About the Team

Expert Oncology Consultants

The Oncology Group understands the challenges our clients face as they expand, update, and upgrade their cancer care services and technology.  Change, necessary to support growth and provide 21st century integrated patient experiences, is difficult.  And each client’s circumstances are unique.  Initiating new processes and practices, or just reorganizing effective processes requires highly specialized skills, leadership, and planning tools.  Our team of cancer care consulting professionals consists of nationally recognized advisors with broad fields of experience, including business and clinical backgrounds, and are ready to use their knowledge to develop a custom cancer program for your institution, patients and physicians.  The Oncology Group focuses exclusively in the field of oncology – we have customized a number of strategic planning and change implementation tools to fit this multidisciplinary service.

MARSHA FOUNTAIN, RN, MSN President A cancer care consultant since 1997, Marsha Fountain has worked with clients ranging from small hospital-based cancer programs to large hospital networks. Ms. Fountain brings over 30 years experience in cancer care, with expertise in strategic planning and development for community cancer programs and networks and often in collaboration with academic centers. Having developed and managed numerous comprehensive integrated cancer programs during her extensive career, Ms. Fountain is considered one of the nation’s pioneers in oncology program development and operations related to cancer center design. Prior to forming The Oncology Group, she managed a branch of a large healthcare architectural and design firm working exclusively on cancer center design projects. Her expertise qualifies her in a unique way to develop a true balance between patient/family-centered design and operational efficiency necessary for the delivery of high-quality professional health care services within a changing healthcare environment. Ms. Fountain is a frequent speaker at national symposia, the author of several articles related to oncology program planning and industry trends, and the leader for The Oncology Group's esteemed focus group services.  Internationally, Ms. Fountain has assisted in the design of a cancer center in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She is currently active in the Association of Cancer Executives (ACE), the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) and the American Cancer Society.

DR. PAT STANFILL EDENS, RN, MS, MBA, PhD, FAAMA, FACHE Senior Consultant As a Senior Consultant with The Oncology Group, Dr. Pat Stanfill Edens brings over 35 years’ experience in healthcare administration. She provides strategic oncology operational direction, clinical research oversight, financial performance and international consulting expertise to the team. Dr. Edens retired as Assistant Vice President of the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) where she had corporate responsibility for strategic and operational direction and financial performance of the $3.5 billion domestic and international Oncology, Solid Organ and Bone Marrow Transplant Clinical service lines. She was also the responsible business executive for clinical research oversight in the company. Dr. Edens has worked both domestically and internationally as a consultant and speaker on cancer program development and related topics. She has published extensively in the areas of healthcare and nursing administration, leadership, biotechnology and cancer. During and following her tenure with HCA, she assisted in the development of the Cancer Centres Network in London, England and with the discussion of public-private partnerships with the National Health Service. Additionally, she developed the Radiation Therapy Business Plan for the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank. Speaking for the Ministry of Health in Shanghai, China, Dr. Edens addressed clinical trials and the U.S. FDA approval process for international researchers and was engaged by ProMed Cancer Centers, China to write and edit their website. She was also invited to present on the topic of Dualistic Healthcare Markets: The Impact of Boutique Offerings at The Academy of Business and Administrative Sciences’ Globalization and Emerging Economies seminar in Barcelona, Spain.

JOSEPH M. SPALLINA, FAAMA, FACHE Consultant Joseph M. Spallina is founder and director of the Arvina Group, LLC, a national healthcare management services firm. He has more than 30 years of national healthcare, cancer and clinical program strategy and development experience. His clients include teaching and community hospitals, physician practices and academic medical centers. Mr. Spallina’s experience in the field of oncology ranges from cancer program strategy development and business planning, physician/hospital alignment, affiliation strategy to revenue cycle and operations improvement. His expertise in organizational assessments and design includes service line and institute planning, physician compensation planning and organization/business and leadership effectiveness assessments. Frequently published on topics such as clinical program enterprise strategy, physician/hospital integration and alignment and program strategic positioning, Mr. Spallina presents to national audiences and has conducted numerous board, management and medical staff planning conferences and educational sessions. He is a member of the American College of Oncology Administrators and the American College of Cardiovascular Administrators and a fellow in the American Academy of Medical Administrators and the American College of Health Care Executives. Mr. Spallina received a B.A. from the University of Rochester and an M.B.A. from Syracuse University.

SUZANNA S. HOYLER, CTR
Consultant

As a consultant for The Oncology Group, Ms. Hoyler assists clients in American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer Accreditation, including network accreditation, use of registry data and registry staffing and standards.

Ms. Hoyler has more than 20 years of cancer program and registry experience with single and network hospital systems. This includes serving as a Commission on Cancer network surveyor. She specializes in the Commission on Cancer Standards and use of registry data in a multitude of applications.

In addition, she served as the project leader for the Collaborative Stage Data Collection System (CSv2). CSv2 is a joint project of the American Joint Committee on Cancer, Commission on Cancer, NCI’s SEER Program, CDC’s National Program for Cancer Registries and the Canadian Council of Cancer Registries.

Ms. Hoyler has been active in the cancer registry field at the local, state and national levels. Her particular interest is in the quality of registry data and its use by clinical and administrative staff to support strategic planning and monitor patient care. She has lectured extensively and written many articles on topics such as registry productivity and staffing. Recently, Ms. Hoyler coauthored the chapter on “Data Utilization” in the first and second editions of Cancer Registry Management Principles and Practice.

Ms. Hoyler has been active in NCRA since its founding and is a past president of NCRA. She has served on numerous committees, such as education, program, finance, advisory and certification.

JUDITH BLANCHARD, M.S.
Consultant

As a Consultant for The Oncology Group, Judith Blanchard brings over 16 years of health promotion and health education experience.  Ms. Blanchard has directed the planning, curricula, and delivery of educational programs for national organizations such as the National Training Center of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Cancer Research Foundation of America and the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.  She has also designed, delivered and promoted programs for cancer survivors, their loved ones, health professionals and has extensive experience in community outreach.

Through her collaborative efforts, Ms. Blanchard enjoys working relationships with national and community organizations, educational institutions, local hospitals and corporations. 

CLAUDIA Z. LEE
Consultant

As senior consultant and President of CZ Lee and Associates, Claudia Z. Lee brings three decades of comprehensive breast cancer experience to The Oncology Group.  With extensive development and consulting experience in breast cancer program planning and implementation in more than 80 institutions across the country, Ms. Lee has also provided management and operational leadership to cancer programs.  She has hands-on experience in the development of academic and community oncology programs related to strategic planning, site-specific program development, marketing, education and research.

Ms. Lee has previously served on several boards and as ambassador to several organizations designed to forward the cause of oncology care and patients.  Currently Ms. Lee is serving on the Board of Trustees for the National Consortium of Breast Centers (NCBC), and the Board of the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC).  In addition, she has been guest editor for Seminars in Breast Disease and published numerous oncology and breast-related articles, book chapters, abstracts, videos and presentations.

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