2026 Annual Meeting Agenda
Day 1 Sunday, January 25, 2026
12:45PM - 1:00PM Welcoming Remarks & Marsha Fountain Award Ceremony
Vanessa Bramble, MS, MBA, FACHE, CRA, RT (R)(M)(ARRT), ACE President-Elect and Annual Meeting Chairperson
1:00PM - 1:30PM Keynote Speaker
W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, MMHC
1:30PM - 2:15PM Beyond the Main Campus: A Bold Vision for Patient-Centered Research Delivery
This session will highlight a clinically driven, patient-centered approach to expanding access to novel cancer therapies across a 13-site integrated network in the Chicagoland area—home to 8.5 million people and over 500,000 cancer survivors. By embedding research infrastructure into community and regional sites, we increased clinical trial availability closer to where patients live. The result: a tenfold increase in accruals outside the academic medical center, improved trial diversity, greater patient satisfaction, and stronger physician engagement. This effort also contributed to increased market share and a second consecutive “Exceptional” NCI rating. Attendees will gain practical insights into the operational strategies and care delivery models that made this transformation possible—advancing both institutional growth and equitable patient access.
Aleksandar Zafirovski, Chief Administrative Officer, Northwestern Medicine- Lurie Cancer Center
Christopher George, Medical Director, Cancer Service Line, Northwestern Medicine- Lurie Cancer Center
2:15PM - 2:45PM ACE Fellowship Presentations
2:45PM - 3:15PM Networking Break
3:15PM - 3:45PM LeanTaas Diamond Sponsorship Session: Balancing Systemness with Reasonable Consistency: Digging into Hard Discussions with the Right Data and Support
Balancing the needs of a large health system with the realities of local practice requires more than mandates—it takes data, dialogue, and persistence. Providence’s infusion and pharmacy leaders have navigated the challenge of moving 28 centers from siloed practices toward system-wide standards in acuity, pharmacy processes, and operational efficiency. Through cross-regional workgroups and shared learnings, they have been able to identify variation, uncover barriers, and highlight strategies that enable sustainable volume growth and improved capacity. This session will explore the difficult but necessary discussions that come with standardization, the role of internal networking and peer comparison in change management, and the lessons learned from building “reasonable consistency” across a diverse system.
Tammy Boeshans, BSPharm, RPh, System Pharmacy Infusion Director, Providence
3:45PM - 4:30PM CAR-T Therapy Economics: Building Financially Sustainable Cellular Therapy Programs
Explore the operational challenges of CAR-T - from the $400K treatment costs to managing long readmission rates, insurance negotiations and creating centers of excellence that balance access with financial viability.
Amy Ware, Regional Vice President, HCA Sarah Cannon Cancer Network
Shanice Davis, Director, Transplant and Cellular Therapy, HCA Sarah Cannon Cancer Network
4:30PM - 5:00PM New Member Reception (Invite Only)
5:00PM - 6:00PM Welcome Reception sponsored by LeanTaas
Day 2 Monday, January 26, 2026
8:00AM - 9:00AM EXPO Breakfast
9:00AM - 9:45AM Innovative Partnerships
Moderator: Gregory Calosso, Vice President, Network Development & Growth Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Panelists:
Kevin Brumit, Executive Director, Stamford Health
Connie Branyan, Chief Strategy Officer, Beth Israel Lahey Health
Claire Cote, COO, New England Cancer Specialists
9:45AM - 10:30AM A Comprehensive Approach to Optimizing Care for the Hospitalized Cancer Patient
To optimize the care of our cancer inpatients, we have deployed a multi-faceted strategy that has included: Implementation of an Oncology Hospitalist Service, Expansion of Oncology Urgent Care Services, and Development of a specialized oncology consultation service. These initiatives have resulted in a decreased length of stay, reduction in inpatient mortality, and enhanced experiences for patients and clinicians. This session will detail the implementation strategies and organizational structures that have facilitated the success of these initiatives in a large NCI Designate Cancer Center.
Kevin Billingsley, Chief Medical Officer, Smilow Cancer Hospital/ Yale Cancer Center
Jensa Morris, MD, Chief, Oncology Inpatient Medicine, Smilow Cancer Hospital/Yale Cancer Center
Elizabeth Prsic, Inpatient Director, Palliative Care Smilow Cancer Hospital/Yale Cancer Center
10:30AM - 11:00AM EXPO Break
11:00AM - 11:45AM Improving Cancer Access In a Competitive Market
Stony Brook Cancer Center embarked on a journey to improve patient access in January 2024. We worked with Chartis for a rapid 8-week engagement to look at the current state and develop a roadmap. SBCC is located on Long Island, New York in a highly competitive market with a growing presence of both private cancer centers and large academic medical centers. The session will describe the journey, the data utilized, vision creation process and goal development, the tactics put in place, and the subsequent success achieved (major impact on new patient appointment lag and patient abandonment reduction) resulting in new patient growth. The audience will leave with examples of best practices they can implement at their centers.
