“We are thrilled to have MD Anderson, a national and global leader in cancer care, bring its unique knowledge and unparalleled expertise to this relationship,” said Jeffrey Le Benger, MD, chairman and chief executive officer of Summit Medical Group.
Berkeley Heights, NJ (PRWEB) October 23, 2014
Summit Medical Group and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have signed a letter of intent to develop a joint, outpatient cancer center, as an extension of MD Anderson’s partnership with Cooper University Health Care, that will provide an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to oncology care in northern New Jersey.
The agreement is the first of its kind between MD Anderson and a physician-owned and governed multispecialty group. Summit Medical Group and MD Anderson will work together to plan and develop the new outpatient center. MD Anderson will provide clinical oversight and management for the program, which will include radiation oncology, medical oncology, infusion and diagnostic imaging.
When formalized, Summit Medical Group will become a member of MD Anderson Cancer Network®, the institution’s program to elevate the quality of cancer care in communities throughout the nation and the world. The relationship will enable Summit Medical Group to be operationally and clinically integrated with MD Anderson and contribute to the institution’s mission to end cancer.
The relationship will provide Summit Medical Group patients access to MD Anderson’s world-renowned treatment protocols, extensive clinical trials and cutting edge research, while remaining in the care of their Summit Medical Group primary care physicians, oncologists and other healthcare specialists. Summit Medical Group will be able to provide comprehensive cancer care to its patients from diagnosis to survivorship, ensure strong communication between all treating physicians and preserve the patient-physician relationships that have existed for many years.
“We are thrilled to have MD Anderson, a national and global leader in cancer care, bring its unique knowledge and unparalleled expertise to this relationship,” said Jeffrey Le Benger, MD, chairman and chief executive officer of Summit Medical Group. “Together with our multidisciplinary model that is transforming how healthcare is delivered in New Jersey, we are better positioned to provide comprehensive, world-class cancer care to patients and their families.”
“MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper is a hugely successful partnership that delivers MD Anderson’s proven model of cancer treatment, care and research to South Jersey patients,” said Thomas Burke, MD, executive vice president of MD Anderson Cancer Network. “We look forward to extending our partnership with Cooper and building a relationship with Summit Medical Group to further elevate cancer care in Northern New Jersey and advance our mission to end cancer.”
“Since partnering with MD Anderson Cancer Center, Cooper has had an overwhelming response which shows the value that MD Anderson brings to the people of New Jersey,” said George E. Norcross, III, Chairman of the Board at Cooper.
Located in Houston, Texas, MD Anderson is the largest freestanding cancer center in the world. For the past 25 years, it has ranked as one of the top two cancer treatment centers in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Hospitals” surveys. 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. 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.
Summit Medical Group is the state’s largest multispecialty physician group with more than 500 practitioners in 50 locations throughout central and northern New Jersey. Its Diamond Hill campus in Berkeley Heights is home to its NAPBC-accredited Breast Care Center, one of only two centers in New Jersey designated a National Consortium of Breast Centers Certified Quality Breast Center of Excellence. Onsite services at Diamond Hill also include laboratory with anatomic pathology and cytology testing, diagnostic radiological imaging services, infusion suite, genetic counseling and access to more than 80 American Medical Association specialties and services. Its board-certified oncologists and hematologists are members of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Atlantic Health System’s Carol G. Simon Cancer Center and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Summit Medical Group physicians are consistently ranked as top doctors in local, state and regional surveys.
About Summit Medical Group
Summit Medical Group (SMG) is the largest privately held multispecialty medical practice in New Jersey. SMG maintains a 42-acre healthcare campus in Berkeley Heights and 50 additional practice locations in central and northern New Jersey. As an East Coast premier multispecialty group, SMG has provided exceptional primary and specialty care since 1929. For more, visit http://www.summitmedicalgroup.com.
About MD Anderson
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. MD Anderson is one of only 41 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). For the past 25 years, MD Anderson has ranked as one of the nation's top two cancer centers in U.S. News & World Report's annual "Best Hospitals" survey. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).
About MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper
Cooper University Health Care and MD Anderson Cancer Center partnered to create MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper and opened a new free-standing cancer center on the Health Sciences Campus in Camden, New Jersey in 2013. MD Anderson Cooper brings together MD Anderson’s world-renowned expertise and Cooper’s regional leadership in a partnership that opens up a broader range of options for cancer patients in South Jersey, Delaware and the Greater Philadelphia region. MD Anderson Cooper physicians, in Camden, Voorhees, Willingboro and Mount Laurel (CyberKnife), N.J. locations, adhere to the philosophy, process and guidelines set by MD Anderson in Houston, Texas, and patients receive the same proven practice standards and treatment protocols provided at MD Anderson. Disease-site specific multidisciplinary teams, consisting of physicians, nurses and other clinical specialists, work together to provide cancer patients with advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies as well as access to a wide range of groundbreaking clinical trials.
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