judges included Henri Termeer, former CEO of biotech giant Genzyme Corp., Greg Selkoe, founder of online streetware retailer Karmaloop, and well-known philanthropist Dan Pallotta, among others.

Dr. Silver, a physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation who is on the staff at three of Harvard Medical School’s teaching institutions including Spaulding, Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals, conceived Oncology Rehab Partners after her own bout with breast cancer left her with post-treatment symptoms that made it impossible to care for her family or return to work. As she struggled to recover, she questioned why the same principles of rehabilitation that are widely recognized as beneficial in fields such as cardiac and orthopedic medicine were not being applied to oncology, and it led to the creation of the STAR Program Certification.

STAR Program Certification provides hospitals, cancer centers, and private practices with the tools to develop and deliver specialized, evidence-based rehabilitation services for survivors of all types and stages of cancer—whether they are in remission, living with cancer or cured. All of the services integrated into the program, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, mental health counseling, and consultations with rehabilitation physicians(physiatrists), are typically covered by health insurance.

Last October, Dr. Silver spearheaded a landmark initiative in Rhode Island to make cancer rehab accessible to all survivors there—it was the first statewide cancer rehab initiative in the country. The effort, endorsed by Governor Lincoln Chafee and the American Cancer Society, involved healthcare leadership across the care continuum that included hospital administrators, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, government officials and many others. The initiative brought cancer rehab to more than 20 healthcare facilities and thousands of survivors in that state.

Dr. Silver has announced that the next statewide cancer rehab initiative will take place right in her own back yard. “Massachusetts hospitals offer world-class cancer care. Now that the research shows that rehabilitating survivors gives them the best long-term health outcomes, hospitals want to include cancer rehabilitation as part of that world-class care. If we can make these services available throughout the state to all of the survivors who need them, it will have a tremendous impact on the lives not only of cancer survivors, but also their families.”

Julie Silver, MD:

Dr. Julie Silver founded Oncology Rehab Partners (www.OncologyRehabPartners.com) with Diane Stokes, MBA. Dr. Silver is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in theDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Chief Editor of Books at Harvard Health Publications. She is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books on health and healing including “After Cancer Treatment: Heal Faster, Better, Stronger” and “You Can Heal Yourself.” In addition to being named the Globe 100 Top Innovator in Medicine 2012, Dr. Silver is a recipient of the American Cancer Society’s prestigious Lane Adams Quality of Life award, and in 2010 she was named to Massachusetts General Hospital’s THE ONE HUNDRED, an award given to the top 100 people in the US who are making a difference in cancer care.

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CONTACT: Leslie Wolfe Arista, (617) 713-4130, leswolfe@mediabuzzpub.com

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