BSU Coach Petersen Donates $100,000 to St. Luke’s MSTI

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Posted on 22nd March 2011 by Ken Dey in Boise |Cancer |Childrens |Health System

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Dr. Thomas Beck, medical director of St. Luke's MSTI, accepts two checks from Boise State Coach Chris Petersen and his wife Barb during the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award banquet on Saturday, March 19. (Photo courtesy of BSU)

- Generous Donation by Boise State Coach Kicks off $2.5 Million Pediatric Oncology Department Expansion -

BOISE, Idaho – St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) received a surprise $100,000 donation Saturday, March 19, during the presentation of the 2010 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.

Boise State University Head Football Coach Chris Petersen received the prestigious award at a sold-out banquet at the Boise Centre on the Grove. Petersen then announced he was donating the $10,000 that accompanies the award, and adding a personal $90,000 donation on behalf of his family to St. Luke’s MSTI for a total of $100,000.

“I don’t know where to begin to express our gratitude to Coach Petersen and his family for this heartfelt donation,” said Dr. Thomas Beck, St. Luke’s MSTI Medical Director. “This donation will go a long way toward helping us better serve pediatric patients treated by St. Luke’s MSTI and St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.”

St. Luke’s pediatric oncology program, operated in partnership between St. Luke’s MSTI and St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital, has been caring for children and young adults for 35 years. St. Luke’s pediatric oncology program and hemophilia center are unique in Idaho and see more than 200 new patients each year.  Because there is a growing demand for these specialized services, St. Luke’s recently announced plans for a $2.5 million expansion that will:

  • Triple the square footage of our current space.
  • Create a larger chemo infusion area.
  • Add exam rooms and a second lab.
  • Expand the waiting and play areas for families, patients, and friends.
  • Add more space for vital support staff, such as Child Life and Social Work specialists.

“Coach Petersen’s donation along with the support for the project from our community now brings us to 25 percent of the total needed for the project and will allow us to start the first phases of this expansion,” Beck said.

To find out more about MSTI Pediatrics, and how to donate to this project, visit www.stlukesonline.org/pedscancer.

For More Information, Contact: Ken Dey, Senior Public Relations Coordinator, (208) 381-2894 or deyke@slhs.org

St. Luke’s offers free colon cancer screening kits

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Posted on 15th March 2011 by Ken Dey in Boise |Cancer

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BOISE, Idaho – Colon cancer is the third leading cause of death in the United States, but is also very preventable if people follow screening guidelines.

In recognition of March as colon cancer awareness month, St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) is offering free at home screening test kits for colon cancer.

The home screening test detects hidden blood in the stool, which can be an early warning sign of colorectal cancer and other conditions such as ulcers, polyps, colitis, and diverticulitis. The test is easy to use and is performed in the privacy of your own home. To receive a free test kit, visit www.stlukesonline.org/freekit.

The home screening kits are only a starting point to determining if someone is at risk for colon cancer. Accurately detecting colon cancer requires a screening colonoscopy, which is recommended every 10 years after age 50. Those with a family history of colon cancer should consult with their doctor, who may recommend screening begin before age 50.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 60 percent of colorectal cancer deaths could be prevented if all men and women 50 years or older were screened routinely. In most cases, colorectal cancer develops from precancerous polyps (abnormal growths) in the colon or rectum.

Screening tests can find precancerous polyps, so that they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Screening tests also can find colorectal cancer early, when treatment works best. Some studies have also shown that increased physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight may decrease the risk for colorectal cancer.

The free screening kits are made possible through funding provided by proceeds from the Brian Olson Memorial Golf Tournament. The 11th annual tournament will be held this June.  Since its inception, the tournament has raised more than $300,000 for St. Luke’s MSTI. Money from the tournament pays for programs such as awareness campaigns, screening kits and financial assistance for colonoscopies.

The tournament is named for Brian Olson a devoted father, community citizen, and 15-year HP employee who died at age 39 from complications of colon cancer in November 2000.  In Brian’s honor, a volunteer committee comprised of Hewlett-Packard employees established the Brian Olson Memorial Golf Classic with the goal of raising awareness of colon cancer.

About St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute

Founded in 1969, St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) has treated nearly 60,000 patients and has become one of the Northwest’s most respected cancer care centers providing the region’s most advanced cancer care therapies with the added benefit of allowing most patients to remain close to home. St. Luke’s MSTI is one of only 30 cancer centers nationwide asked to participate in the National Cancer Institute National Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP). To find out more about St. Luke’s MSTI visit www.stlukesonline.org

For More Information, Contact: Ken Dey, Senior Public Relations Coordinator, (208) 381-2894 or deyke@slhs.org.

St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute Receives $325,000 for Cancer Research

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Posted on 3rd March 2011 by Ken Dey in Boise |Cancer |Health System

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John Jackson (left), a board member of the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf tournament presents a $325,000 check to Dr. David Pate St. Luke's Health System CEO and Dr. Thomas Beck, St. Luke’s MSTI medical director. The funding will go toward cancer research at St. Luke's.

