New Phyllis F. Cantor Center supports nursing and patient care services research
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is well known for its commitment to basic and clinical research that moves new discoveries from the laboratory to the bedside, where they are most needed. Now this effort extends to nursing research with the creation of the Phyllis F. Cantor Center for Nursing Research.
Patricia Reid Ponte, R.N., D.N. Sc.
The Cantor Center will provide resources that nurses need to study how they can better support patients and families with the most effective treatments, compassionate care, and prevention activities. The center will allow nurses to conduct original research that can be shared with other cancer centers and hospitals, and educate Institute nurses about best practices in the field. A nationwide search for a nurse researcher to head the center is expected to be completed soon.
A center such as this is a necessity at the Institute, says Patricia Reid Ponte, R.N., D.N.Sc., chief of Nursing and Patient Care Services. "Doctorally trained nurse-scientists will provide leadership to create more opportunities for collaborative, multidisciplinary research within the Institute and with our partners in the academic community," she commented.
Reid Ponte expresses gratitude to "some visionary donors who are making this a reality," including the Zarkin and Reiner families, who contributed generously to the center's endowment.
The center honors Phyllis F. Cantor, a breast cancer patient at Dana-Farber and the late wife of Institute Trustee Richard A. Cantor. It is the latest of several programs he has been instrumental in creating, including awards in nursing excellence and patient care. Cantor, of New York City, has also supported the establishment of the Friends of Dana-Farber Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic for individuals with an elevated risk of cancer.
Cantor's focus on nursing was inspired by his experiences as a family member of a patient. "I found that the wealth of information nurses possess was not sufficiently appreciated. They have so much to contribute to the research efforts of other members of the clinical team," he said. "They are already experts in nursing. I want to help them become experts in the science of collecting and interpreting data that relates to discoveries at Dana-Farber."
