THE FOLLOWING IS A DANVILLE AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE RELEASE
DANVILLE, IL, Dec. 14, 2023 – Danville Area Community College recently received an in-kind donation valued at $10,000 to support the College’s new Cancer Registry Management program.
ERS, a Health Catalyst Company is an industry leader in cancer-registry support. ERS has donated its nationally acclaimed CRStar software to DACC, providing the College with CRStar licenses for up to 25 students.
Introduced this year, DACC’s 30-credit certificate program in cancer registry can be completed within a year and is fully available online. The program includes a virtual practicum that affords students with hands-on experience to prepare them for careers in this high-demand field.
ABOVE: This is the information that a student in DACC’s new cancer-registry program may see, thanks to the CRStar program that ERS, Inc. donated to the College.
Hospitals and central registries hire graduates to work in a variety of roles, including as certified tumor registrars or as oncology data analysts. As DACC’s program director Kelly Johnson explains, “People in the field of cancer registry are helping save lives. They provide the data and insights that cancer researchers and public-health officials need to develop cancer treatment and improve cancer prevention. They also gather information to improve the cancer care for every patient on an individual basis.”
Besides offering students a real-life experience in cancer registry, CRStar enhances instructor training, such as through the use of simulated data for homework exercises or tests. Ms. Johnson will begin receiving CRStar training in early January so that the new system can be introduced to cancer-registry students during the Spring semester.
Rohit Nayak, the chief executive officer of ERS, was pleased to support DACC’s new program with the donation of CRStar software. He says, “While there are many opportunities for donations in cancer care, the ERS team determined that the best way for us to leverage our impact and funds would be through helping provide new certified tumor registrars with a strong, practical foundation of their real-world impact through access to our technology. We are thrilled and appreciative about how this is being received by education institutions such as DACC as they achieve their own objectives.”
With DACC’s cancer-registry program one of the few in the nation to be available 100-percent online, Ms. Johnson has begun casting a wide net for students. She says, “For several months now, we’ve been marketing DACC’s program to prospective students in targeted cities across the country. Earning a DACC certificate in cancer registry—especially with our association with ERS and its CRStar product—gives our program instant credibility and will help assure that our graduates will be in high demand by hospitals and care centers in any part of the country they choose.”
On behalf of the College, the DACC Foundation is the official recipient of the ERS donation and plans to recognize the gift in the near future with a “Big Check” ceremony.
Danville Area Community College is a comprehensive community college serving Illinois District 507, which consists of Vermilion County and parts of Champaign, Iroquois, Edgar, and Ford counties. DACC’s main campus is located at 2000 East Main Street, Danville. The College has a higher-learning center in Hoopeston at 847 E. Orange St. in Hoopeston, IL.
