This article is the sixth in a 10-part series highlighting the work of the Alliance for Equity in Cancer Care, a national initiative focused on expanding access to high-quality cancer care for underserved communities.
Each installment will spotlight a different Alliance grantee site, exploring how healthcare teams are partnering with community organizations to break down barriers to care and reimagine what navigation looks like on the ground.
Through these stories, we’ll see how tailored, community-informed solutions are making cancer care more accessible.
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center (MBPCC) was founded in the late 1960s through a community-led effort to bring high-quality cancer care to the greater Baton Rouge area. Today, MBPCC has expanded into a state-of-the-art community-driven cancer care network serving patients across Louisiana and southwest Mississippi. Despite this growth, many residents in North Baton Rouge continue to experience disproportionately high cancer burdens. Elevated poverty and uninsured rates, limited access to healthcare facilities, and a reliance on public transportation all converge to create substantial barriers to timely quality cancer care.
To combat these challenges, MBPCC is expanding its patient navigation services to address not only clinical needs but also social determinants of health (SDOH). Through the Alliance for Equity in Cancer Care—funded by the Merck Foundation—MBPCC is collaborating with cross-sector partners, including Woman’s Hospital and Baton Rouge General Hospital, to strengthen support for underserved patients in North Baton Rouge. Built on decades of patient-centered, community-rooted work, MBPCC is leveraging these partnerships to elevate care coordination, enhance patient–provider communication, and expand engagement and support services to advance cancer equity.
Recognizing that SDOH impacts nearly 65% of patients in North Baton Rouge,1 MBPCC adopted the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework2—an evidence-based model designed to guide real-world implementation of complex programs. RE-AIM emphasizes 5 core components:
Angela Hammett, MSN, senior director of Support Services and Patient Experience, shared why MBPCC chose RE-AIM as a foundational component of their work through the Alliance. “Intentionality is key. Setting this detailed framework allowed our patient navigation team to stay focused on the aspects of our work that will matter most in creating better health outcomes for the North Baton Rouge community.”
Guided by this model and the principles of community engagement, MBPCC relied heavily on the lived experiences of those it serves to ensure meaningful and sustainable impact.
From the earliest stages of the initiative, MBPCC prioritized gathering real-world perspectives on the barriers to cancer care, community perceptions of healthcare interactions, and unmet needs related to support services. Regular engagement with local leaders and community organizations led to the formation of the Community Advisory Board (CAB), a collaborative group serving as a vital link between MBPCC and the community.
The CAB mirrors the diversity and strengths of North Baton Rouge. Its members include clinicians, cancer survivors, caregivers, local African American coalitions, and even nontraditional partners, such as the owner of a local bicycle company. These unique voices provided insight into navigating community needs, establishing program priorities, and fostering trust.
By cultivating strong community relationships—particularly with organizations deeply trusted by residents—MBPCC successfully codesigned goals and aligned resources across partners. This collaborative approach created not only more effective and sustainable programming but also continuous bidirectional communication and shared decision-making.
“Our efforts to improve access to health and support services, along with increased community outreach and education, will change the health outcomes of generations of families. We will move the health equity needle forward in North Baton Rouge,” shared one CAB member.
MBPCC is also hearing directly from community members through tailored community-informed feedback forums, which have provided proactive, real-time input that has positioned MBPCC to better meet the needs of the vulnerable population they serve. To date, 8 community listening sessions with more than 120 residents have been held throughout North Baton Rouge. These sessions uncovered first-hand accounts of obstacles that prevent patients from accessing or completing lifesaving cancer treatment (Figure 1).
The listening sessions also highlighted persistent concerns related to clinician trustworthiness. More than 80% of participants reported experiencing bias or racial discrimination in healthcare settings. Others cited insufficient appointment time, lack of cultural understanding, and limited empathy from healthcare providers—all factors that erode trust.
Investing in nontraditional partnerships expands reach and opens new avenues to serve historically overlooked groups.
With these insights, MBPCC enhanced its patient navigation program to directly address community-identified concerns. The organization worked internally to create systemwide change. Senior leadership and core departments engaged in strategic planning to support expanded SDOH screening and navigation services.
A major outcome of this work was the development and implementation of cultural competency workshops for all MBPCC staff, both clinical and nonclinical. These trainings, now built into MBPCC’s employee learning system (HealthStream) and required for all new hires, ensure 100% of staff receive ongoing cultural competency education.
Guided by input from patients, staff, CAB members, and community partners, MBPCC developed a comprehensive patient navigation workflow—from intake and consultation to education, engagement, and survivorship (Figure 2).
In just 2 years, more than 450 patients have benefited from these services. Implementation has led to a 32% reduction in the time from diagnosis to treatment, dropping from 37 days to 25 days. This critical reduction demonstrates measurable progress toward equitable access to high-quality cancer care.
This program has also enriched the staff experience. “Some patients are not comfortable sharing their true needs with their doctors. We make it easier for them to have those difficult conversations. My favorite part of my job is when I’ve successfully located a resource for a patient,” said Lara Griffiths, RN, a nurse navigator in the program.
Since 2023, MBPCC has increased its number of patient navigators by 190% to support the growth of the Cancer Center network to 23 locations and counting. With this expansion, 87% of psychosocial referrals were fulfilled via patient navigation systems.
New initiatives, such as Baton Rouge Thrive, further enhance survivorship care by offering free services for cancer survivors and caregivers that promote quality of life during and after treatment.
MBPCC continues to invest in patient-centered communication, engagement strategies, and staffing to ensure program sustainability beyond the conclusion of the Alliance.
The future of MBPCC’s patient navigation program includes new offerings—such as caregiver workshops and massage therapy—alongside the program’s natural evolution based on ongoing community input.
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