Dr. Farber's dream
Such success can be traced to the vision of Dr. Farber, who developed the Children's Cancer Research Foundation more than a half cen-tury ago. (Now known as Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the foundation began treating adults as well in 1969.) Farber believed young patients would benefit if all their caregivers worked in one clinic. "Things had always been balkanized in medicine, with specialists in different places," recalls DFCI President Emeritus David G. Nathan, MD. "Sidney brought them all together."
"Our discipline is critical because so many of the breakthroughs in cancer research have had their origins
in pediatric oncology."— David E. Fisher, MD, PhD
This was accomplished with the completion of the Jimmy Fund Building, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary (see Dateline: DFCI, The Jimmy Fund Building). "It was Sidney's hope," explains Nathan, "that up on the fifth floor of the building, somebody would yell, 'Aha!' and rush down and give medicine to a child and cure him or her."
Farber also successfully advocated for an inpatient oncology unit next door at Children's Hospital Boston, where youngsters now receive multiday chemotherapy, surgery, bone marrow transplants, and other services requiring overnight stays. After several decades of informal partnership, the two institutions cemented their relationship in 2000 with the creation of Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care, a joint program in pediatric oncology and hematology.
"Many steps have been taken to create as much cohesion as possible, including streamlining the admission process and creating a computerized system for ordering chemotherapy that is used by both hospitals," affirms Patricia Branowicki, MS, RN, who oversees pediatric oncology nursing at Children's and Dana-Farber. "We are committed to creating a seamless system for our patients and families."
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