Rex Healthcare's bid to buy DVD players and Netflix subscriptions for cancer patients getting chemotherapy has been selected as a finalist in the Pepsi Refresh Project for November.
The Pepsi project awards money to a wide range of ideas that will have a positive impact. Winners are chosen by public vote, and visitors to the website can vote once a day through Nov. 30. There's also a link at the top of Rex's website.
The Raleigh hospital proposed using the $5,000 grant to develop "The Hollywood Treatment." The program would purchase 20 portable DVD players, 20 headphones and 2-year subscriptions to Netflix's DVD service.
The Rex Cancer Center is one of the busiest in the state. It administered 7,200 chemotherapy treatments last year, and the average patient spends about four-and-a-half hours per week in treatment.
“Chemotherapy treatment is tough. This project is a simple way we can improve the care experience we offer to cancer patients, and make their days a little bit brighter,” said Vickie Byler, director of Rex Cancer Center, in a statement.
The Pepsi contest is partly social-media marketing, and Rex officials are encouraging employees and friends to spread the word through Facebook and other means.
Of course, if Rex doesn't win the Pepsi grant, officials will probably find a way to pay for the DVD players anyway.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or