Problem Background
A whole society requires the availability of healthcare centers to handle various health issues. This is due to the existence of complicated health conditions which require well-equipped centers for treatment. Cancer is one of the most threatening diseases, which is very expensive to manage. Due to low economic levels in society, most individuals are living in poverty and affording medication is a common problem. Patients with cancer end up utilizing all the family savings making it challenging to fulfil other basic needs like food and shelter. There is a need to come up with community initiatives to help them get treatment at an affordable rate. Further, there is a need to establish tax-exempt hospitals which will exclude the excess hospital bills to the most vulnerable in society. An example of such a hospital includes the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. It has aimed at giving fair treatments to cancer-affected individuals and families.
Organization Description
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is located in Memphis, Tennessee.
All the descriptions of the hospital can be located here, including essential data on its vision, mission, overall programs, and services, and contact information. Information retrieved from the website indicates that it is the only center for cancer in the United States. It specializes explicitly in children who have cancer (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, n.d.). The governing mission of the hospital is “to advance cure for pediatric cancer through research and treatment.” It was founded in 1962 by a young entertainer Danny Thomas. He desired to give back to society if only he could be widely known. He further built a place of worship for God where he prayed for His guidance. After his prayers were answered, he became a famous TV and radio presenter. In addition, he became a film celebrity, increasing his urge to establish the hospital.
Nine thousand patients reported in the initial opening of the hospital, where they received medical services. The organization was named a comprehensive cancer center, and it is the only National Cancer Institute in the country specializing in treating children (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (n.d.). The center is both a hospital and a research facility. Many children receive treatment despite their color, social status, race, and ethnicity differences. The national comprehensive cancer center invites scientists and physicians from diverse groups for research workshops concerning treatment methodologies of pediatric cancers. They have utilized a multidisciplinary approach enabling the research team, including physicians, to make significant breakthroughs in the history of pediatric cancer. This has enabled sick children to live long by increasing their survival rate. It has further enabled children around the globe to benefit from the services which are in place.
In addition to scientific investigations and treating thousands of pediatric cancer cases in the US, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has been identified as a global leader in the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other childhood diseases affecting infants and children. The hospital advocates and champions improved healthcare support for the quality of life of the many children diagnosed with pediatric cancer (Clark et al., 2020). A research partnership is made with other institutions across the globe to ensure all vulnerable children receive equal access to their services. Recently, initiatives at the Pediatric Cancer Center, including pioneering pediatric medicines, have been implemented to offer future services to children and even other population brackets.
Social Problem
People live in organized institutions known as communities. The members interact in various activities which generate income for their living. However, due to differences in views and opinions, misunderstanding can cause some problems. Nature can also present some issues which are not avoidable due to their nature. These problems can be a chronic diseases, ethnic conflicts, and domestic violence. In this setup, the typical community problem being accessed is the effects caused by cancer in Illinois. It is a chronic condition that affects the body cells of individuals, and if not detected and managed at an early stage, it can lead to death. This pandemic has become a threat to both the health and economic sectors of a country (Clark et al., 2020). It destroys the body, and millions of money are required for treatment sessions and therapies. Therefore, many efforts are needed to generate enough income to cater to treatment costs.
Pediatric cancer is a type of cancer which mainly targets teenagers and young children. A typical example of cancer among children is leukaemia. Other cases include born, brain and skin tumours, which further damage the immune system and a combination of this with cancer are hazardous. Research indicates that 400,000 children are diagnosed with cancer yearly across the globe (Bouffet et al., 2020). In some countries like the United States, this disease is the leading cause of death for children who have attained the infancy stage. Cancer treatments in children can lead to loss of some body parts, memory, and retarted growth.
Stigmatization issues in society lower the self-esteem of patients. Some isolate themselves from exposure due to abnormal changes that have occurred to their bodies. Therefore, parents should ensure their children are free from discrimination as this may affect their growth negatively (Bouffet et al., 2020). Continuous mental and physical support should be the main aim of the guardians to ensure positive socialization. They may also find it difficult to socialize with their counterparts for fear of stigmatization. Continuous physical and mental support is required for children to cope with these challenges. Improper treatment strategies may lead to the second phase of cancer. This calls for parents to take their children o specialized facilities such as the St. Jude hospital, where they can get specialized treatment services.
