NEWSLETTER

 Spring 2020

Giving Back - Utilizing the CAHON Network During a
Global Pandemic

Helping Wuhan

CAHON members have always reacted and responded decisively and actively to major disaster events either in the US or in China by donating money or supplies to those in need. In January 2020, when the COVID-19 epidemic hit China, CAHON members collaborated with the Wuhan University Alumni Association of Greater New York to raise funds and to send desperately needed medical equipment for China. Shipments were sent to CAHON Allied members at the Wuhan Tongji Hospital on January 30 and February 2, 2020 containing a total of 160 N95 masks, 300 level 3 surgical masks and 50 level 3 surgical masks with shields.

Supporting Patients

Once COVID-19 hit the United States, CAHON recognized that cancer patients would be facing increased challenges, so urged members to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (www.LLS.org) and American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org), which routinely assist cancer patients and provide funds to those in dire need.

Forming a Task Force

Understanding the importance of the CAHON network during such unprecedented times, CAHON assembled a volunteer COVID-19 Task Force to identify reliable sources of personal protective equipment (PPE) for members and the medical community in the United States.

CAHON COVID-19 Task Force:

1. Board Sponsor: David Chang
2. Fundraising Drive: Delong Liu, Lei Zheng, Yuxia Jia
3. Procurement: Wenru Song, Ruirong Yuan, Tina Li, Bo Zhao (identified reliable sources, coordinate with other organizations)
4. Member Coordination and Distribution: Ruirong Yuan, Jingzhou Hou, Bo Zhao
5. Information and Resources: Yiwu Huang, Weijing Sun and Wendy Wang (collect useful and reliable information including guidelines, study papers, useful web links, etc. to publish on CAHON website)
6. Legal and Regulatory: Chongxian Pan, David Chang (work with Executive Director Nichole Nikolic and attorney to review Responsibility Liability implications

“BayHelix-CAHON for US” PPE Initiative

The Task Force identified BayHelix (www.bayhelix.org), an organization comprised of cross-border business leaders in the life sciences and health care industry between the U.S. and China, as a reliable organization already playing a key role in donation drives to help people in need during this COVID-19 crisis. 

Lead by Dr. Wenru Song (Board Chair-Elect) and others including Drs. Lei Zheng (President), David Chang (Board Chair) Ruirong Yuan, Chongxian Pan (President-Elect), and Bo Zhao (Clinical Practice Committee Co-chair), a collaboration was developed with BayHelix for both launching a Webinar Series, and the “BayHelix-CAHON for US” PPE initiative, of which CAHON members were the largest beneficiary.  The collaboration allowed CAHON members and stakeholders, both in the U.S. and in China, to use the well-run BayHelix platform to assist CAHON members and the medical community in need.

Upon conclusion in April 2020, the initiative was a tremendous success. There was heartfelt participation and support across US and China, with over $70,000+ raised and there was great thanks to all the passionate donors, particularly to I-Mab Biopharma, and collaborative partners, BayHelix and Zenni for tremendous support!

A total of 150+ boxes of PPEs (about 18,000 KN95 and 15,600 surgical masks) were sent to 80+ CAHON members and longtime supporters on the frontline of patient care fighting COVID-19 in the US. The PPE allocations were prioritized based on the severity of COVID-19 in the region and the urgent personal needs of CAHON member physicians. For each personal use request, 1-4 boxes of PPE with 50 KN95 and 200 medical masks or 200 KN95 were allocated and shipped. Limited PPE supplies of gowns (about 400) and goggles were primarily allocated to the hit-hardest CAHON members physicians in the NY/NJ areas.

CAHON thanks all of the volunteer COVID-19 Task Force members from BayHelix, Zenni and CAHON for the hard work, dedication and passion. The initiative was one of the largest and strongest volunteer actions that all CAHON members have participated in. Particularly, thanks go to Wenru Song who drove the BayHelix-CAHON collaboration, Ruirong Yuan who initiated and led the CAHON PPE drive, David Chang and other task force members who led the CAHON COVID-19 task force, Bo Zhao, Mei Chen, and Deng Zhang for their meticulous and hard work in coordinating the requests and shipments, and Ligeng Tian and Faye Yin whose beautiful articles recorded the task. Thanks are also wholeheartedly extended to Hannah Lu and Iris Chu (BayHelix), Julia Zhen (Zenni) and her Zenni team for the tireless efforts and seamless!

