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Press release from Providence St. Joseph Hospital:

Ellen Mahoney, MD, medical director of the St. Joseph Hospital Eureka Cancer Program and Join Luh, MD, radiation oncologist at the Dr. Russel Pardoe Radiation Oncology Center at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, were recent recipients of awards and recognition from their peers in the field of cancer.
 
Dr. Mahoney, who has been a breast cancer surgeon in Humboldt since 2000, was chosen as one of 10 winners in the 2023 Commission on Cancer (CoC) Cancer Liaison Physician (CLP) Outstanding Performance award.
 
“When I became involved in the Cancer Program in the early 2000s, I had no familiarity with the Commission on Cancer (CoC) as a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Cancer Society,” said Mahoney. “But I have since learned to recognize its power to improve the quality of cancer care, especially in suburban and rural areas of the country. It is a true honor to be recognized by this program which has done so much to improve and sustain improvements in cancer care throughout most of the USA.”
 
Each year, the CoC Cancer Liaison Program recognizes outstanding performance by CLPs in their role as the physician quality leaders of their cancer programs. This year, more than 60 nominations were submitted and after careful review of each submission by the CoC State Chair Education Advisory Group, 10 Cancer Liaison Physicians were chosen to receive this award.
 
“Dr. Mahoney has been a trail blazer in the field of breast cancer surgery since her time as faculty at Stanford,” Interim Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officer Ranjit Hundal, MD said. “We’ve been so fortunate as a hospital and a community to have her providing clinical excellence and comfort to cancer patients and their families here on the North Coast for over two decades. Congratulations on this much deserved recognition.”
 
Dr. Luh, who has practiced at St. Joseph Hospital since 2007, was recognized by his radiation oncology peers at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recently for his clinical excellence and was named to the 2023 Class of Astro Fellows. The ASTRO Fellow designation (FASTRO) is awarded based on service to ASTRO and extraordinary contributions to the field of radiation oncology.
 
“Dr. Luh is an exceptional radiation oncologist,” said Hundal. “Along with Drs. Michael Harmon and Dusten Macdonald, they have built a program here at St. Joseph Hospital that is world-class. Dr. Luh is a tireless advocate for his patients and is committed to delivering high quality care in a compassionate and warm manner.”
 
“As a community radiation oncologist, I’m honored to be recognized by ASTRO, and join 28 distinguished radiation oncologists and physicists who have made significant contributions to research, education, and patient care,” said Luh. “This would not have been possible without the support of my practice partners Dr. Michael Harmon and Dr. Dusten Macdonald—both of whom strive to provide state of the art, compassionate cancer care in our community. With the many changes occurring in health care nationally, I am thankful to still be at St. Joseph Hospital’s ACS/CoC accredited Cancer Program in Eureka after 16 years, in my first and only job out of residency training.”