How the CAP Foundation Helps Pathologists to Lead and Advance Health Equity

• Consider donating to support the Foundation this giving season at foundation.cap.org.

Lisa Tomcko:

As the philanthropic arm of the College of American Pathologists, the CAP Foundation aims to develop tomorrow's pathology leaders through awards for advanced training, research and education, as well as to mobilize pathologists to expand help equity and medically underserved communities within the US and globally. Today I'm here with the CAP Foundation's executive director, Maya Ogden, and its current president, Dr. Eva Wojcik. Maya joined the CAP in 2015 and was senior manager of contracts before assuming her current role as foundation executive director. Prior to joining the CAP, Maya held a number of leadership roles at nonprofit organizations, supporting both development and fundraising. For her part, Dr. Wojcik is the chair of the Department of Pathology and an endowed professor of pathology and urology at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois. She has organized multiple See, Test & Treat programs at Loyola, and in addition to being the CAP Foundation's current president, Dr. Wojcik is an active member of the College of American Pathologists, serving on its digital content committee.

And this is really the perfect moment to check in with you both. It's the giving season, as well as a time of new beginnings for the foundation. Maya, it's your first year as executive director of the foundation. And similarly, Dr. Wojcik, you recently began your term as foundation president this past October at the CAP annual meeting. And as such, Dr. Wojcik, we'll kick things off with you. You've been on the foundation board of directors for some time and are now at the helm as president. What are you most excited for during your term? And what do you hope to achieve?

Dr. Eva Wojcik:

Well, first of all, thank you very much for this opportunity to talk about foundation. I am very passionate whenever I even think about foundation, because CAP Foundation, it's our foundation, is the foundation that supports members of our profession. And that's really my goal, to elevate pathology as a specialty, to make much more recognized. And that's what we do foundation. We support, we help young pathologists through the awards and create and help create future leaders. We support medical students hoping that they will join us and be part of our profession. And of course, we are also physicians and we care about our patients. So therefore, all our efforts through the See, Test, & Treat our events, that's what we do. We pay back to our community. But that's exactly what I'm trying to achieve, to elevate pathology as a profession, as this extraordinary specialty for everyone to understand what we do and how we can be more meaningful member of our community and overall medical teams.

Lisa Tomcko:

And Maya, prior to becoming Foundation executive director, you worked with the CAP as contracts manager. What made you want to take on this new role?

Maya Ogden:

Yeah, so even in my role in contracts, I was always working behind the scenes with the foundation, helping to secure grant funding in sponsorships of their programming. Coming off of this super successful Empowering our Future Campaign, I was excited to see what was next for the foundation. For years, we've partnered with hospitals to run See, Test & Treat, and to bring preventative care to communities where our staff work and live, and where our pathologists work and live. But with this Empowering Our Future Campaign, we're kind of shepherding a new venture in global pathology, so expanding that. And so I was really excited to see what would be the next step for the foundation globally and how could we expand our impact.

Lisa Tomcko:

Definitely. Very exciting. And speaking of See, Test & Treat Dr. Wojcik, you've long represented the foundation through your leadership of the Loyola See, Test & Treat program. Let's talk about your experience with See, Test & Treat and what made you want to get involved.

Dr. Eva Wojcik:

I participated in the Engaged Leadership Academy session quite a few years ago, and that's where I learned about See, Test & Treat. I got so extremely excited that such a meaningful event is being led by pathologists or organized by pathologists and sponsored by pathology foundation. So, I could not believe it that we, as pathologists, can be truly really leaders in clinical, purely clinical, organizing clinical events, direct patient care. So, right after Engaged Leadership Academy, I went back to Loyola and I shared my excitement with senior leadership and really convinced them that this is something what we should do, that really the mission of the foundation, the mission and goals of See, Test & Treat align so much with the overall mission of Loyola, that this is really the most logical place to organize such event.

I think this is one of the most exciting, I would say, day of the year at Loyola. Everyone is looking for See, Test & Treat. Right now, it's a tradition. Right now, everyone would like to participate in the See, Test & Treat, and it's really... We are extremely proud that we are hosting those events on yearly basis. And what is really the most important, that really truly elevated position of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, we became much more visible, not only to our leadership, but really to everyone in the medical center.

Lisa Tomcko:

Definitely. And you mentioned that See, Test & Treat has become a tradition at your institution. Tell us how many See, Test & Treat programs has Loyola hosted by this point in time?

