The risk of cancer increases almost exponentially with age. And Florida has the largest population of retirees in America. Clearly – it’s the perfect nexus for cancer treatment and research.
Baptist Health and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have signed a partnership agreement designed to transform oncology care in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.
The institutions have agreed to create a joint cancer program to enhance patient access to MD Anderson’s treatment protocols and translational research. Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center is anticipated to open in the fall of 2015, providing a single destination for highly coordinated, multidisciplinary cancer care for adults in the region.
Initially, the program will be housed in the Baptist Outpatient Center, on the campus of Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, where the Hill Breast Center is currently located. This temporary home will be replaced by a new cancer care building which will begin the design and build process in the coming months, with an expected opening date of 2017. This dedicated facility will be designed to serve a full continuum of cancer care needs, from screening and diagnosis to treatment and survivorship.
Baptist Health and MD Anderson are working together to recruit a dedicated team of medical oncologists and other medical and surgical experts to join the existing cancer care staff. The goal is to replicate the MD Anderson model of care, so that cancer patients and their families receive the highest level of care close to home.
“The final approval of this agreement brings us one step closer toward the realization of our partnership with an international leader in cancer care,” said Hugh Greene, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “We look forward to bringing Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center to operational and clinical reality over the coming months.”
As part of the agreement, Baptist Health will become a partner member of MD Anderson Cancer Network®, the institution’s program to elevate the quality of cancer care in communities throughout the nation and world. This means the Baptist Health cancer program will be operationally and clinically integrated with MD Anderson, so that patients at Baptist MD Anderson will benefit from the same full range of multidisciplinary care options as available in Houston, including access to ongoing cancer research and select clinical trials.
Based in Houston, MD Anderson is the largest freestanding cancer center in the world. Since its inception in 1941, nearly one million patients have sought the innovative cancer care and prevention services that have made MD Anderson so widely respected. The institution consistently has been ranked as one of the top two hospitals for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” survey. MD Anderson also ranks first in the total amount of grant dollars from the National Cancer Institute. MD Anderson employs more than 20,000 people, including more than 1,800 physicians and scientists.
Baptist Health includes five hospitals with 1,129-licensed beds, 1,644 medical staff and more than 250 outpatient facilities throughout North Florida and South Georgia. Baptist Jacksonville and Baptist South are ranked among America’s Best Regional Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report and Baptist Cancer Institute is one of the region’s leading providers of cancer prevention, screening, diagnostic and treatment services. All four of Baptist Health’s adult hospitals have NAPBC-accredited breast centers, including Hill Breast Center, which is the only dedicated breast center of its size in the region.
