Heath Care Heroes- Hematology
Graphic illustration featuring the Hematology-Oncology Team
Thank You Thursday Spotlight: Hematology-Oncology Team
As the pandemic began, many medical appointments at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center were converted to telehealth in order to enforce the CDC’s social distancing and safety guidelines. This was not an option for most hematology and oncology patients and the DC VAMC team who takes care of them.
According to Dr. Joao Ascensao, Chief of Hematology-Oncology, many of his team’s patients are vulnerable and at higher risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19, but they must physically come to the medical center to continue their treatments or undergo diagnostic tests.
“We see patients with blood diseases and cancer. Many must come here for tests such as blood smears, biopsies, and radiographic exams as well as treatments like chemotherapy,” Dr. Ascensao said. At the onset of the pandemic when many clinics in the medical center shut down, the Hematology-Oncology Clinic did not.
He says the team’s challenge was to employ extra safety measures to keep Veterans and staff members safe while providing life-saving treatments and important tests to Veterans. Schedulers spaced out Veterans’ appointments; nurses cleaned the treatment rooms in between patients; they curtailed the cancer support groups and canceled their big annual outreach event, Cancer Survivor’s Day. Veterans who were already on a more routine follow-up schedule were converted to telehealth. For those who needed an in-person appointment, the team established social distancing guidelines, ensured protections such as mask use and hand washing in addition to continued sanitizing. All of their multidisciplinary team meetings were converted to virtual.
He adds that one major issue was to ensure effective communication with patients. The last thing the team wanted was for patients to forgo their treatment because they felt unsafe. “We spoke to them about the potential risks of travelling to the hospital, the importance of continuing treatment and our commitment to provide them a safe environment,” Dr. Ascensao said.
As the pandemic continues, Dr. Ascensao says he is continually inspired by his team and the Veterans they serve. “Our patients have always been a source of inspiration and I believe everyone on our team is committed to ensuring safe and timely care for Veterans.” He says his team has always been quite cohesive, works well together and looks out for each other. “At times, we wondered if we would ever get over this pandemic and dwelled on how it affected us personally; but in the end, we’ve all pulled together as a team to care for Veterans.”
As the pandemic continues, the medical center is staying on its journey to become a high reliability organization (HRO) led by teams like Hematology-Oncology who support a culture of safety that puts the Veteran first.