Dr. Eva Wojcik:

We have organized seven events. We skipped one year because of COVID. We couldn't really organize any in-person events, but last August was our seventh event and we are hoping to continue this tradition by now. But what I really would like to emphasize, it's something that brings all of us together, everybody from the medical center, starting from catering, security, billing, of course, clinicians, radiologists, pathologists, technologists, nurses, everybody. Whoever has any role in the medical center participate in this event. And that's really what is the best part of event of that scale, and so broad. It's led by a pathologist. So, I think that speaks huge, huge volume value for this events overall.

Lisa Tomcko:

And you touched on this briefly in your former answers, but how did you go about getting institutional support for the program at Loyola?

Dr. Eva Wojcik:

Wasn't easy. That's never easy. I decided, again, talk to individual people from the more senior administration because they are the one, they are making the final decision. The president at that time, she was sold after few minutes. She truly believed in the mission of See, Test & Treat. But that's the most important, that the mission of the event has to align with the mission of the institution. Loyola is a Jesuit institution and our role is to serve the community, and therefore it was very logical that it's a appropriate place to See, Test & Treat. Of course, it's a huge undertaking for the institution, for people who are involved, but once we have system in place, it's much easier. Every year, it's easier and easier.

But the very first event, it took hours and hours and hours of planning. But again, as long as everybody believe and understand why we are doing this, we providing care for women who otherwise wouldn't have this opportunity. So, at Loyola, our Loyola motto is that we also treat the human spirit. And I always keep telling that that day, the day of See, Test & Treat at Loyola, we also treat the human spirit.

Lisa Tomcko:

Definitely. And what would you say is your biggest piece of advice for other CAP members who are considering hosting See, Test & Treat at their institution?

Dr. Eva Wojcik:

First of all, don't give up, get all the facts together, try to convince decision making of people that this is not only extremely important for the community, but it's also very important for the department and is very important for the institution by itself. That's what we do. We have to care about other human beings. We have to care about the community where we are located. So, I think this is really win-win situation for everyone, and convincing special departments, Departments of Pathology, that should be truly easy, because I can speak from my experience, through See, Test & Treat, our department is really seen completely different perspective. We're truly, right now, members of the medical team.

Lisa Tomcko:

So, it's a great opportunity for pathologists, and that's great advice. And Maya, switching back to you, as the foundation's new executive director, can you share some insight as to what's in store for the foundation? Is there anything exciting in the works?

Maya Ogden:

Of course. There are several exciting things happening with the foundation, and I'm always happy to talk about all of the great work that our staff is doing and the support that we receive from our board. Recently, we were in Jackson, Mississippi with the Katie Couric Media group and with our partners at Hologic to get some highlights around health equity, on the issue of health equity, particularly in the south. So, we recorded some footage at our University of Mississippi Medical Center See, Test & Treat. And what we're hoping to do is promote the See, Test & Treat programs, but also explain how See, Test & Treat impacts health equity. We're providing services, preventative screening to women who would not have other or may not have otherwise received that care. And I think it's important to say that those women tend to be women of color, and women of color disproportionately die from these types of cancers. And so it's important to our partners at Hologic, but it's also very important to our pathologists and to our board and our staff that participate in the programs.

So, we're super excited about the awareness that this potential partnership is going to bring to See, Test & Treat and to the communities that we serve with See, Test & Treat. Equally as exciting, and I'm sure some on our board would say probably more exciting, is what we're doing globally. So, we're recently partnered with cancer protocols team within the CAP to provide education on our cancer protocols to countries that are low resource, so those low resource countries that are defined by the WHO. What we are hoping to do here is really focus on what our mission is at the foundation. It is to mobilize our pathologists, and we're doing that via See, Test & Treat, but it's also to develop those leaders. I think doing the two means that we're impacting health equity. And so I'm excited to see where we go and the next activities and events that we have in store.

Lisa Tomcko:

Very exciting. And as you touched on, one of the foundation's themes for next year is expanding health equity globally. What can you tell us about the foundation's work specific to this area?

Maya Ogden:

Yeah, so I think the foundation has been working in the space of health equity for years. As I mentioned. I think that there are two ways that you reach, or at least that the foundation can impact its reach in health equity. And I think that's by developing the leaders, developing the physicians, the clinicians that are going to be providing care to women or to anyone, really. Dr. Wojcik talked about treating the human spirit. I think that's exactly what the foundation is doing. I think we're developing our leaders, we're providing awards and opportunities. So, our grants aren't just about travel. We also provide awards for education. So, to attend education, webinars, education sessions, and to receive some hands on training. So, we also have grants that are specific to hands on training. Then you have See, Test & Treat, which is quite literally a program centered around providing care to women who could not otherwise receive it. And so I think the foundation has been working in the space of health equity for a while. I think we're finally catching our voice and we're finally being heard that we're in that space, and that's exciting.

