Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian (Hoag) and Keck Medicine of the University
of Southern California (USC) have announced a partnership that establishes
a new comprehensive cancer and oncology services program for Orange County
at Hoag Family Cancer Institute.
Hoag and USC also announce the hiring of Burton L. Eisenberg, M.D., as
executive medical director of the cancer program. Eisenberg, who will
be based at Hoag, comes from the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer
Center, where he served as deputy director and associate director of clinical
research. An academic medical center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, located in
Lebanon, N.H., is a national leader in patient-centered health care. The
Norris Cotton Cancer Center is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated
comprehensive cancer centers in the country.
The new Hoag/USC partnership marries Orange County’s largest community
cancer program with the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of
the nation’s premier academic cancer centers. The latest collaboration
between the two leading medical centers promises to enhance patient care
by significantly expanding cancer research and treatment in Orange County.
The announcement comes at a time when national health experts are calling
for improved quality of care for cancer patients. Barriers to achieving
excellent care for such patients remain daunting with demand for cancer
care projected to skyrocket, according to a new report from the Institute
of Medicine in Washington, D.C. The report is available at http://ow.ly/pxX32.
The report says that by 2022 there will be 18 million cancer survivors
and, by 2030, cancer incidence is expected to rise to 2.3 million new
diagnoses per year. Currently about 14 million people in the U.S. have
had cancer, with more than 1.6 million new cases diagnosed each year.
One of the recommendations in the report, released in September, is shifting
to team-based models of care, similar to the partnership forged by Hoag and USC.
“The implications of this agreement are far-reaching,” said
Jack Cox, M.D., senior vice president and chief quality officer of Hoag.
“We are equally strong partners coming together to deliver cancer
care in a new and different way in Orange County, with the potential to
extend this new delivery model to our St. Joseph Health affiliate partners
in the future.
“By teaming with USC, we will be able to expand our cutting-edge
care by providing patients access to university-based clinical trials,
academic training programs and quaternary care extension.”
The cancer affiliation between Hoag and USC is the latest example of strategic
alignments for Hoag, which formally affiliated earlier this year with
St. Joseph Health to further expand health care services in the Orange
County community.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis,
Tenn., Eisenberg will oversee development of infrastructure and standardized
practices for the new program, as well as the identification, recruitment
and retention of outstanding physicians specializing in oncology and oncology
related services.
“The increasing complexities of cancer care delivery as well as
complete care of the cancer patient require a new multidisciplinary approach,”
Eisenberg said. “The Hoag/USC aligned cancer programs will provide
an innovative spectrum of cancer treatment. This includes better access
to new cancer therapies, development of evidence based standardized clinical
pathways and informed cancer research choices that will be transforming
in the years to come.”
Eisenberg’s background as chairman of the department of surgical
oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia and deputy director
at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center makes him an important
asset to the new program.
“The Orange County community will benefit from a new, unparalleled
level of cancer care that not only focuses on treating this disease but
also on helping people thrive after treatment,” said Robert Braithwaite,
president and chief executive officer of Hoag. “We are thrilled
to welcome a leader with the pedigree and experience of Dr. Eisenberg
to lead this program.”
Each year, Hoag Family Cancer Institute treats more than 3,000 people
newly diagnosed with cancer, making it the largest cancer program in Orange
County. The new partnership with USC gives Hoag patients access to the
most innovative resources available in cancer care, while providing USC
the opportunity to develop the kind of expertise in community health that
has made Hoag a health care leader.
"This partnership is tremendously exciting. We’re joining the
best of academic medicine with the best of private practice, working together
to make sure that the care close to home is the best possible, and also
to ensure that the cutting-edge, advanced care and clinical trials at
USC Norris are also accessible," said Tom Jackiewicz, CEO and senior
vice president of USC Health. "Local is better for the patient, hands
down. This partnership ensures that the best care will be delivered locally
whenever possible, while also offering treatment at Keck Medicine of USC
if needed."
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center provides a full range of oncologic
and hematologic services. Part of Keck Medicine of USC, the cancer center
is one of the first eight comprehensive cancer centers established by
the National Cancer Institute as the result of the National Cancer Act of 1971.
The new cancer and oncology services program at Hoag will include the
development of a local research program and expansion of access to ongoing
USC Norris clinical trials for Hoag patients will occur as the relationship
progresses.
"This innovative partnership with the team at USC provides our world-class
Hoag physicians access to more clinical trials, as well as additional
sub-specialty expertise and resources, allowing us to provide a new level
of care to our patients," said Louis VanderMolen, M.D., medical oncologist
at Hoag Family Cancer Institute.
Along with Eisenberg, Hoag and USC announced the appointment of Dori Holnagel,
M.B.A., as executive administrator of Hoag Family Cancer Institute. Prior
to this appointment Holnagel served as executive director of Operations
for Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute, a position she held since 2007.
The new cancer and oncology services program is the latest – and
undoubtedly the most significant – in a series of successful partnerships
between Hoag and USC aimed at combining the resources and talent of both
respected organizations, which have been collaborating on ways to better
serve the health care needs of the region since 2008.
Hoag Breast Center is the first and only breast center in Orange County
to be designated as a Certified Quality Breast Center of Excellence by
the National Consortium of Breast Centers. The Hoag-USC Surgical Center
for Digestive Diseases is the first comprehensive, multidisciplinary digestive
diseases program of its kind in Orange County, providing a patient-centered,
integrated team approach using the best in evidence-based medicine, progressive
technology and innovative treatment options.
“This builds upon our current relationship with USC, both in our
breast center and the surgical center, in an incredibly meaningful and
tangible way for those in need of cancer care in our community,”
Braithwaite said.