Mount Carmel, James Cancer join forces
Health systems to partner to help fight the disease
Two area health systems will partner to provide better and broader cancer treatment at a Columbus-area hospital.
Normally competitors, Mount Carmel Grove City and Ohio State University’s James Cancer Hospital will work together by forming an affiliation that will begin Jan. 1, according to a release.
The affiliation will allow Mount Carmel to offer medical oncology, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments, through the James Cancer Network in the Grove City hospital. Mount Carmel Grove City was already providing radiation treatment and other cancer services, according to the release.
Mount Carmel Health CEO Lorraine Lutton called the partnership a “monumental step” for accessibility to cancer treatment.
“The James is a well-established and highly respected cancer research and cancer care provider for patients not only in central Ohio, but across the world,” Lutton said \in the release. “As caregivers, it brings us great pride to be able to provide world-renowned cancer care in Grove City and to areas where there is tremendous demand for this type of highly specialized care.”
Bringing the expertise of the James Cancer Network to Mount Carmel Grove City will give patients better access to cancer subspecialists and clinical research while minimizing the need for travel, hospital officials said. The affiliation will also open the door for Mount Carmel Grove City patients to participate in clinical trials for cancer treatment that the James is conducting.
Mount Carmel Grove City already performs more than 35,000 outpatient treatments, 3,500 inpatient treatments and 2,600 cancer surgeries each year.
“Through this affiliation with Mount Carmel Grove City, patients in our community will have expanded access to some of the most innovative and research-based medical oncology services available anywhere in the nation,” Dr. William Farrar, CEO of The James said in the release. “This new affiliation enables us to reach more cancer patients while extending our shared vision of creating a cancer-free world.”
mfilby@dispatch.com