Mercy Memorial Hospital System of Monroe, Mich., the ProMedica Health System of Toledo, Ohio, and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit have announced a joint venture to bring "state-of-the-science" cancer care to Monroe and the surrounding communities.
Each will be an equal partner in the joint venture, to be called the Monroe Cancer Center, LLC. It will be located at 800 Stewart Road, part of the 110 acres owned by the Mercy Memorial Hospital System, about a mile and a half from the hospital campus.
The 10,000 square-foot facility will include medical and radiation oncology.
Many cancer patients in the Monroe area now travel outside their community to receive radiation therapy.
"A comprehensive cancer center in Monroe is a huge step forward for the patients and their families,” said Annette Phillips, president and CEO of the Mercy Memorial Hospital System. “(They) are often juggling work and family schedules to provide transportation to Toledo, Ann Arbor or Detroit. The new Monroe site provides the perfect combination of high quality cancer care close to home."
"ProMedica has been at the forefront of cancer treatment in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan for many years and is committed to providing world class cancer care in all of the communities we serve," said Alan Brass, ProMedica's chief executive officer.
The investment to-date in the new cancer center is approximately $5 million. Approximately seven full-time staff will be needed for the radiation oncology area, to be administered by the Karmanos Cancer Center. Another full-time physician and a team of registered nurses, medical assistants and laboratory staff will be needed for the medical oncology area, administered by Toledo Clinic Hematology/Oncology Group.
"We're proud to be one of only 40 national Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country," said Ann Schwartz, interim president and CEO of the Karmanos Cancer Institute. "We have very high standards in cancer care and it's that level of excellence that we share with our patients."
A groundbreaking for the new cancer center is expected to take place by early 2010, with the center targeted within the year. The new center has not yet been named.