Interdisciplinary Team

Members of the blood and marrow transplant, leukemia treatment, and immunotherapy programs at Northside Hospital have extensive education and training in these fields. These passionate healthcare workers place the patient at the top of the treatment pyramid and deliver excellent patient care.

Advanced Practice Providers

On the Northside Hospital Blood and Marrow Transplant, Leukemia and Immunotherapy inpatient unit, the Northside Hospital Infusion Center - Atlanta, and the BMTGA's Infusion Facility, our Advanced Practice Providers work directly with program physicians to provide patient care and assessments.

Northside Hospital’s BMT/Leukemia/Immunotherapy Unit Advanced Practice Providers and Hospitalists

BMTGA Advanced Practice Providers

Clinical Pharmacists

Doctors of Pharmacy are responsible for overseeing the safe and appropriate utilization, dosing and preparation of all medications, including investigational agents. Driving a comprehensive chemotherapy, immunotherapy and medication safety quality management program, our Doctors of Pharmacy ensure all pharmacy quality initiatives are met.

Inpatient and Outpatient Nurses

Our highly trained oncology-certified registered nurses care for patients at the Northside Hospital Blood and Marrow Transplant, Leukemia and Immunotherapy Unit, Northside Hospital Infusion Center—Atlanta, and The Blood and Marrow Transplant Group of Georgia’s Infusion Facility.

BMTGA Triage Nurses

BMTGA Clinical Supervisor

BMTGA Pharmacy Technicians

Northside Hospital’s BMT/Leukemia Unit Leadership Team

Northside Hospital Infusion Center—Atlanta Leadership

Northside Hospital’s BMT/Leukemia Unit RN Staff Members

Northside Hospital’s BMT/Leukemia Unit Staff RN’s

Cellular Therapy Clinical Coordinators

The nurse care coordinator works with a specific program physician to organize and coordinate blood and bone marrow/immunotherapy treatment plans. This coordinating effort includes new patient referrals, providing education, facilitating national and international unrelated donor searches, scheduling assessments and evaluation studies, arranging local accommodations if needed, maintaining prospective contact with referring physician office(s), and scheduling long-term follow-up disease management restaging studies at specific time points post therapy.

Cellular Therapy RN Coordinators

Resource Coordinators

Leukemia RNs and Clinical Care Coordinators

Leukemia clinical coordinators organize and coordinate patients at diagnosis and throughout the treatment process. Upon admission or consultation, a leukemia clinical coordinator is assigned. Coordinating efforts include facilitating direct admission or hospital-to-hospital transfer and communicating jointly with the Leukemia Program physicians and Northside Hospital’s Hematopathology Department, Flow Cytometry/Molecular Diagnostic Laboratories, and Clinical Laboratory to ensure ordered disease diagnostic testing has occurred.

Leukemia RN Clinical Coordinators

Clinical Research Team

The clinical research nurses and associates work collaboratively to provide patients with access to state-of-the-art investigational therapies. The staff is accountable for maintaining compliance with regulatory agencies that oversee the practice of clinical research.

Financial Coordinators

These dedicated staff members coordinate the blood and marrow transplant, leukemia, and immunotherapy insurance and payment benefits by obtaining prior medical authorization(s) & pre-certification(s). The program’s financial coordinators assist patients throughout treatment in understanding the insurance process, medical bills, out of pocket expenses, drug coverage, COBRA and other financial concerns.

Northside Hospital Oncology Business Operations

BMTGA Financial Coordinators

Nurse for Graft- Versus- Host Disease (GVHD)

The dedicated NH-BMT program GVHD nurse collaborates with BMT doctors, clinical BMT pharmacists, advanced practice providers, and nursing staff to inform, coordinate treatment, and provide follow-up care for allogeneic transplant recipients who develop graft vs. host disease, whether they are related or unrelated donors.

Data Management

Data coordinators are responsible for collecting detailed disease-related information on all NH-BMT patients. The National Marrow Donor Program, Be The Match®, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and the CIBMTR (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research) collaborate to provide transplant data. By providing data, CIBMTR can enhance transplant patients' survival rates, care, and quality of life. Our data coordinators are continuously recognized by CIBMTR for their accurate and comprehensive data submissions and are in the Top Performing Centers with a 1.0% to 0.6% Critical Filed Error Rate.

Dr. Speckhart is the clinical health psychologist for the Blood and Marrow Transplant, Leukemia, and Immunotherapy programs at Northside Hospital. She received her Ph.D. from Indiana University. She completed her residency at the University of Miami Medical Center. She has been in this clinical position at Northside Hospital for over 20 years, working with cancer patients for over 25 years. Her research focuses on how psychosocial issues impact transplant outcomes. As our full-time dedicated health psychologist, she provides individual, family, and group psychological assessment and support throughout treatment.

 

Social Worker

A specially trained and licensed clinical social worker, within the Northside Hospital Psych-Oncology Department, provides patients and their caregivers with support, guidance, and psychological assistance through all phases of treatment and into survivorship.