The challenges of living with children ailing from cancer are paramount in the home setup. The parents will take most of their time ensuring the safety of their young ones, and this may hinder them from going to work. In the long term, stress and depression anxiety may be developed by exposing them to unconducive living environments. Frequent hospital visits also present challenges where a balance has to be made between job and children’s needs. Due to this phenomenon, St. Jude hospital saw the need to intervene and aid with the burdens faced by the parents. It developed better treatment and care plans and increased research on possible control measures.
Program Description
The main concern in this project proposal is pediatric cancer among children and the efforts that have been implemented to curb its effects. Despite its expensive treatment, it must be undertaken for an average life rate. In some scenarios, the treatment can lead to adverse effects on the victim emotionally and physically. Some methods used to fight this disease include hormonal therapy, surgery, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy (Jin et al., 2022). Children at an earlier stage might find some of these techniques are unfavorable to them and can be risky. However, most families cannot afford all these services as they lack stable sources of income. Failure to monitor this illness can lead to new types of cancer, which might worsen the health condition. The parent’s role is to monitor their children’s health, and in case of any changes, they should visit the nearest hospitals for checkup sessions.
Cancer can be controlled when detected at an early stage, leading to recovery. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has a new cancer awareness and diagnosis program. Public awareness has been achieved through the hospital’s initiatives by sending experienced doctors to schools. Parents are invited to such meetings where they are educated on the signs and symptoms of cancer, the need for a checkup, and possible treatment remedies. The program launches a cancer awareness and early diagnosis program.
Program Methods
Some strategies must be applied by the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital to prevent the adverse effects of cancer among children. Short lectures will be applied in school meetings where information will be passed verbally. The parents are required to carry notebooks and pens and record essential points which can be used for future reference. Further, simple speeches will be made to the developing children to impart some knowledge to them. Commonly known words will be adopted and complex medical terms will be limited. They will be expected to ask questions for further clarification of some concepts. Parents will be warned from buying drugs without receiving proper descriptions from the doctors. Further, they should offer guidance and counselling to their affected children as they play a significant role in their healing journey. They will be encouraged to take medications and attend therapy sessions without fear. Additionally, the doctors will be required to perform a medical examination on the patients who request such services. Diagnosis tests will be utilized where better recommendations will be made. The healthcare professionals will give relevant advice and early detection and prevention strategies.
Goals/Objectives
The main goal of the hospital setup is to increase people’s awareness of childhood and adulthood cancer. This is beneficial in reducing death rates due to intensive care services provided by the hospital. Another goal is to increase research activities and programs aimed at inventing new methods which can be adopted to cure cancer. Creating equal opportunities for all children to access medication despite their background, social status, and race is another critical organization’s objective. This will eliminate cases of discrimination and promote equality in society. Creating a positive relationship between the hospital and the local society is another goal to promote peaceful coexistence.
Key Personnel
St. Jude Hospital utilized diverse personnel to help parents cope with the situation of their children. They aimed to impart practical knowledge to the target population concerning preventive measures and other care needed for the sick. The team comprised pediatric cancer oncologists, social workers, pediatric cancer specialists, and school administrators. Social workers in the hospital offer support services to the patients, such as making food and cleaning the hospital environment. Hygienic conditions are critical in any health facility to reduce cases of other disease emerging.
Evaluation
The evaluation plan is essential in giving critical information concerning the project plans and impacts. Time is needed to develop the program structures before launching. Financial help for this proposed project came from grants and government help. Some of the funders for St. Jude hospital include the National Pediatrics Cancer Foundation (NPCF), which aims to develop cancer treatment; the Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF), which mainly sponsors research programs; and the American Cancer Society (Donnelly et al., 2019). Donor help is essential to ensure enough treatment equipment and, in cases of inpatients, enough beds should be available for admission. Medications to patients will also be purchased using this money to facilitate long-term treatment strategies. Further, the organization’s activities will be conducted without any financial barriers.
