Director, Providence Thoracic surgery Program
Since joining Providence Health & Services in 1997, Dr. John Handy has led
several initiatives to improve care and outcomes for people
with lung cancer and other chest cancers. Seizing an opportunity to reduce
care variability and to increase opportunities for patients to participate
in research, he initiated the Providence Thoracic Oncology
Program in 1999. In 2004, he was named director of the Providence Thoracic
Surgery Program. In that role, he is leading a collaborative effort to
standardize care practices among all of Providence’s thoracic surgeons.
In addition to his leadership roles with Providence, Dr.
Handy has been a practicing physician and surgeon with
The Oregon Clinic since 1997. Prior to that, he held dual
roles as director of Lung and Heart-Lung Transplantation
at the Medical University of South Carolina, and director
of the Cardiac Surgery Program at the Charleston Veterans
Administration Medical Center. He also served nine years
in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Navy Reserves. Dr. Handy
is a graduate of the Duke University School of Medicine.
He trained in general surgery at Brown University and in
thoracic surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Dr. Handy is actively involved in the Tobacco-Free Coalition of Oregon, and sits on its board of directors. He also serves on the board of Project Open Hearts, a non-profit medical relief and assistance program based in Denver, Colo.
- In an effort to better understand the impact of treatment on patients and to improve recovery after surgery, Dr. Handy initiated one of the world’s first and longest-running studies of the functional outcomes of lung cancer surgery.
- The Providence Thoracic Oncology Program, developed by Dr. Handy, is the only program of its kind in the state and now serves as a model for similar programs around the country.
"Excellent patient outcomes depend on uniform approaches to patient care that are based on the best clinical and research evidence. This requires coordination and communication among multiple physician specialists, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, social workers and the patient, as well as innovative use of informatics, databases and the Internet. Providence is already on the cutting edge in each of these areas. I am proud of our progress and excited about the future."