BOISE, Idaho – St. Luke’s Mountain State’s Tumor Institute (MSTI) received a $325,000 donation from the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament Friday, March 4.

The funding will go toward furthering cancer research at St. Luke’s MSTI.

Representatives from the tournament presented a check to MSTI representatives during the St. Luke’s Health System Leadership Summit.

The latest donation marks more than $5 million in funding that the tournament has provided to St. Luke’s MSTI since the tournament’s inception in 1977.  Proceeds from the tournament are split equally between St. Luke’s MSTI and the University of Minnesota Cancer Research Center in Minneapolis.

The golf tournament draws celebrities and dignitaries each year to the Sun Valley Resort and Elkhorn Golf Club to remember Thompson,  former Minnesota Twins shortstop and All-American player, who died from Leukemia in 1976, 10 weeks after playing his final game.

“The support from the tournament offer patients from throughout our region the opportunity to participate in the trials that provide potentially life saving, cutting-edge, cancer treatments,” said Dr. Thomas Beck, St. Luke’s MSTI medical director.

Support from the tournament, played a critical role last year’s designation of St. Luke’s MSTI as a National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  St. Luke’s MSTI is one of only 30 cancer centers nationwide to be part of the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program.

Cancer centers are chosen for the program based on the quality and depth of clinical research trials made available to patients.  Funding from the Danny Thompson tournament has allowed St. Luke’s MSTI to enroll patient into clinical trials regardless of their ability to pay.

St. Luke’s MSTI enrolls twice as many patients in clinical trials than the national average. There are currently patients enrolled in more than 150 clinical trials at St. Luke’s. The most common cancer being treated at St. Luke’s MSTI is breast cancer.

“We have an enviable record in putting adults and children on clinical trials and keeping exquisite data. This work has been partially sponsored by the Danny Thompson tournament,” Beck said.

St. Luke’s MSTI is one of the largest community cancer centers in the Northwest seeing more than 3,000 new cancer patients every year.

The results of cancer research have greatly improved survival rates for cancer at St. Luke’s. Today, for example, 95 percent of patients survive breast cancer compared with 74 percent in 1983.

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About Danny Thompson

Danny Thompson, an All-American baseball player with Oklahoma State, started his major league career with the Minnesota Twins in 1970. His love for baseball and desire to not give up kept him playing the game even after he was diagnosed with leukemia in 1974. During the 1975 season he led American League shortstops in batting average and played well enough that he had hopes of making the All-Star team. In 1976 he was traded to the Texas Rangers. He played his final game in October of that year and died 10 weeks later on Dec. 10.

About The Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament

The inspiration for the golf tournament came for former teammate and Hall of Fame baseball player Harmon Killebrew, who retired from baseball in 1975 and former Idaho Congressman Ralph Harding. After retiring, Killebrew moved to Idaho and went into business with Harding.  Killebrew wanted to do something to remember Thompson and Harding suggested a golf tournament. The first tournament was held in 1977 and attracted celebrities and dignitaries including former President Gerald Ford and baseball legend Mickey Mantle.

About St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute

Founded in 1969, St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) has treated nearly 60,000 patients and has become one of the Northwest’s most respected cancer care centers providing the region’s most advanced cancer care therapies with the added benefit of allowing most patients to remain close to home. To find out more about St. Luke’s MSTI visit www.stlukesonline.org

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For More Information, Contact: Ken Dey, PR Coordinator, (208) 381-2894 or deyke@slhs.org.

St. Luke’s Partners with Mexican Consulate to Open Health Window

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Posted on 3rd December 2010 by Ken Dey in Boise

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BOISE, Idaho – St. Luke’s Health System has is partnering with the Mexican Consulate in Boise to provide a “Health Window.”

The Health Window is an information desk with the goal of providing not only the Mexican Community, but the community in general, information regarding health institutions and programs in Idaho that any person can use regardless of place of origin or socioeconomic status.

In order to bring this service to the Idaho community, the Consulate of Mexico in Boise and St. Luke’s Hospital signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in order to establish the Health Window program at the Consulate’s facilities and at the St. Luke’s Center for Community Health located in Hailey, Idaho. The partnership also helps St. Luke’s further the goals of its designation as a Community Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute.

This will allow the building of a close, direct partnership that allows the linkage of client referral and health education amongst the local Mexican Consulate, local health departments, community health organizations, and the major health institutions in Mexico.

The Health Window is an opportunity for everyone that is interested in having access to health information that will help them prevent diseases.

The Health Window is managed by a bilingual, bicultural and highly trained health promoter whose responsibility is to provide referrals to available health services. Advocates assess users for eligibility to health insurance programs and other primary care services.  The Health Window is located at the Mexican Consulate, 701 Morrison Knudsen Dr., Ste. 102, in Boise.  For more information call (208) 343-6228.

In 2002, the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs in Mexico inaugurated the “Health Window” program (Ventanilla de Salud) in two Mexican Consulates in the United States located in San Diego and Los Angeles, California. Since then, 42 Health Windows have been established throughout the Mexican consular network in the United States and Canada.