Opening Doors – Mercy Pursues Affiliation with Smilow Cancer Hospital

Dr. Philip Glynn says a recently announced partnership between Mercy Medical Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital is about ensuring that oncology patients in Western Mass. have access to the kinds of services available at leading cancer centers nationwide.
“We want to have access to services like clinical trials, genomic profiling, and genetic counseling, so it was a natural fit to find a cancer center that could offer all those advances,” said Glynn, director of medical oncology at the recently expanded Sister Caritas Cancer Center on the Mercy campus.
To date, Mercy and Smilow have only signed a letter of intent to pursue a relationship that brings the two organizations together to enhance cancer-care delivery in the region, said Dan Moen, president and CEO of the Sisters of Providence Health System, which oversees Mercy. Both organizations will now begin the process of developing a definitive agreement.
Smilow operates 12 cancer-care centers across Connecticut and is affiliated with Yale Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center — one of only 41 in the nation and the only one in Connecticut with this designation.
By combining the resources of the two institutions, Moen explained, Smilow Cancer Hospital specialists will be able to provide expanded treatment options and research initiatives in collaboration with medical oncologists at Mercy. Plans call for the Sister Caritas Cancer Center to become an affiliate of Smilow. Under that affiliation, patients at Mercy will have access to Smilow’s specialized oncology programs.

New Frontiers
Take genomic profiling, for example. According to the National Cancer Institute, this method is used to learn about all the genes in a person or in a specific cell type, and the way those genes interact with each other and with the environment. Genomic profiling may be used to find out why some people get certain diseases while others do not, or why people react in different ways to the same drug. It may also be used to help develop new ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases, including cancer.
“With genomic profiling, when we look at somebody’s tumor, we can look at specific features of the tumor and can direct therapy,” Glynn said. “Sometimes it will help us identify a mutation that can be a target for a specific treatment.”
Meanwhile, “genetic counseling looks at a patient’s familial predispositions they’ve developed for cancer,” he added, which can help doctors assess the chance for disease occurrence or recurrence and direct the patient to lifestyle choices that might counter those odds.
As for drug trials, the partnership with Smilow will open up new opportunities for patients in Western Mass. to benefit from the development of new, promising treatments or combinations of medications, Glynn noted. “We’ll have access to clinical trials to offer to our patients for a wide variety of cancers.”
Moen called the affiliation with Smilow “a progressive and innovative initiative to provide cancer patients in Western Massachusetts with the most comprehensive and leading-edge diagnosis and treatment available. This opportunity with Smilow Cancer Hospital would allow us to partner with one of the region’s leading cancer hospitals.”
Dr. Rogerio Lilenbaum, Smilow’s chief medical officer, was equally effusive.
“We look forward to exploring new opportunities to work directly with Mercy Medical Center … through access to clinical trials, genetic programs, and second opinions,” he said. “We expect to develop programs that provide new access for patients in Western Massachusetts through our shared commitment to providing the best cancer care available.”
Earlier this year, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford — which is, like Mercy, a member of Trinity Health New England — launched an integrated oncology-services program with Smilow Cancer Hospital. The partnership gives Saint Francis patients enhanced access to clinical trials, broader screening and diagnostic tools, more treatment options, expanded psychosocial support, and enhanced pain-management therapies, Moen said, expecting that Mercy will reap similar benefits.

Space Race
The Sister Caritas Cancer Center recently completed a $15 million dollar expansion that added 26,000 square feet of clinical space, creating the ability to conduct 30,000 treatments per year. The original footprint included 16,000 square feet of space; new spaces will include physician offices and exam rooms, as well as treatment bays, an oncology pharmacy, and laboratory space.
The project was a necessary one, as the number of patients receiving chemotherapy at the center, which first opened in 2003, had dramatically increased over the last few years, and hospital leaders expect the need for outpatient cancer services to grow by 26{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} by 2022.
The center has recently expanded its offerings in some creative ways, Glynn said, including certification in the national STAR (Survivorship Training and Rehabilitation) program, which focuses on improving the lives of cancer survivors who experience side effects caused by treatment.
“Many people who go through the cancer experience have some sort of adverse consequences from their treatment,” he explained. “Commonly it’s just a temporary thing — they may need rehabilitation for fatigue, pain, neuropathy, or balance issues. We have a group of physical-therapy experts who have taken some specialized training and become certified through the STAR program, who offer a program of rehabilitation for our cancer patients.”
It’s one more way that the Sister Caritas Cancer Center is improving the ways it diagnoses cancer patients, treats their disease, and helps them recover. The Smilow affiliation, Glynn said, will open up a host of new, innovative opportunities.
“It’s a much more comprehensive care model,” he said of what Smilow will bring to the table. “Really, these sorts of services are evolving to become the standard of care.”