Primary affiliation of CAHON members who received PPEs

Barns Jewish Hospital
Buffalo Medical group
Cancer Care Associates of York
Cancer Center at Village Pointe Health Center
Cape Fear Valley Health
Charleston Area Medical Center
Christus St Vincent Cancer Center
City of Hope National Medical Center
Emory Decatur Hospital
Executive Director, Inc. (EDI)
Fairview, University of Minnesota
FCS Brooksville
Florida Ear Nose Throat
Greater Baltimore Medical Center
Harbor-UCLA
Harold Leever Cancer Center
Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute
IU Health Central Indiana Cancer Centers
Jackson Clinic
Jacobi Medical Center
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Kahlert regional cancer center
Long Island Jewish Medical Center
Maimonides Cancer Center
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital
Mount Sinai Medical Center
Multicare Deaconess Hospital
New York Presbyterian Hospital
New York Presbyterian Queens
Northwell Health Cancer Institute
Northwest Oncology & Hematology
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Parkview Cancer Institute
Parkview Medical Center
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Seidman Cancer Center
St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center
Stony Brook University Hospital
SVMC Cancer Care
Swedish Cancer Institute
Swedish Medical Center
University of Michigan Hospital, St Joseph Mercer Hospital in Ann Arbor
University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center
University of Nebraska Medical Center
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UMPC)
UPMC Division of Hem Onc
UPMC Western Maryland
UT Tyler Medical Center
VA Boston and Harvard Medical School
VA Medical Center, NJ
VA New Jersey Healthcare System
Virginia Oncology Associates
West Cancer Center
Westchester Medical Center
Yale Division of Hem/Onc
Yale New Haven Hospital
Yale University

CAHON-Zenni Collaboration

Along with the successful collaboration on the “BayHelix-CAHON for US” PPE initiative, Zenni extended their own efforts to donate and distribute millions of dollars of protective masks and other PPE to hospitals, medical professionals and first responders fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. On April 18, 2020, Zenni offered to donate additional protective gowns, masks, face shields and goggles to CAHON member physicians and affiliated hospitals and clinics in the hardest hit areas.

COVID-19 Resources

Lead by Yiwu Huang, CAHON members, including Wendy Wang, have assembled dozens of articles and resources to guide physicians during this unprecedented time. The resources can be accessed and downloaded from the members-only section of the CAHON website and include topics such as: Basic Science, Cancer-Care in COVID-19, Clinical Management Guidelines, Clinical Reports, Epidemiology, Ethics, Modeling & Forecasting and more. CAHON members can sign in here to access the resources.

Upcoming CAHON Events

CAHON is closely monitoring information and guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and state and local health agencies related to the novel coronavirus. At this time, all future CAHON events in 2020 are being reevaluated and some are being tentatively planned. The health and safety of attendees at CAHON events are top priorities. Please visit the CAHON website for the most up-to-date information about CAHON events.

2020 Summer Semi-Annual Symposium and Reception during ASCO
has been cancelled

2020 New York Oncology Forum
Tentatively scheduled for October 24-25, 2020
Flushing, NY

2020 Winter Semi-Annual Symposium and Reception during ASH
Tentatively scheduled for December 6, 2020
The New Children’s Museum, San Diego, CA

Membership Updates

Membership Totals – April 2020

Welcome New Members (since 1.1.2020)

Regular Members

Yueming Chang, MD
St. Mary Hospital Oncology
Farmington, CT

Gary Lu, MD, PhD
St. Luke’s University Health Network
Nazareth, PA

Danyu Sun, MD, PhD
Levine Cancer Institute/Atrium Health
Charlotte, NC

Xiaowen (Wendy) Wang, MD
Everett Clinic
Everett, WA

Chunzhi Xia, MD, PhD
Emory University
Decatur, GA

Renewal Notices

Renewal notices have started to be sent out to our Regular, Allied and Associate members. If you receive a notice, please take a moment to renew your membership. While dues are waived for Associate members, we do ask that you still take the time to log-in, update your member profile and renew your membership on the CAHON website. For Associate members who are no longer in training, there will be an opportunity to upgrade to a Regular of Allied membership during the renewal process.

Join CAHON!
Regular Membership: $100 USD Annually
Associate Membership: Dues Waived
Allied Membership: $100 USD Annually
For more information on membership categories and to apply for membership, visit here.

The CAHON Newsletter is edited by Lei Zheng (President), Chong-xian Pan (President-Elect), CAHON Executive Team and Nichole Nikolic (Executive Director).