Dr. Eva Wojcik:

I also would like to kind of expand what Maya was saying. Right now, everybody's talking about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Everybody's are just talking. We, through See, Test & Treat have been doing this for years. Each and every site serve different population, different and very diverse population. So, we have... Maya was talking about Mississippi, where patient of color are most less served. Here in Chicago, our target populations were Hispanics and Polish. Next year, we are planning to target Ethiopian population. We discovered there are some Ethiopian churches, and they really need our help. There are patients in the Western states where helping native population. So, through See, Test & Treat, we truly serve very, very diverse population. And of course, Maya was talking about the equity and inclusion. We include everyone, whoever needs help. So, we have put DE&I in practice for years.

Lisa Tomcko:

That's amazing. Thanks for expounding on that. I think it's easy for people not to realize how many vulnerable populations we have in the United States that can benefit from programs like See, Test & Treat. And are there any foundation grants and awards with upcoming deadlines that you want to highlight?

Maya Ogden:

There are, and I know that our staff would be very upset with me if I did not mention all of those opportunities. So, the Global Pathology Education Award is open until June 1st. That award supports virtual attendance to [inaudible 00:18:21], for international pathologists practicing in medically under-resourced areas around the globe. This opportunity also includes a complimentary IFCAP membership for one year, and our global pathology award, which supports organizations and individuals who are working with limited budgets and have active programs promoting pathology services in under resource areas across the globe. That application deadline is June 30th.

Lisa Tomcko:

Got it. And with the Global Pathology Education Award, can you remind us what that IFCAP or I-F-C-A-P designation stands for?

Maya Ogden:

Yes, so that's for our International Fellows membership, CAP memberships.

Lisa Tomcko:

Got it. And I know there are some awards for pathology residents and medical students with fast approaching application deadlines as well. Namely, there's the Leadership Development Award spring cycle, which has applications due December 1st for CAP junior members to attend the Spring at Residence forum or the Pathologist Leadership Summit. They get to choose. And then there's also the Medical Student Travel Award, which funds CAP annual meeting attendance, and that's with an application deadline of March 8th. And on the subject of residents and medical students, Dr. Wojcik, probably better than anyone, that See, Test & Treat takes a village of volunteers to pull off. Have you had any medical students or pathology residents show interest and get involved with Loyola's program?

Dr. Eva Wojcik:

Of course. Frankly speaking, everyone would like to volunteer. We have a kind of strict list how many volunteers we can accommodate. At the last See, Test & Treat in August, we had few medical students who were shadowing clinicians who are meeting with the patients. As a matter of fact, since we have this very diverse population of our patients, including Polish, only Polish speaking patients, we had students who were also using their native language because they were also from Poland, and they were used as a translators. Our residents always traditionally participate in this event. Either they're sitting at the microscope showing patients slides, how the PAP test look like, what are normal, abnormal cells, and simply logistics, kind of making sure that slides are delivered on time and processed on time, specimens are delivered. So, there is truly an army of people.

Lisa Tomcko:

Why do you think pathology residents and medical students considering pathology should get involved with See, Test & Treat in those early years?

Dr. Eva Wojcik:

Residents, medical students should get involved, period. Either it's going to be See, Test & Treat or some advocacy, whatever they feel they would fit them the best. The bottom line, it is, again, our profession, so we have to be involved. Whatever is kind of aligned with individual talents and individual interests. And if this is See, Test & Treat, that's great. If there are other activities, it's also great. The bottom line, everyone has to be involved, and especially young people, especially those residents, because they're our future. Really and truly, it depends on them. Our future, it's in their hands.

Lisa Tomcko:

Definitely. And you too can get involved with the CAP Foundation, whether that's through hosting a C test and treat program or applying for other grants and awards. You can also support the foundation via donations at foundationdonation.cap.org. You can find the link in the show notes. The donation platform allows you to target your donation towards See, Test & Treat, or specific funds, for example, the Alvin M. Ring Future Leaders Fund, which supports awards for residents and medical students. You can also allow the foundation to apply the gift toward their area of greatest need. Please consider supporting the CAP Foundation and their good work this giving season.

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