The report is about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which specializes in advancing knowledge and treatment for children suffering from cancer and life-threatening illnesses. First, it analyzes historic legislation by the US Congress that has influenced the hospital’s operations. Second, it talks about how the services provided by the hospital influence access to healthcare in its community. Third, the report discusses how emerging trends in technology have affected the facility’s best practices and how it leverages them to support its organizational goals.
The historic legislation that has impacted St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act of 2017-2018, or the Childhood Cancer STAR Act. It was sponsored by Senator Reed Jack to change the public Health Service Act by granting the National Institute of Health (NIH) permission to collect selected cancer information and specimen of adolescents, children, and young adults (Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act of 2017- 2018, 2018). The legislation provides financial aid procedures, which helps medical stakeholders understand childhood cancers and the effects of any treatment associated with them among the target population. Moreover, subtitle C of the legislation recommended that NIH should document all cancer activities for children through congregational reports. This development was important for St. Jude Hospital because it informs its core mandate of childhood cancer research (St. Jude Global, n.d.). The legislation ensured that St. Jude hospital receives financial aid from the government in its research processes. Furthermore, it boosted the hospital’s operation within and outside the country as it expands its outreach practices.
St. Jude’s core mandate is to provide different treatments for life-threatening diseases affecting children. According to its website, some of the hospital’s services include treating brain tumors, leukemia, solid tumors, sickle cell disease, blood disorders, and infectious diseases (St. Jude Global, n.d). To achieve the best treatment programs and levels, the organization has a research department that provides research on cancer treatment programs, cancer center leadership, pediatric cancer genome project, and cancer survivorship research. Through these researches, the organization shares important data, which informs stakeholders on best practices in managing cancer-related challenges facing children. Moreover, the organization offers training to medical students, undergraduate students, scientific trainees, and online resources. Such empowerments are key in creating a strong and quality community healthcare system. Fundamentally, it allows the community to access quality services.
The emerging trend in the medical industry that is used in St. June is nanomedicine. This is the study of molecular structures with innovative devices that are used in advancing clinical practice and biomedical research (UIC, n.d.). At St. Jude, the organization has sophisticated shared resources and core facilities department, which offers state-of-the-art technologies. This department targets researchers and medicine creatives by providing them with resources on tissues, cellular, and molecular research. Moreover, it provides for clinical research support targeting bio-statistics, clinical trial scientist review committee, good manufacturing practices, and scientific report editing. Furthermore, it has technology licensing services, grants, and sponsorship programs.
Regarding general support, the organization offers biomedical engineering, laboratory services, and environmental health and safety. Besides incorporating technology in its research, it has capacity building and training services. To expand its global impact, first, the organization uses technology in conducting training seminars for healthcare providers. Secondly, it has a web-based global medicine fellowship that targets pediatric hematology and oncology experts. Moreover, it has a two-year global scholars program targeting healthcare industry leaders and a Cure4kids distance learning resource. Overall, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital plays an integral role in helping children suffering from cancer. Given this, the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act of 2017-2018, is vital in its research and treatment plans in the future by ensuring reliable funding from Congress.
References
Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act, Publ. L. No. 2017- 2018, 101 Stat.203 (2018).
St. Jude Global (n. d.). St. Jude Global.
University of Illinois Chicago (n. d.). 5 emerging technologies and their impact on health informatics. UIC online health informatics.