Efforts were made to achieve the organization’s goals in cooperating with a program purposed to increase awareness of cancer. The detection methods commonly used should also agree with the terms and conditions of the hospital’s mission. To evaluate the program’s results, existing knowledge evaluation is made by considering the awareness of children and adults present. Face-to-face interactions can be organized by doctors where interviews are conducted. Questions can be asked by healthcare providers, and the level of knowledge is measured by the answers given. The main target includes pediatric patients who have already received cancer treatment. The impact of the project will be realized not only to help the present situation but includes future impacts. A center for cancer treatment will make it easy for children with cancer to get timely treatment and therapy sessions.
Budget Justification
The proposed program will involve a total of seven medical personnel. They will be required first to develop a relevant plan that will include all the requirements. Material presentations will involve charts demonstrating some standard preventive measures in the form of pictures. They can be hung at the hospital entrance for easy observation and learning. Among the seven members, five must be doctors specializing in cancer programs, including treatment methodologies. A student trainee manager with experience in word programs is also required. The other employee will run the set activities by revisiting institutions where doctors will visit for awareness events (Office of Sponsored Programs, 2019). He must have a record book where he will record all the activities taking place. Additionally, business trips and travel will be made by the employees during the events. This will require some money to cater for personal needs, including accommodation. Therefore, a budget must be well drafted to reduce cases of inconvenience.
- Senior personnel involved- none.
- Other personnel
Students’ trainee and manager: 35 weeks working 15 hours per week and getting a payment of $13.50 per hour =$ 7,087.5
- Fringe benefits 8.00% of salary, equivalent to $600
Total salary and fringe benefits will be equivalent to $ 8,765
Explanation: The determinants of pay of the student equipment manager and employee are described in the table below.
- Growth acceleration
The organization must expand its services by coming up with many departments dealing with cancer treatment. Therefore $12.9 billion was set aside expressly to increase care delivery.
- Renovations
Some structures of the hospital need continuous maintenance and renovation. $2.3 billion was set aside mainly for this agenda to improve the state of the facilities.
- ravel and doctor compensation
$4000 was set aside for doctors attending conferences and workshops to develop new treatment methodologies. Further, each doctor was entitled to $ 200 compensation daily. The breakdown of the cost for one trip would be: airfare= $350, lodging $ 100 per day for four days= $400, conference fee =$ 600, transportation while on-site $ 90
Resources
Bouffet, E., Challinor, J., Sullivan, M., Biondi, A., Rodriguez‐Galindo, C., & Pritchard‐Jones, K. (2020). Early advice on managing children with cancer during the COVID‐19 pandemic and a call for sharing experiences. Pediatric Blood & Cancer, 67(7). Web.
Clark, R. A., Mostoufi-Moab, S., Yasui, Y., Vu, N. K., Sklar, C. A., Motan, T., Brooke, R. J., Gibson, T. M., Oeffinger, K. C., Howell, R. M., Smith, S. A., Lu, Z., Robison, L. L., Chemaitilly, W., Hudson, M. M., Armstrong, G. T., Nathan, P. C., & Yuan, Y. (2020). Predicting acute ovarian failure in female survivors of childhood cancer: A cohort study in the childhood cancer survivor study (CCSS) and the St Jude Lifetime Cohort (SJLIFE). The Lancet Oncology, 21(3), 436–445. Web.
Donnelly, J. P., Chen, S. C., Kauffman, C. A., Steinbach, W. J., Baddley, J. W., Verweij, P. E., Clancy, C. J., Wingard, J. R., Lockhart, S. R., Groll, A. H., Sorrell, T. C., Bassetti, M., Akan, H., Alexander, B. D., Andes, D., Azoulay, E., Bialek, R., Bradsher, R. W., Bretagne, S., & Pappas, P. G. (2019). Revision and update the consensus definitions of invasive fungal disease from the European Organization for research and treatment of cancer and the Mycoses Study Group Education and research consortium. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 71(6), 1367–1376. Web.
Jin, L., Yang, C., Wang, J., Li, J., & Xu, N. (2022). Recent advances in nanotheranostic agents for tumour microenvironment–responsive magnetic resonance imaging. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13. Web.
Kramer, H. (2019). How to create a grant proposal budget for a nonprofit. The Balance Small Business. Web.
Office of Sponsored Programs. (2019). Proposal budget line-item guidance. Utah Valley University. Web.
Porter, R. (2011). Creating a sales pitch for your grant proposal. Research Management Review, 18(2). Web.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (n.d.) b. Research centres and initiatives.