Health care providers will be able to attend a cancersurvivorship training series thanks to a collaboration between theNational Institutes of Health Federal Credit Union and the GeorgeWashington Cancer Institute.

The initiative recognizes $562 million NIHFCU in Rockville, Md., as the lead partner for GWCI's Centerfor the Advancement of Cancer Survivorship, Navigation and Policy.This includes a five-event lecture series and an online trainingseries that will reach approximately 500 health care providers,including program executives, clinicians and students, the centerand credit union said.

With the support of NIHFCU, the GW Cancer Institute said it willprovide skills training to patient navigators to guide newlydiagnosed cancer patients through what it describes as a“fragmented health care delivery system,” train program leaders tobuild patient-centered initiatives that best support survivors andtheir families, and launch an e-learning site for primary careproviders to improve the infrastructure of survivorship care.

The initiative began on May 15 and will run through May 14,2013. Other partners include the Pfizer Global Health PartnershipProgram, the DC Cancer Consortium, Centers for Disease Control andPrevention and the American Cancer Society.

Over the past year, NIHFCU has lent millions to local medicalbusinesses and practices, said Juli Anne Callis, president/CEO of the credit union.

“Our partnership with the GWCI will help us to continuespreading the word about our support of today's biomedicalprofessional and banking solutions designed to finance and maximizetheir professional pursuits,” Callis said in a statement.

Mandi Pratt-Chapman, associate director of community programsfor GWCI, said the institute “is pleased to work with the premiercredit union for health care professionals in the Washington, D.C.,metropolitan area to promote patient-centered care practices for agrowing number of cancer survivors.”

NIHFCU serves more than 44,000 members.