Agreement brings advanced oncology care to residents of far west suburbs, broadens access to cancer research
January 7, 2008--Loyola University Health System (LUHS) and Central DuPage Hospital (CDH) have entered into a 10-year agreement that will bring medical oncologists from Loyola's Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Maywood, to CDH to provide care at the Winfield hospital.
“This is a major step in Central DuPage Hospital becoming a destination hospital for cancer services,” said Luke McGuinness, CDH chief executive officer.
The Loyola Cancer Care & Research Center at Central DuPage Hospital will offer the latest technology and techniques to area residents who have cancer. Access to clinical studies and investigational drugs are among the benefits provided for patients under the new agreement. Beginning in February, the program will be based temporarily at the Loyola Primary Care Center at Wheaton, 140 E. Loop Road. Before the end of
2008, the program will move to its expanded facilities at the Central DuPage Hospital campus, 25 N. Winfield Road, Winfield.
Lucio Di Nunno, MD is the Loyola faculty member appointed as medical director of oncology services and recruitment efforts are ongoing to bring a Loyola physician research director to CDH’s campus as well. Kenneth Micetich, MD, Kevin Barton, MD, and Laura Horvath, MD, all experienced faculty in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, will also have a presence at CDH.
“We believe this is an important collaboration and milestone for Loyola,” said
LUHS President and CEO Paul K. Whelton, MB, MD, MSc. “We are pleased to bring academic research and care to complement the high-quality care at CDH and to further our mission of broadening access to our world-class services and leading-edge research. Now, patients from the far western suburbs can enjoy the comforts of their home hospital as they benefit from the evidence-based care brought by specialists from Loyola, the only academic medical center in the western suburbs of Chicago,” Whelton added.
An onsite clinical research team will ensure that eligible patients have the chance to participate in clinical trials. In addition, in recent years, Loyola physician-researchers have focused on genetic testing and tailored therapies for cancer. That is, treatments that are custom-made in the research laboratories of Loyola’s Oncology Institute to work with a patient’s physical makeup. “We at CDH are happy to offer our patients this type of leading edge research and clinical techniques here in the community,” said Luke McGuinness, CDH chief executive officer.
In addition to its research expertise, cancer care at Loyola is also known for its commitment to look “beyond the disease” and to provide a care plan that considers a patient’s work, family, and needs for emotional support and education. “The physicians and researchers at Loyola’s cancer center have always been committed to whole-person care, ensuring that our patients receive the full benefit of an academic medical center,” said Dr. Patrick J. Stiff, professor of medicine and pathology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and director of Loyola’s Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center.
“Beyond offering excellent clinical programs in bone marrow transplant as well as in cancers of the breast, lung and digestive tract, we use a multidisciplinary team approach, so that every patient’s care plan has the benefit of a large pool of expertise,” Stiff added.
Loyola’s cancer program was ranked among the top 50 in the nation by US News & World Report in 2007, and has held that ranking three times in the past four years.
Loyola University Health System (LUHS) is a member of Trinity Health. Based in the western suburbs of Chicago, LUHS is a quaternary care system with a 61-acre main medical center campus, the 36-acre Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus and more than 30 primary and specialty care facilities in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, 13 miles west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles east of Oak Brook, Ill. The heart of the medical center campus, Loyola University Hospital, is a 569-licensed-bed facility. It houses a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Burn Center and the Ronald McDonald® Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the LUC Stritch School of Medicine, the LUC Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the Loyola Center for Fitness. Loyola's Gottlieb campus in Melrose Park includes the 264-licensed-bed community hospital, the Professional Office Building housing 150 private practice clinics, the Adult Day Care, the Gottlieb Center for Fitness, Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care and the Loyola Cancer Care & Research at the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Center at Melrose Park.