Cancer care efforts to unify

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center will unify their cancer care efforts under the Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center brand.

In a news release, Lake President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Wester said the facilities have provided cancer treatments for more than 25 years and participated as a National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program site since 2007.

The time is right to formally acknowledge the Lake and Mary Bird’s close relationship by unifying cancer services under one brand, Wester said.

The cancer institute recently notified the cancer center that it will continue to be part of the Community Cancer Centers Program for the next two years.

“This is the natural next step in our relationship. The opportunity to work even more closely with the largest hospital in the state, and the ability to stay at the absolute forefront of cancer care through NCCCP, helps ensure the most coordinated and personalized experience for cancer patients,” Mary Bird President and Chief Executive Officer Todd Stevens said in the news release.

“Partnerships are an emerging trend in cancer care partly because of the complexity of the disease and the immense resources required for care,” she said.

While Mary Bird and the Lake will unify their cancer efforts, the two organizations said they will remain separate entities with individual boards of directors.

The Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center will be led by executives and medical staff from both providers. Cancer Center staff will continue working for their respective organizations, and physicians’ status, as members of Mary Bird or the Lake medical staffs, will not change.

Mary Bird will continue serving its other established markets and partners, it said.