BMH, MUSC and Alliance Oncology Partner to Expand Cancer Care in Beaufort
February 4, 2018
New Partnership to Relocate, Expand Cancer Services on Beaufort Memorial Hospital Campus
Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) is partnering with Alliance Oncology and the Medical University of South Carolina Health System (MUSC Health) to relocate and expand the Keyserling Cancer Center to the main hospital campus in late 2018.
The new center will be located in the Beaufort Medical Plaza, the three-story medical office building next to the hospital. Radiation oncology and infusion services will be provided on the first floor, while medical oncology physicians will be on the third floor. The move will bring together the full array of lab, imaging and breast health services that support the cancer program. Construction is expected to begin next month.
“Beaufort Memorial Hospital has been providing outstanding cancer care to the community for more than a decade,” says Russell Baxley, MHA, President and CEO of Beaufort Memorial Hospital. “Our new and expanded partnership with MUSC and Alliance Oncology will allow us to offer cutting-edge technology and resources locally, providing the latest in cancer care to our patients.”
Last fall BMH officials announced that they would be moving the cancer center to a new location to consolidate and expand cancer services. The newly formed partnership provides both the capital investment and program development expertise required to expand and upgrade services to meet the growing needs of the Lowcountry.
At the new Beaufort Memorial Keyserling Cancer Center, an MUSC clinical advisory committee will collaborate closely with local oncology experts and a dedicated clinical liaison will be onsite in the radiation oncology center. This expands upon the collaboration that was formed in 2016 when the cancer center began enrolling qualifying cancer patients in clinical trials through an affiliation with the National Cancer Institute-designated Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC.
“Given the needs of our patients throughout the state, it is imperative that we find innovative affiliations such as this one to ensure we are reaching all of those who need the expertise of our teams,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., CEO, MUSC Health and Vice President for Health Affairs at Medical University of South Carolina. “We are excited and pleased to work with our colleagues at Alliance Oncology and Beaufort Memorial to bring the expertise of the Hollings Cancer Center even closer to those who need us.”
This project represents Alliance Oncology’s vision to partner with leading providers to expand regional services to communities, giving patients and their providers improved access, convenience and services closer to home.
“In partnership with MUSC Health and Beaufort Memorial Hospital we are excited to add this location benefitting the local Beaufort community, and to augment academic cancer care services in the region,” said Greg Spurlock, President of Alliance Oncology. “As one of the nation’s leading providers of cancer care, this center will join Alliance affiliated locations across the country in providing high-quality, patient-centered services in partnership with premier cancer care providers and caregivers.”
Alliance Oncology partners directly with hospitals and physicians to develop fully integrated oncology programs. Providing a full range of inpatient and outpatient service line capabilities, Alliance Oncology’s comprehensive approach to cancer care affords its partners the speed-to-market, quality clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and operational expertise that sets them apart from the competition.
About Beaufort Memorial Hospital
Opened on May 1, 1944, and licensed for 197 beds (169 acute, 14 rehabilitation, and 14 mental health), BMH serves as an acute-care hospital, a regional referral center and the largest medical facility between Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston. The hospital has a dedicated, high-quality medical staff of nearly 230 board-certified or board-eligible providers, covering dozens of specialties to meet the community’s diverse health needs. BMH opened the Keyserling Cancer Center in 2006 bringing radiation oncology services to the area, alongside a thriving medical oncology practice. In 2015 the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer renewed the hospital cancer program’s accreditation and presented it with the 2016 Outstanding Achievement Award, an honor bestowed to a fraction of U.S. accredited cancer programs. The hospital formed a clinical affiliation with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC Health) in 2016 to offer cancer clinical trials locally. The affiliation has since expanded to include telemedicine services for stroke and neonatal patients, and a planned micro hospital in Bluffton. With its mission to deliver superior healthcare services to patients and to improve the health of the community, BMH recently received the Leapfrog Group’s coveted ‘A’ rating for patient safety, the American Heart Association’s Elite Stroke Plus designation for cardiovascular care, and the Joint Commission’s disease-specific designation for its Joint Replacement Center.
About Alliance HealthCare Services
Alliance HealthCare Services is a leading national provider of outsourced medical services including radiology, oncology and interventional. We partner with healthcare providers and hospitals to provide a full continuum of services, including mobile, fixed-site and comprehensive service line management and joint venture partnerships. We also operate freestanding clinics and ASCs that are not owned by hospitals or providers. Alliance operates more than 600 diagnostic radiology, radiation therapy, and interventional radiology systems, including 99 fixed-site radiology locations, 54 cancer care centers and 9 PET/CT locations. With a strategy of partnering with hospitals, health systems and physician practices, Alliance provides quality clinical services for over 1,100 hospitals and other healthcare partners in 47 states, where approximately 2,750 Alliance Team Members are committed to providing exceptional patient care and exceeding customer expectations. For more information, visit www.alliancehealthcareservices-us.com.
About MUSC Health
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and 700 residents in six colleges (Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy), and has more than 13,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $2.4 billion, with an annual economic impact of more than $3.8 billion and annual research funding in excess of $250 million. MUSC operates a 700-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children's Hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (a National Cancer Institute-designated center), Level I Trauma Center, Institute of Psychiatry, and the state’s only transplant center. In 2017, for the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the number one hospital in South Carolina. For more information on academic programs or clinical services, visit musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit muschealth.org.