Good Samaritan Hospital Partners With IU Simon Cancer Center

              

    A new era in cancer treatment has begun at Good Samaritan Hospital as the hospital’s Cancer Pavilion and Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center / Clarian Health have joined forces to fight cancer together. The two institutions announced in December of 2009 an affiliation agreement. The agreement gives Good Samaritan Hospital access to the resources and services of the IU Simon Cancer Center, an IU School of Medicine and Clarian Health partnership.

   Matthew Bailey, President and CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital says the goal of the affiliation is to benefit cancer patients in this community by integrating clinical advancements with patient-centered care.

    “This partnership with the IU Simon Cancer Center gives our patients access to world-class treatment right here in Vincennes,” said Bailey. “The affiliation will build on the outstanding treatment our patients have already come to expect from the Cancer Pavilion.”

    During the announcement press conference earlier this month Patrick Loehrer, M.D., Interim Director of Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, said affiliations are important because there are so many people who are diagnosed with cancer. “It’s impossible for one hospital to treat cancer patients alone, that’s why we must form partnerships with hospital’s like the IU Simon Cancer Center has done with Good Samaritan so that we can share resources and fight cancer together,” he stated.

    The affiliation includes clinical, research, and educational components. The clinical component ensures access to the IU Simon Cancer Center’s highly specialized physicians, its reports and results to Good Samaritan’s referring physicians and their patients, and makes IU Simon Cancer Center physicians available for second opinions.

  The research component makes it possible for Good Samaritan patients to enroll in clinical trials at the cancer center and through the Hoosier Oncology Group, a working association of IU medical center physicians and 400 oncologists statewide. The educational component will allow the Good Samaritan staff to participate in grand rounds and conferences, special education venues, lectures by IU faculty, and training for non-physician staff.

    “The educational opportunities the affiliation brings will allow our staff to expand their oncology knowledge from a world-renowned cancer center, and then bring that knowledge back to our facility and patients. The clinical trials and access to second opinions from IU Simon Cancer Center physicians will also be a huge benefit to our patients,” added Kurt Maddock, M.D., a breast surgeon at Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Director of its Cancer Care Program.

     Fuad Hammoudeh, administrator of IU Simon Cancer Center / Clarian Health cancer programs, said he looks forward to collaborating with the physicians and staff at Good Samaritan Hospital. “The affiliation agreement is good news for cancer patients and their families in the Vincennes area. We are committed to supporting and enhancing the excellent cancer services already available at Good Samaritan Hospital,” he added. “Our success will be evidenced through a continuous evaluation of the skills, talents and performance contributed by all of the team members here in Vincennes and in Indianapolis.”