KeyBank Grant Award of $150,000 to Aultman Health Foundation will Enhance Patient Experience and Access to Care

KeyBank has awarded the Aultman Health Foundation with a $150,000 grant to enhance the care experience for patients by providing and expanding cancer care navigation and patient transportation services.

“KeyBank’s continued support of our patients and their loved ones means so much, especially now in these unprecedented times,” said Ed Roth, president and CEO, Aultman Health Foundation. “KeyBank is a longtime and valued partner in leading our community to improved health.”

“We are excited and proud to partner with Aultman Health Foundation to enhance the already excellent care they provide to residents of Stark County and Northeast Ohio,” said Timothy Burke, president, KeyBank Northeast Ohio Market. “Our purpose is to help the communities we serve thrive. This partnership brings that purpose to life through expanded services, improved access to health care and a first-class patient experience at Aultman.”

The grant will go toward supporting Aultman’s nurse navigation services, which connect patients with nurse navigators who can help remove barriers to care, coordinate tests and treatments and provide guidance and help in financial matters, caregiving, survivorship and much more. Aultman also has specialized nurse navigators for patients with breast cancer, lung cancer and gastrointestinal cancer, and each navigator can provide education on diagnosis and treatment, emotional support, expectations before, during and after treatment and help with managing appointments and referrals. Thousands of patients have used and continue to rely on these services during and after their care at Aultman.

“Thanks to KeyBank, more patients will benefit from navigation services,” said Tina Biasella, vice president, Aultman cancer services. “As the leader in cancer care, we continually strive to provide patients access to outstanding care, and the navigation team is an instrumental part of that care. Our nurse navigators partner with patients from diagnosis to the completion of their treatments, and they are there for them during what may be the most stressful times in their lives. The work they do ensures that patients feels supported, and it gives patients access to necessary services that not only enhance their care, but often expedite it.”

The grant will also help Aultman expand transportation services, ensuring that patients who struggle to walk from place to place will have a clean, socially distant form of transportation around campus with the addition of two all-electric shuttles. These shuttles will help patients get from parking areas to the most appropriate hospital entrance for their care.

These services will be especially useful during and after the construction of the Timken Family Cancer Center, a $28 million project that will create a new 58,270 square foot comprehensive center for cancer-related services at Aultman Hospital. The state-of-the-art facility will advance clinical care, improve patient experience and strengthen community services when it opens. Construction on the cancer center is set to begin in 2021. To learn more, visit aultman.org/TimkenFamilyCancerCenter.