Project is one of first to be funded through the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Community Partnership Program
Ashland.news staff report
Riding Beyond received $30,500 from the Knight Cancer Institute Community Partnership Program (KCICPP) at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to build a reliable information and referral model for breast cancer survivors and thrivers to address common issues following the conclusion of medical treatment.
The project will work with area hospitals, doctors and health care providers in the Rogue Valley to expand effective referrals to Riding Beyond for the research-proven benefits of the horse/human relationship for those seeking trauma recovery. The project has been developed in consultation with hospital personnel from Asante and Providence as well as professionals at OHSU.
The plan will involve three steps: first; for health care providers to gain personal experiences with Riding Beyond horses for a firsthand understanding of the benefits; second, for a one-day professionally facilitated strategic planning process involving healthcare change-makers; and third, for an action plan to be implemented in the fall of 2025.
The results of this plan will be evaluated by OHSU’s KCICPP for an additional two years of funding.
While materials about Riding Beyond have been available to patients in discharge packets for years, Riding Beyond has found that nearly half of participants find the program through family, friends, and public media notices.
Breast cancer is at epidemic proportions in developed countries and has been growing the past five years in the age groups of 30-40 year-olds, with research showing 85% of survivors emerging with PTSD diagnoses in their first year, reducing to 35% after the first year.
Survivors and thrivers post-treatment often experience challenges in reestablishing close relationships, attending to their well-being, adjusting to their new body image, experiencing discomfort touching others and being touched, returning to work routines, adapting to the threat of a cancer recurrence, and more. After-treatment resources have grown in recent years, the goal of this project is to make Riding Beyond effectively available to patients.
The program is designed to build sustainable collaborations with Oregon communities by providing grants and other resources to foster development of community-identified cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and survivorship projects. The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute has made a decade-long commitment to invest in this program to develop robust, sustainable programs that benefit the health of all Oregonians. Additional information about the program is available on the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute’s website.
Riding Beyond has served breast cancer survivors and thrivers in the Rogue Valley since 2013 with its equine-assisted services in human development. Located in Ashland, their mission is to open doors to the future with trauma recovery from breast cancer treatment, and since 2021, from other life challenges.
The founder and director of the program, Trish Broersma, is certified with the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl) as a therapeutic riding instructor and as an equine specialist in mental health and learning. Licensed mental health counselors and certified equine specialists assist in designing and conducting programs, along with a large volunteer crew and five specially-trained and talented horses (plus one donkey), all of whom endeavor to explore and share the remarkable benefits of the horse/human relationship.
See ridingbeyond.org for details.
Source: Riding Beyond news release. Email Ashland.news at news@ashland.news.
