FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (January 8, 2015) – Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston have entered into a five-year affiliation agreement that expands their collaboration first begun in 2010. This is the first agreement of its kind outside of New England for Massachusetts General Hospital, the largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
“Our relationship with the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center has been very successful as we collaborate on new ways to provide leading-edge oncology care to our mutual patients,” said Dr. Patrick A. Taylor, president and CEO of Holy Cross Hospital. “This agreement brings additional access to advanced care for cancer patients living in South Florida as well as a continuity of care for their patients as they travel to our community.”
Patients treated at the Michael and Dianne Bienes Comprehensive Cancer Center at Holy Cross Hospital will have access to an increased number of clinical trials and medical treatments. Genetic counseling services will be expanded and offered to all patients with a wide variety of cancer types to allow for the most personalized cancer medicine to be utilized.
Patients will also have access to the specialists at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and will receive timely referrals for second opinions and improved coordination of care. Physicians will be able to utilize an expanded rapid access process for patients needing to be seen either in Fort Lauderdale or Boston for their services.
“We are thrilled with the enhanced relationship we have now with Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale,” said Dr. David P. Ryan, Clinical Director of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Chief of Hematology Oncology at Mass General. “This is our first integrated collaboration outside the New England area and we could not have chosen a better partner for this new way of providing the world’s best oncology care to our mutual patients.”
Physicians in both organizations will participate in weekly multidisciplinary patient case presentations as well as regular quality improvement reviews and patients may choose to have their medical records shared between specialists at the two hospitals. Under the agreement, physicians practicing in the Holy Cross Hospital Michael and Dianne Bienes Comprehensive Cancer Center will become non-clinical consultant members of the Massachusetts General Hospital medical staff.
About Holy Cross Hospital
A member of Trinity Health, Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. is a full-service, non-profit Catholic hospital. Since opening its doors in 1955, the 557-bed hospital has offered progressive services and programs to meet the evolving healthcare needs of Broward County. Today, Holy Cross has more than 600 physicians on staff representing more than 40 specialties and more than 3,000 employees. To learn more about Holy Cross Hospital, visit holy-cross.com, “like” Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale on Facebook at www.facebook.com/holycrossfl, or follow @holycrossfl on Twitter.
About the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
An integral part of one of the world’s most distinguished academic medical centers, the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center is among the leading cancer care providers in the United States.
U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks the Mass General Cancer Center as one of the top ten cancer centers in the country. Its nurses were the first in Massachusetts to achieve Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in recognition of the hospital’s exceptional nursing care.
Known for providing customized, innovative treatments and compassionate care to both adults and children, the Cancer Center comprises more than 25 fully integrated, multidisciplinary clinical programs and a vast array of support and educational services. Its network of affiliations extends throughout New England and the southeastern U.S.
The Cancer Center’s commitment to eradicating cancer is fueled by scientific investigation conducted as part of one of the largest hospital-based research programs in the nation. Through a powerful synergy between laboratory scientists and bedside physicians, the Mass General Cancer Center fosters innovation in all phases of cancer research. Physician investigators conduct nearly 400 clinical trials annually.
The Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center is proud to be a founding member of a Harvard Medical School consortium designated by the National Cancer Institute as a comprehensive cancer center. This prestigious seven-member center forms the largest cancer research collaboration in the country. The promising new treatments developed through this partnership are revolutionizing the future of cancer medicine.