Megan Aiello, Assistant Vice President, Cancer Services, Stony Brook Medicine/Stony Brook Cancer Center
11:45AM - 12:30PM Optimizing Oncology Service Lines: Enhancing Access Through Operational Excellence
As cancer incidence continues to rise, health systems face increasing pressure to deliver timely, coordinated, and patient-centered care. This session explores how UVA Health responded by launching a comprehensive oncology service line optimization initiative anchored in the Time-to-Treat (TTT) framework—a data-driven approach to measuring and improving the interval from referral to first treatment. Confronted with a 52% increase in new patient volume, a 67% increase in total clinic visit volume, and 34% growth in total infusion volume over the past five years. In response, UVA implemented targeted strategies including a nurse navigation redesign, same-day access clinics, infusion throughput improvements using Lean principles, and real-time analytics to drive operational accountability. Attendees will leave with practical, replicable strategies for improving timeliness, enhancing the patient experience, and using data and multidisciplinary collaboration to support service line transformation in complex care environments.
John Cherrix, Director Cancer Service Line Business Operations, UVA Health
Catherine Terrell, Director Clinical Operations Cancer Service Line, UVA Health
Katie Lassiter, Director Clinical Operations Cancer Service Line Infusion, UVA Health
12:30PM - 1:45PM EXPO Luncheon
1:45PM - 2:30PM The Business Case for Cancer Rehabilitation: Driving Outcomes, Reducing Costs, and Enhancing Care
Cancer rehabilitation is a critical yet often overlooked component of oncology care with proven benefits for patients and healthcare systems alike. This session will highlight the financial and clinical impact of integrating rehabilitation into oncology care, including reduced length of stay, fewer emergency visits, and improved cancer and quality of life outcomes for patients. Participants will gain insights into successful implementation models, practical strategies for building a cancer rehabilitation program, and the latest research. By the end of this session, executives will be equipped with the knowledge and data to advocate for cancer rehabilitation as a standard component of comprehensive cancer care—leading to healthier patients, stronger institutions, and improved bottom lines.
Leslie Waltke, Cancer Rehabilitation Coordinator, Aurora Cancer Care - Advocate Health
2:30PM - 3:15PM Streamlining Prior Authorization Workflows for Intravenous Cancer Treatments to Improve Efficiency and Reduce Financial Losses
Prior authorizations are a hurdle patients and oncology practices nationwide must navigate, which can lead to decreased quality of care, raising patient anxieties and potentially creating treatment delays. The process may also lead to a peer-to-peer insurance review where a clinician from the practice and insurance company discuss a patient’s medical case. This peer-to-peer review and appeal process places an avoidable administrative burden on clinical teams when authorization specialists cannot efficiently find the necessary clinical data in the electronic health record. This leads to clinician burnout, decreased job satisfaction, loss of revenue from decreased clinician productivity on top of potential care delays. In partnership with Oncology Data Specialists (ODS; formerly known as a Cancer Tumor Registrar or CTR) and financial authorization specialists and our Epic team, we optimized a workflow that shifted the clerical work required for prior authorizations from the clinical teams to the ODS’.
Mark Liu, Senior Director of Oncology Strategy, Transformation & Analytics, Mount Sinai Health System
Aarti Bhardwaj, MD, Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology and a member of the Dubin Breast Center team at Mount Sinai Health System
3:15PM - 3:45PM EXPO Break
3:45PM - 4:30PM Navigation PIN Codes - A Panel Discussion
Nicole Centers, MBA, BSN, RN, OCN, CBCN, CN-BN, Executive Director, Oncology Service Line, Wellstar Health System
Blake Hoegger, BDN, RN, Director, Texas Oncology Virtual Care
Jeanne Silva, MSN, RN-BC, Assistant Vice President, Nurse Navigation and Oncology Access, Oncology Services, RWJBarnabas Health
4:30PM - 5:00PM Azra AI Pearl Sponsorship Session - From Challenge to Change: Real-World Lessons in Tech-Enabled Cancer Care
5:00PM - 6:30PM EXPO Reception
Day 3 Tuesday, January 27, 2026
7:45AM - 8:15AM Table Topic Breakfast
8:15AM - 9:00AM Preventing Financial Toxicity: The Impact of Incorporating Oncology Pharmacists into Prior Authorization and Denial Workflows
In treatment of cancer today, financial toxicity to both the patient and institution are of upmost concern. Oncology pharmacists are in a key position to help prevent and assist in mitigation of financial toxicity of oncology therapies. Herein, we will describe the financial impact of an oncology pharmacy reimbursement team that was developed at the University of Kansas Health System. These pharmacists review referrals and mark clinical documentation that should be submitted to insurance prior to review by our internal authorization team. In addition, the team assists in identifying and mitigating denials after treatment has been administered. The team of pharmacists is readily available to assist with navigating billing concerns, coding of treatment plans, and other aspects of the revenue cycle. These activities have had positive financial impacts to the institution, which will be discussed during this presentation.
Nikki Ogle, Oncology Reimbursement Clinical Pharmacist, Team Lead, The University of Kansas Health System
Laure DuBois, Pharmacy Manager, The University of Kansas Health System
9:00AM - 9:45AM 340B Panel Discussion
Moderator: Matt Sturm, ECG Management Consultants
Panelists:
Emily Jane Cook, Partner, McDermott Will & Schulte LLP
Michael Federico, Senior Director, Pharmacy, Sutter Health
9:45AM - 10:30AM Bridging the Gap: Role of Clinical and Specialty Pharmacy in Modern Healthcare
An overview of the steps involved to process and fill a specialty medication, the value of having an integrated specialty pharmacy within a health system, and the high-touch, high-quality services the specialty pharmacy brings to the patient and the care team.
Rachel Mashburn, Executive Director, Pharmacy City of Hope
10:30AM Annual Meeting Adjourns
(Please note the agenda is subject to change.)