In this weeks edition of NJBiz, Eli Winkler, Senior Vice President of Growth and Development, discussed the need to keep New Jersey patients from crossing the river into New York and Pennsylvania for their care. Mr. Winkler also discussed the new Cooper Cancer Institute and how it will provide better, more coordinated care for patients in the region.

Liz Baez, Cooper employee and breast cancer survivor, is featured in the Cooper Pink Glove Video to help raise awareness for breast cancer.

You may have seen videos like this before on YouTube—hospital employees dancing to a popular song wearing bright pink gloves to raise awareness about breast cancer. They have become an online “viral” sensation viewed by millions of people throughout the world. The videos, part of a contest sponsored by Medline, are not only entertaining but they’re saving lives in the process. Cooper University Hospital is the only hospital in South Jersey competing in this year’s competition for a chance to win $10,000 towards cancer research.  Cooper is asking for the community to vote for their Pink Glove video and support local breast cancer survivors. The voting period ends November 1.

There are over 250 healthcare organizations across the country participating in the 2012 Pink Glove Dance competition. Over the past three years, the Pink Glove Dance has taken on a life of its own – turning into a world-wide “movement” among health care workers, breast cancer survivors and their family and friends.

As of Friday, October 12, viewers are able to vote for Cooper’s video by creating an online Facebook account (if you don’t already have one) and logging onto www.pinkglovedance.com. The top three winners will receive a donation in their name to the breast cancer charity of their choice. Winners will be announced in November.

“The response we received from our employees who wanted to participate in the video was overwhelming,” said Lori Shaffer, Director of Public Relations at Cooper. “It was heartwarming to see everybody come together for the same cause—some doing it in honor of a friend or family member diagnosed with breast cancer, others were survivors themselves and some just wanted to raise awareness for an important cause.”

Cooper chose the song “Part of Me” by Katy Perry for their video because the lyrics hold a strong message for breast cancer patients.  Although the road to recovery may be difficult at times, the disease can never take “a part” of who we are as individuals. Along the journey, there is always a guiding hand (a pink hand) leading them towards the battle to “WIN”. Each survivor in the video wore gloves that said “I WON” to show that they beat the disease, and that others can do the same with strength, courage, hope, and determination.

“Every patient has their own story to tell and we wanted to show the journey to recovery through the eyes and hands of real survivors, our Cooper employees,” according to Shaffer.

From Left to Right: Tricia Merriam, Revenue Cycle Manager, Infusion, Cooper Cancer Institute and Meghan Vizzard, 12, Sixth Grade Student at Hartford School in Mt. Laurel.

When her nineteen-year-old cousin Katie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2011, Meghan Vizzard of Mount Laurel wanted to make her a gift that would provide some comfort to her once she began her treatment. It was a handmade fleece blanket that Katie used every day during her nine week course of chemotherapy. Read the full story

Cooper Cancer Institute was recently named a “Center of Excellence” in accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) for its use of the SAVI^® applicator, an advanced therapy for breast cancer as part of breast conservation therapy. Read the full story

The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program has awarded a $35,000 one-year grant to Cooper Cancer Institute to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer. It is the fourth year that the program has received funding from the Avon Foundation for Women to support its work on this important health issue and in recognition of the program’s excellence. Read the full story