Cancer Care Closer to Home: Erie Shores HealthCare experience

Author(s): Munira Sultana, Huzafa Hyde, Alicia Lutz, Matt Bessy, Deepa Taneja Chawla, Nahiyan Sayeed, Nusaibah Tahsin, Kyle Shafer

The increasing prevalence of cancer diagnoses highlights a growing need for resources that provide ongoing therapies closer to patients' homes, along with improved support for caregivers. Transportation challenges related to travelling from a patient's residence to treatment facilities can significantly hinder access to timely diagnoses and quality cancer care. Recognizing this pressing healthcare need, Erie Shores HealthCare (ESHC), a community hospital in the region, has partnered with the Erie St. Clair Regional Cancer Program (ESCRCP), a specialized program for cancer care, to establish a satellite clinic in Leamington, Ontario—a rural, agriculture-based town in Southern Canada. Historically, residents of Leamington and its surrounding communities have had to travel to Windsor or Chatham, approximately 50 km away, to receive chemotherapy treatments. For patients in advanced stages of cancer or receiving palliative care for their cancer diagnosis, long-distance travel or travelling during inclement weather poses a considerable challenge. Patients have expressed a strong desire for care to be delivered closer to home, which could potentially reduce their travel time and alleviate travel-related stress, thereby mitigating the psychosocial burdens associated with cancer. This publication details the development and operation of a fully integrated decentralized cancer care program at a satellite clinic located within a local hospital in this rural region of Canada.