South Carolina nurse included on Jill Biden’s State of the Union guest list

WASHINGTON (WCBD) – Twenty guests, including a woman from South Carolina, are set to join First Lady Jill Biden in her viewing box to watch the State of the Union (SOTU) address on Thursday,

President Joe Biden will deliver his address to the American people and a joint session of Congress, laying out his vision for a second term months before the presidential election.

Guests invited to attend the SOTU “personify issues or themes to be addressed by the President in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies at work for the American people,” the White House said.

Among those on the First Lady’s guest list is Kris Blackley, an oncology nurse from Fort Mill, S.C.

Blackley serves as the Director of Patient Navigation for the Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute. She has published research related to patient navigation showing improved outcomes, including decreased readmissions, increased treatment compliance, and equity in care.

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She met with the First Lady during a February 2023 visit to Atrium Health, sharing how the health system plans to expand access to patient navigation services to more cancer patients and their families.

The expansion of these services, which help guide individuals, caregivers, and families through cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, is part of the administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.

President Biden and Dr. Biden reignited the initiative in early 2022 aiming to cut the cancer death rate in half within 25 years and improve the lives of cancer patients and survivors.

Others on the guest list highlight additional priorities of the Biden Administration, including gun violence prevention, reproductive rights, workforce development, public health, and student loan debt forgiveness.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden are also expected to sit with the First Lady.

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