New York, New Jersey hospitals join forces on cancer treatment
Collaboration will offer more clinical trials and access to cancer experts.
Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey
Valley Health System will be partnering with Mount Sinai Health System to offer cancer care in northern New Jersey, the two systems have announced.
Valley expects to provide enhanced inpatient and outpatient cancer services by offering access to more clinical trials, as well as having available Mount Sinai's cancer experts, and the development of new programs and services.
The two systems announced plans to join forces on clinical programs and research in December 2015. The oncology alliance is among the first such collaborations between the two organizations at Valley's Blumenthal Cancer Center in Paramus and the main campus in Ridgewood.
In the future, the groups will launch medical science-based research programs and link information systems, as well as develop a clinically- integrated physician network.
New York City-based Mount Sinai comprises seven hospitals and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Valley Health System, headquartered in Ridgewood, New Jersey, includes The Valley Hospital, Valley Home Care, and Valley Medical Group.
In May, Mount Sinai unveiled a $500 million effort to create Mount Sinai Downtown.
[Also: Mount Sinai makes bold $500 million 'Mt. Sinai Downtown' modernization]
According to Robert Korst, M.D., medical director of Valley's Blumenthal Cancer Center, new treatments and treatment protocols for cutaneous malignancies will be among the first Mount Sinai clinical trials that Valley patients will be able to access. Those malignancies include melanoma and other skin cancers; genitourinary malignancies, including prostate and kidney cancers; and hematologic cancers and serious blood disorders, including leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes. Some treatment protocols will include bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapeutic vaccines.
"Many of these new treatments are at the vanguard of cancer care today," said Korst in a statement, adding that Valley cancer experts can expect "expanded clinical research opportunities" with their Mount Sinai colleagues.
One aspect of the partnership, according to the two groups, is the opportunity for multidisciplinary videoconferences, during which cancer care experts at both hospitals will discuss patient cases with a goal to determine the best treatment, follow-up and management of individual patients. Physicians, researchers, nurses, social workers and other members of the cancer care teams at both cancer facilities will participate in these videoconferences.
The American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer has awarded Valley's cancer program a three-year accreditation with Commendation Gold Level, the highest level of recognition and one attained by only 30 percent of cancer centers in the United States. It has also been honored by the Commission with a 2015 Outstanding Achievement Award. Valley is one of only two hospitals in New Jersey to receive this award in 2015.
Other recognitions include a Women's Choice Award as one of America's Best Hospitals for Cancer Care, and six gold seals for cancer care from The Joint Commission.
Twitter: @JELagasse
