OhioHealth Becomes Ohio's First Certified Member of MD Anderson Cancer Network®

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- OhioHealth announced today that the system is Ohio's first certified member of MD Anderson Cancer Network®, a program of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a world renowned-leader in cancer care.

"This collaboration will help advance cancer care in the communities that OhioHealth serves while still keeping that care local for patients and their families," said Dave Blom, president and chief executive officer of OhioHealth. "This relationship creates a new standard of cancer care for the region."

MD Anderson is one of the nation's original three Comprehensive Cancer Centers, pioneering the National Cancer Institute guidelines that set the standard of cancer care today. Now, OhioHealth will have access to MD Anderson's evidence-based guidelines.

Two OhioHealth hospitals – OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital and OhioHealth Grant Medical Center – and more than 20 affiliated physicians are now officially certified members of MD Anderson Cancer Network. When MD Anderson certification is fully complete, eight OhioHealth hospitals and more than 100 OhioHealth medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and oncology surgeons will be certified members of MD Anderson Cancer Network.

Certification for hospitals and for individual physicians is a rigorous process, not a rubber stamp. Physicians who go through the process provide MD Anderson with patient records and charts, which are then reviewed for quality of care and alignment with MD Anderson and national guidelines and standards.

"This affiliation provides new hope for cancer patients," said Blom, "As certified members, our physicians will now be tied together through clinical protocols and treatment plans, as well as tumor boards and cancer committees. This affiliation with MD Anderson Cancer Network serves as not only a validation of the exceptional care that we're currently providing, but gives us that added edge and resource should a patient have an especially complex cancer. In those cases, we'll be able to leverage our relationship with our Houston colleagues to ensure those patients are receiving optimal care."

As an MD Anderson Cancer Network certified member, OhioHealth is now part of a best practices and quality improvement program. The program offers certified OhioHealth hospitals and their associated cancer specialists access to MD Anderson guidelines for treatment planning and improving the quality of cancer care provided.

"There's no doubt MD Anderson is known, worldwide, for its cancer care. Likewise, OhioHealth has a strong reputation for treating cancer with a high-touch, patient-centered approach," said Praveen Dubey, MD, OhioHealth Radiation Oncologist and Chair of the OhioHealth Oncology Clinical Guidance Council, a multi-disciplinary team of physicians and specialists who  focus on improving the quality of care while reducing the cost. "We're thrilled about this relationship and how it's moved forward. It's a very exciting time for our community and our cancer patients, and this is really what it's all about - the patient."

About OhioHealth
OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare organization with Methodist roots. Based in Columbus, Ohio, OhioHealth is currently recognized as one of the top five large health systems in America by Truven Health Analytics and has been for five years in a row. It is also recognized by FORTUNE Magazine as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" and has been for eight years in a row, 2007-2014.

Serving its communities since 1891, it is a family of 28,000 associates, physicians and volunteers, and a network of 12 hospitals, 50+ ambulatory sites, hospice, home-health, medical equipment and other health services spanning a 40-county area.

OhioHealth system hospitals include OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, OhioHealth Doctors Hospital-Columbus, OhioHealth Grady Memorial Hospital, OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Doctors Hospital-Nelsonville, OhioHealth Hardin Memorial Hospital, OhioHealth Marion General Hospital, OhioHealth O'Bleness Hospital, OhioHealth MedCentral Mansfield, OhioHealth MedCentral Shelby and OhioHealth Rehabilitation Hospital. For more information, please visit our website at www.ohiohealth.com.

About MD Anderson Cancer Network

MD Anderson Cancer Network® is a program of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. It's designed to advance the institution's mission of eliminating cancer by delivering MD Anderson expertise to community health providers. The network includes mission-aligned hospitals and health care systems across the United States committed to elevating the quality of care in their communities. Hospitals have direct access to MD Anderson clinical guidelines and best practices through membership in MD Anderson Cancer Network.

SOURCE OhioHealth