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local area spotlight Spotlight on the Hoosier Hills Area Service Center: Partnering with local health organizations The American Cancer Society understands the importance of partnering with health organizations in the area to provide increased support for anything cancer-related. The Hoosier Hills Area Service Center, serving the people of south-central Indiana, is an example of how the Society works with other organizations to reach out to more people and fulfill their needs through these partnerships. One of the organizations that the Hoosier Hills office works with is the Olcott Center for Cancer Education.  The goals of the Society and the Olcott Center (shown right) are parallel: to serve and support people who have been touched by cancer. The Olcott Center offers specific services to the community that extend what the Society already has in place. Visitors can speak with registered oncology nurses, get resources from the lending library, attend weekly support meetings, and possibly access financial assistance provided by the local community during treatment.
The relationship between the Society and the Olcott Center can be described as one of give and take. When the Society has someone in need for a program or service that they don't offer, the Hoosier Hills staff call the Olcott Center. Likewise, if the Olcott Center needs additional help, they will reach out to the Society. "We try to work with them as much as we can, not duplicating, but working alongside each other," explains Erin Wyatt, a registered oncology nurse and patient advocate at the Olcott Center. The Olcott Center offers the Society's educational materials and resources to visitors, and gives referrals to Society patient services programs. Its staff supports the Society's colorectal cancer and skin cancer awareness initiatives, and has been involved with Society fundraising events, like Relay For Life and Daffodil Days, as well as advocacy events, such as Indiana Lobby Day. Another success that has come out of their team efforts is that the Olcott Center will now be hosting classes for Look Good...Feel Better, a Society program that teaches beauty techniques to women with cancer to keep them feeling beautiful throughout their treatments. Tricia Bock, quality of life director for the Hoosier Hills Area Service Center, worked closely with staff from the Olcott Center to make the Look Good...Feel Better program a reality. "It’s really nice to work hand in hand with them," she says. Sukie Decker, area executive director of the Hoosier Hills Area Service Center, is thankful for the partnership. "It's a relationship in bloom and one that we want to recognize because we are working together for a common cause," she says. We salute their teamwork! For more information and resources available through the partnership between the American Cancer Society and the Olcott Center for Cancer Education, call the Hoosier Hills Area Service Center at 1-888-635-9254. Or, to find your local Society area service center, call 1-800-ACS-2345. The Hoosier Hills Area Service Center serves Brown, Greene, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Monroe, Owen, Scott, Switzerland, and Washington Counties. Watch for an area service center near you to be highlighted in a future VOICES issue! Other articles in VOICES this month community focus: volunteers show teamwork and passion for new Relay events |
survivorship and patient services: young cancer survivors are invited to our fun-filled, annual summer camp |
survivorship and patient services: Relay For Life celebrates and supports survivors in your community |
research: people with personal cancer experiences help determine funding for Society research |
education: all women over 40 need mammograms, a government funded program may help with cost |
advocacy: meet Sharon Simmons, a survivor joining the Society's efforts in Washington DC |
advocacy: sign the 2015 petition, make your voice heard in Washington DC |
resource highlight: sign up now for action alerts to monitor cancer issues |
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