LEHIGH VALLEY HEALTH NETWORK announced it will join the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance.
Established in 2013, the MSK Cancer Alliance is a partnership between MSK and community oncology providers.
The Lehigh Valley Health Network includes five hospital campuses—three in Allentown, one in Bethlehem and one in Hazleton, Pa., as well as 13 health centers in five counties, and numerous primary and specialty care physician practices throughout the region.
Lehigh Valley’s cancer program has been selected a National Cancer Center Community Cancer Centers Program, and was responsible for the care of 3,200 newly diagnosed cancer patients in 2014. Children’s Hospital at Lehigh Valley Hospital, the only children’s hospital in the region, provides care in 28 specialties and general pediatrics.
Lehigh Valley Health Network has been recognized by US News & World Report for 20 consecutive years as one of America’s Best Hospitals and is a national Magnet hospital for excellence in nursing.
“Our collaboration with MSK will save lives by bringing evidence-based, world-class standards to our entire health network,” said Brian Nester, president and CEO of Lehigh Valley.
Over the next several months, healthcare providers from both institutions will work to ensure that resources, capabilities, and standards of care are in line the MSK Cancer Alliance.
Additionally, Lehigh Valley physicians will have opportunities to visit MSK’s New York City facilities to observe techniques, and both institutions will share educational resources and begin the process of putting into place the infrastructure necessary to measure outcomes data.
Educational programs and opportunities for the general public and professional audiences will be made available on-site at Lehigh Valley campuses.
“Central to our mission is eradicating cancer, and through the MSK Cancer Alliance—and in collaboration with Lehigh Valley Health Network—we have a unique opportunity to share our knowledge and best practices with a wider patient population,” said Craig Thompson, president and CEO of MSK.
With more than 800 clinical trials currently available at its facilities, MSK will be able to provide Lehigh Valley patients the opportunity to participate in clinical trials not previously open to them.
“We look forward to learning firsthand how advances can be more easily applied in a community setting through the MSK Cancer Alliance, while doing so in the most cost-effective way, since our Alliance does not require major structural changes such as the development of new facilities,” said José Baselga, MSK physician-in-chief.
