When the nation's leading cancer advocacy group took a hard look at itself 5 years ago, it didn't like what it saw.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) decided that it wasn't doing all that it should to save the lives of cancer patients, so it decided to change.
That, according to American Cancer Society CEO John Seffrin, PhD, was the motivation for a multi-year overhaul known inside the halls at ACS as the "transformation."
Seffrin, who will end his 23-year stint at the helm of the ACS at the end of this month, agreed to discuss the impetus for the overhaul and other issues in an exclusive telephone interview with ڴŮ. ACS Atlanta-based media relations managing director Elissa McCrary also was on the line.
The transformation process has not, however, been smooth sailing. For example, in last 18 months a number of top ACS executives have resigned: ACS' president and COO Gregory Bontrager unexpectedly tendered his resignation last December, Lin MacMaster, the society's first chief revenue and marketing officer, resigned last August, and Greg Donaldson, national corporate vice president for corporate communications, left in November 2013.
The Genesis of Transformation
Seffrin said that in May 2010 he went to ACS' board and said, "We're saving about 350 more lives per day from cancer than we were in 1991, when death rates started to go down for the first time in history, and we have data that show we could be saving as many as 1,000 lives a day."
He said that the board got behind him and after a few months passed a resolution to go through transformation, and that "although it's technically not finished, we've got a leg up and I think it will be a very successful transformation."
Seffrin added that issues related to revenue and income caused some belt tightening and that some people were involved in voluntary separation offerings, some nearing retirement left earlier, and that some key leadership roles, such as revenue and marketing, still had to find the right person.
"There were personnel changes at virtually all levels, including the senior level, and those changes were part of transformation, which was a conscious decision by the American Cancer Society because we are never satisfied with the status quo," he said, noting that the 350 lives a day were now up to 500, and that "if we do the right things, this could be cancer's last century as a pubic health problem."
Dr. President
He said part of transformation involved breaking down silos and getting the right leaders in the right place at the right time. He mentioned one former COO who had been promoted but wanted a job "that really was mine and not available right now" and went on to be successful elsewhere.
Another part of the transformation involved elimination of a voluntary position held by a physician -- the voluntary president who also served as the ACS' public face. That post was last held by Vincent T. DeVita Jr., MD in 2013.
"Let me say this about that. That decision was made earlier and discussed by the board for a year and Vince supported it. Since we eliminated the assembly [that voted for president], the president did not have a role. In the new governance we have a board science officer, Arnold M. Baskies, MD, and we went from 11 officers to five, which is the best of both worlds," he said, adding that Otis W. Brawley, MD, is the staff scientific and medical officer.
Grassroots Still Green
Regarding allegations that ACS' vaunted grassroots network has eroded and there have been declines in revenue from the community-based Relay for Life, Seffrin responded: "The only thing taken off the table for transformation was our mission statement, which many marketers and others said was too broad and comprehensive, but which our staff and volunteers are very proud of."
He said the statement is: "ACS is the nationwide community-based healthcare association dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing it through research, education, advocacy, and service," and that no other organization in any sector -- government or private, profit or nonprofit -- has more of a community presence than "your American Cancer Society."
He said that revenue from Relay for Life has "gone down and we're hoping that that has bottomed out and will go in the other direction and we're working on it," emphasizing that the society "is the only organization that has trained, committed volunteer cancer survivors in all 435 congressional districts and that's a big deal."
"I like to say we have 3-million full time volunteers and that's an unbelievable infrastructure," noting that the number has increased over the past 2 decades, and "there has been no loss in community engagement."
Seffrin said there is consensus within ACS that transformation is critical to its future, and that he -- and he believes Gary Reedy, his successor, -- will measure success by "demonstrating improved market share and revenue, since with no money, no mission." He expects the process will take another 12 to 36 months to see some real tangible results: "how many more lives we're saving."
Research Funding
According to Seffrin the ACS' total research spending was 20% of its budget and that included extramural grants as well as its intramural research program.
"We are the only large voluntary organization with a huge world-class intramural research program, and the benefits of that are over the top."
He said that ACS strongly believes that it's necessary to fund more research for itself, others, and the federal government, and he was concerned about the erosion of the NIH and NCI budgets, and that ACS is working on more creative ways to garner resources and persuade others that funding government research has gone from "a good bet to a sure bet."
As for life after ACS, Seffrin said he intends to "remain engaged in the cancer space at large." He said he doesn't know that he'll have any formal role with the ACS but that he'll be just a phone call away if needed.
A past president of the Geneva-headquartered Union for International Cancer Control, Seffrin hopes to continue his interest in global cancer issues, and as a former professor of health education at Indiana University, he says he may return part time to academia in some type of "professor of practice" position.
Wrangling an Interview
The ongoing transformation does not, however, appear to have made the ACS more efficient, at least in terms of responding to media requests.
In the case of this interview, which is one of a series of articles examining the inner workings of the ACS, the process started a month ago when both David Sampson, the ACS' California-based media relations director, and Hill and Knowlton Strategies, a New York-based public relations firm, reached out to offer an interview with Seffrin.
These offers were surprising but welcomed since ڴŮ had been covering the aftermath of the "transformation" process for several months and had requested interviews with Seffrin each time, but each time was told that he was not available.
What followed was a series of delays and back-peddling, during which time ڴŮ also requested an interview with Raul Duany, ACS' senior VP of corporate communications.
But with no response, ڴŮ informed the ACS that it would write a story about the apparent stonewalling.
Following that communication, the Seffrin interview finally came to fruition, and soon after Duany called and offered an explanation for the delays.
Duany said that the delay was due to timing issues rather than an attempt at stonewalling.