Tom and Karen Chapman give $100,000 for interactive survivorship center
2/06/2014
Tom and Karen Chapman recently donated $100,000 to fund a unique, high-quality and impactful interactive online cancer survivorship information center. Developed by Georgia CORE, the website will be designed to meet the needs of Georgia’s cancer survivors, caregivers and healthcare professionals and will be the first of its kind in the state.
“Karen and I are very happy to support the development of Georgia’s only statewide interactive website dedicated to survivorship,” said Tom Chapman. “There are more than 340,000 survivors in our state. Now they and those that care for them will have at their fingertips all the survivorship information, navigation, tools and support available here in Georgia.”
Chapman, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Equifax, Inc., and his wife, Karen are both intimately familiar with survivorship and the special circumstances that come with living with, and recovering from cancer. The donation complements a previous gift to the former Georgia Cancer Coalition for $250,000 to expand the statewide cancer patient navigation efforts, currently being carried out by Georgia CORE and Cancer Patient Navigators of Georgia.
“Having been a caregiver to people very close to me, I have seen first-hand that the needs of survivors are different once you have completed your cancer treatment,” said Karen. “Your questions and health concerns do not end when your regular trips to the hospital do.”
The interactive site will be mobile-enabled and housed within GeorgiaCancerInfo.org, the state’s comprehensive online information center on all things related to cancer care, according to Georgia CORE Vice President Angie Patterson, who also happens to be a survivor. “The purpose of the site is to be a bridge between active cancer treatment and long-term survivorship, with information and connectivity that will support survivors in their ongoing cancer journey,” she said. “It will have tools and interactive maps to locate navigators and survivorship programs and resources, as well as blogging, chatting and social media capabilities.”
With a proven track record of developing successful programs in prevention, care, research and education, Georgia CORE will leverage its statewide resources and partnerships to elevate the quality of survivorship care available in Georgia. “We are incredibly grateful for the confidence Mr. and Mrs. Chapman have put in Georgia CORE for carrying out this increasingly important endeavor in cancer care,” said Georgia CORE President & CEO Nancy Paris. “Our team has the vision that one day all cancer survivors in Georgia will seek and receive evidence-based, coordinated care. This gift will provide a big step toward that vision.”
Georgia CORE began developing the interactive survivorship information center in December 2013 with implementation targeted by mid-year 2014. The initiative got covered in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Jan. 25, which helped Georgia CORE share the news of the powerful new tool.