A program at the Queen's Medical Center that coordinates all aspects of cancer care for patients is one of four recipients of American Cancer Society 2009 Harold P. Freeman Service Awards.

The center's Oncology Patient Navigation Program was honored especially for its effort to target native Hawaiian and Filipino populations, which have the highest incidence of cancer deaths in the state.

The program's patient navigators have served more than 1,600 cancer patients since it began in September 2006 as Hawaii's first hospital-based program of its kind.

The highly trained navigators reduce patient stress by coordinating doctor appointments, patient education, chemotherapy, imaging services, inpatient-to-outpatient transitions, nutritional and other services.

The award is named for Dr. Harold P. Freeman, a former ACS president, who emphasized issues relating to the medically underserved during his presidency.

Other 2009 award recipients were the Tammy Walker Cancer Center in Salina, Kan.; the Empowerment Network of St. Louis; and the Asian Breast Health Outreach Project in Richardson, Texas.