by Emily Gersema - Dec. 4, 2011 09:09 PM
The Arizona Republic
Shovels won't break the ground for several more months, but doctors and scientists with the Arizona Cancer Center aren't waiting for construction of a new cancer center in downtown Phoenix to start their work.
Today, the Arizona Cancer Center and St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center officials are announcing an agreement to join forces on cancer research and patient care, with plans to work with other oncology physicians -- most of them in Arizona -- to help them treat their cancer patients as well.
To fulfill the agreement, St. Joseph's, which has a long history of treating cancer patients, is opening its facilities to the Arizona Cancer Center so its staff and faculty can begin working with St. Joseph's on clinical research and care for patients.
The affiliation, which has been under discussion for several weeks, is the first seed of a relationship that will grow as construction of the new cancer center is completed in Phoenix in the next few years.
Cancer-center officials are aiming for the $135 million, six-story facility in downtown Phoenix to be built and open by 2014. It will be the second Arizona Cancer Center in the state. The original Arizona Cancer Center is in Tucson under the University of Arizona.
"This is the beginning: St. Joseph's will become the front door for the Arizona Cancer Center here in Phoenix," said Linda Hunt, president and CEO of St. Joseph's. "Patients who need that care will come to our facilities."
Hunt and Dr. Thomas Brown, chief operating officer of Arizona Cancer Center, said the affiliation will help patients receive most of their care close to home. Their doctors will be able to work with the center at St. Joseph's for treatments, which could include drug therapies and surgery.
"The idea would be that in-patient surgeries would be done here at St. Joe's," Hunt said.
Brown expects that at least 2,000 new patients will be treated within the first year of the collaboration with St. Joseph's.
The new partnership also is bringing a significant change to patient billing: a single fee.
Currently, patients with cancer and their families pay fee after fee in incremental billings for various expenses in each phase of their care, from diagnosis to therapy. The voluminous paperwork and numerous bills can get confusing and hard for patients to track.
Brown said St. Joseph's and the cancer center plan to create a single-fee approach, so patients receive one fee, one time.
Brown said the center and St. Joseph's officials are hashing out details of the clinical programs.
Revenue from those programs will be the main source of funding for the cancer center at St. Joseph's.
The relationship with St. Joseph's and the future Phoenix cancer center means more medical and research professionals will be moving to the Phoenix area.
Hunt said the two institutions are taking an inventory of their staff and faculty to determine their hiring needs for the new center.
"We're going very succinctly through to find what are the most important first hires," Hunt said.
Those new hires could include new cancer specialists, for patient care and research.
On Friday, representatives for the cancer center, St. Joseph's and the Arizona Board of Regents polished the final details of the collaboration at the board's meeting in Tucson.
The board then also approved a plan to expedite construction of the new cancer institute in downtown Phoenix. The project will be financed by $85 million in University of Arizona funds (to be repaid with cancer-center revenues) and $50 million in donations.
Earlier this year, the Phoenix City Council approved providing $14 million for design and financing costs associated with the future 250,000-square-foot outpatient center that will be at the northwestern corner of Fillmore and Seventh streets.
The Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson is one of 40 National Cancer Institute-designated centers in the nation. Doctors and researchers consider the designation the gold standard for quality cancer care.
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