by Shannon Huffaker, RN, Clinical Research Manager, Valley Medical Center
The latest innovations are now available close to home at Valley Medical Center. Clinical trials, also called clinical research studies, bring the most up-to-date treatment and scientific opportunities to patients within our own community. Through an affiliation with the National Cancer Institutes and other organizations, patients who qualify may access studies locally at Valley Medical Center. In fact, we are able to open many of the same studies as much larger institutions.
Clinical research has been growing at our center for the last five years.
Contributing to innovation is an important part of Valley Medical Center’s Commission on Cancer Accreditation, which is a commitment to ongoing quality and best practices to better serve our patients. Many different areas at Valley Medical Center are involved in clinical trials including the Infusion Center, Pharmacy and Oncology Clinic. There is now a full Clinical Research Department at Valley Medical Center with specially-trained staff to oversee the studies and work directly with patients and providers.
Valley participates in Cancer Moonshot, a national initiative to accelerate progress in cancer research.
Some clinical research studies may explore new medications and treatments or look at new uses for existing therapies. Studies may also ask how treatments affect patients’ quality of life and provide additional resources or alternatives for care, while others explore cancer markers in blood or tissue. Most recently, Valley Medical Center began participating in Cancer Moonshot, a national initiative sponsored by NCI as “a bold effort to accelerate progress in cancer research—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the cancer community and our nation to come together around a single disease that touches all of us. It aims to make more therapies available to more patients, while also improving our ability to prevent cancer and detect it at an early stage.”
Interested in clinical research studies?
Talk with your provider or contact the Clinical Research Department at Valley Medical Center by calling 425.690.3503 or emailing research@valleymed.org.
