Becky Cammy, MSW, LCSW, a class of 2017 Leadership Fellow in Silver’s Zelda Foster Studies Program in Palliative and End-of-Life Care, was selected to be part of the eighth cohort of the Cambia Health Foundation Sojourns® Scholar Leadership Program. The Manager of Social Work for the oncology service line at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Becky is one of ten emerging palliative care leaders chosen for the 2022 cohort through a rigorous selection process from a highly competitive national pool of candidates from a range of disciplines and practice settings.
The Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program is designed to identify, cultivate and advance the next generation of palliative care leaders. As part of the leadership program, each Sojourns Scholar receives up to $180,000 in funding over two years to conduct an innovative and impactful clinical, policy, educational, health equity or systems change project in the field of palliative care. Scholars also participate with other scholars in a collaborative learning community while receiving individual mentorship to design and implement a development plan that supports their growth as national palliative care leaders.
Becky’s funded project, “Demonstrating Meaningful Outcomes in Comprehensive Supportive Oncology Care” leverages clinical health informatics to quantify non-billable, supportive interventions to understand their impact on key patient outcomes. “The purpose of the project,” Becky said, “is to create seamless tracking mechanisms in the electronic medical record that will be continued at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center and adapted by other healthcare institutions nationwide to demonstrate high-level patient impact. Programmatic innovation and development initiatives from my project will provide strategic guidance for targeted communities and advocacy organizations.”
“My vision,” Becky continued,“is to demonstrate the impact of non-billable interventions in cancer care to develop a sustainable model for supportive oncology care delivery to drive high-quality, shared savings payment models. Pioneering this new path in palliative care will be tremendous in advancing the field and revolutionize the delivery and recognition of comprehensive psychosocial care.”
Zelda Foster Studies Program Director and Clinical Professor Susan Gerbino said, “Becky’s Sojourn project is a demonstration of her ability to combine her social work clinical knowledge, embedded in social justice and the lived experiences of the patients she serves, and her knowledge of the wider context of organizational change and financial sustainability. It combines evidence-based psycho-social care with an innovative tracking system, which will yield data that will align quality care with sustainable finances. The COVID pandemic has shone a bright light on health disparities and the need for innovative programs like Becky’s to combat them.”
Becky is passionate about healthcare disparities and engaged in research to highlight best practices and link patient outcomes with psychosocial support services. She said her experience as a Zelda Foster Leadership Fellow fostered confidence and leadership skills to command significant shifts in her career path. Her capstone project was published in the Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care, and awarded the Journal’s 2017 Best Article. According to Becky, the Fellowship’s professional support, quality mentorship, and dynamic community drove her vision for care delivery forward, launching her transition into healthcare leadership practice.
Becky earned her Master in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009. She also has a small private practice in which she specializes in serious illness, grief and bereavement therapy, as well as facilitates a robust clinical supervision group for medical social workers. Becky lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two young daughters.
About Cambia Health Foundation
Cambia Health Foundation is the corporate foundation of Cambia Health Solutions, a total health solutions company dedicated to making health care more person-focused and economically sustainable. Founded in 2007, the foundation has funded almost $78 million in grants to advance patient- and family-centered care for all. Cambia Health Foundation strategically invests in philanthropy to change the way people experience health care from birth to natural completion of life. Learn more at www.cambiahealthfoundation.org, and follow us on Twitter: @CambiaHealthFdn.