INDIANAPOLIS – June 15, 2007, St.Vincent Indianapolis Hospital has been selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to participate in the pilot phase of a new program that, if fully implemented, will help bring state-of-the-art cancer care to patients in community hospitals across the United States.
The 126-year-old faith-based institution is the only Indiana hospital participating in the program, and one of three Ascension Health hospitals named today by the NCI part of the National Institutes of Health, to participate in a three-year pilot for the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP).
The program is designed to encourage the collaboration of private-practice medical, surgical and radiation oncologists – with close links to NCI research and to the network of 63 NCI-designated Cancer Centers principally based at large research universities.
Evidence from a wide range of studies suggests that patients with cancer diagnosed and treated in such a setting of multi-specialty care and clinical research may live longer and have a better quality of life. “We are very proud to have this designation bestowed upon our Oncology Center of Excellence,” said Patricia A. Maryland, DrPH, president of St.Vincent Hospitals. “It moves our program to a national level.”
The pilot program will research new and enhanced ways to assist, educate and better treat the needs of underserved populations—including elderly, rural, inner-city and low-income patients—as well as racial and ethnic groups with unusually high cancer rates.
“St.Vincent Oncology Services has been a leader over the years in using the latest innovations in cancer care, and will now help define the exact innovations,” said Michael Wiemann, MD, chief medical officer of St.Vincent Hospital. “Our program is involved in more than 60 clinical trials that advance cancer treatment and offer patients hope statewide. This pilot will allow us to continue to provide the best and most advanced care to our patients with the latest and most advanced equipment, research and treatment.”
The pilot will begin at eight free-standing community hospitals and six additional locations that are part of national health care systems. The sites will be funded for a collective total of $5 million per year.
An NCI panel of experts and an independent group of outside experts will set milestones, monitor progress and evaluate success of the three-year pilot and then issue recommendations for a full-fledged program.
NCCCP pilot sites will study how community hospitals nationwide could most effectively develop and implement a national database of voluntarily-provided electronic medical records accessible to cancer researchers. The sites will also study methods of expanding and standardizing the collection of blood and tissue specimens voluntarily obtained from patients for cancer research.
“It is becoming clear that one of the greatest determinants of cancer mortality in the years ahead will be access to care,” said NCI Director John E. Niederhuber, M.D. “This program will succeed if it can bring the benefits of our latest science to people in the communities where they live.”
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St.Vincent Hospitals and Health Services
Driven by the faith of four Daughters of Charity who arrived in Indianapolis in 1881 with $34.77 in their pockets, the St.Vincent Hospital mission is to treat the poor and sick by following our Core Values of Service of the Poor, Reverence, Integrity, Wisdom, Creativity and Dedication. Our healthcare ministry has grown to include seven Centers of Excellence: Women's, Children's, Orthopedics, Cardiovascular, Neuroscience, Oncology and Bariatrics. The ageless mission of St.Vincent remains unchanged: to minister to the minds, bodies and spirits of those in need.
