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Providence Hospital Foundation
Post Office Box 850429
Mobile, AL 36685

© 2006, Providence Hospital Foundation

The Cancer Center at Providence Announces Affiliation with M. D. Anderson Cancer Manager® Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 27, 2006

CONTACTS:

• Michael King, Providence Hospital, 251-633-1367
• Brigid Pace, M. D. Anderson Physicians Network®, 713-745-9607

Mobile, Ala. – Providence Hospital and the Cancer Center at Providence announced today that they have formed an affiliation with M. D. Anderson Physicians Network® to further enhance the level of cancer care available to eligible patients in Mobile County and surrounding counties in southwest Alabama.

M. D. Anderson Physicians Network is an affiliate of The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center that is consistently ranked by U.S. News and World Report among the nation’s top two cancer treatment centers. Because of the excellent care that Providence and its physicians provide, M. D. Anderson Physicians Network approved Providence as an ally in the fight against cancer.

Dr. David Tubergen, medical director of M. D. Anderson Physicians Network, said Providence is one of only seven healthcare systems in the nation and the only one in Alabama to provide services under the M. D. Anderson Cancer Manager® program. The program is a full-service oncology disease management program offered to area businesses for the care of their employees. It provides patients enrolled in the program with access to more than 100 detailed regimens for the diagnosis and treatment of almost every type and stage of cancer.

"Our affiliation with one of the nation’s leading programs in cancer care is perhaps the most significant event in the evolution of healthcare in Mobile since the new Providence Hospital opened in 1987," said Clark P. Christianson, president and CEO of Providence Hospital. "This affiliation recognizes the outstanding cancer care delivered by the physicians and clinicians associated with our regional cancer program and is the culmination of many months of effort. Along with our sister hospital, Sacred Heart Health System, which is also an M. D. Anderson Physicians Network affiliate, we are now able to bring the area’s most comprehensive array of cancer services to residents along the entire northern Gulf Coast. In so doing, we are combining the best cancer care in Mobile with one of the best in the world."

Following an implementation period of no more than three months, patients enrolled in the Cancer Manager program at Providence will have access to M. D. Anderson’s guidelines and innovative treatments.

Providence’s cancer program has undergone a rigorous review of standards and practices to ensure it meets M. D. Anderson’s standards of care. Participating physicians are going through a lengthy credentialing process, including an assessment of the physicians’ office practices and a medical record review, which will allow Providence’s physicians to be credentialed into M. D. Anderson Physicians Network.

Medical oncology physician Dr. Michael Meshad and radiation oncologist Dr. Robert Gilbert echoed Mr. Christianson’s enthusiasm concerning the new affiliation. "We are extremely pleased that we will be able to offer our patients access to the advanced treatment protocols offered through M. D. Anderson," said Dr. Gilbert.

Patients enrolled in the Cancer Manager program will have access to Providence physicians who follow the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center disease management guidelines for treating cancer. However, if the need arises for a patient to travel to Houston for care, Providence’s affiliation with M. D. Anderson Physicians Network provides unique support services to ease that transition. Those services include: scheduling of timely appointments, meeting patients upon their arrival at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and escorting them to appointments, a discount on lodging services in Houston, and personal coordination of other aspects of medical care.

About Providence Hospital

Providence Hospital is a 349-bed, full-service medical/surgical facility. Founded in 1854, Providence has been serving, caring for and healing the people of Mobile and surrounding areas for more than 150 years. Providence is a member of Ascension Health (www.ascensionhealth.org), the nation’s largest Catholic and largest nonprofit health care system with 105,000 associates serving in twenty states and the District of Columbia. The hospital’s mission is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to south Alabama and southeast Mississippi, with a special concern for the poor and vulnerable. Mobile’s most preferred hospital for nine consecutive years, Providence admits more than 16,000 inpatients annually. Outpatient and emergency room registrations exceed 150,000 per year. Specialized services offered at Providence include open-heart surgery, cardiac catheterization, cancer services, an obstetrics unit with labor/delivery/recovery/postpartum suites, a dedicated pediatrics unit, a freestanding rehabilitation and wellness center and a 100,000 square foot Outpatient Center with dedicated outpatient diagnostic services and surgical suites. The hospital’s 550-plus-member medical staff includes representatives from every major medical specialty and subspecialty, with more than 200 physicians located in offices on the campus. For more information call the hospital’s physician referral line at 251-633-1000, or visit us at www.providencehospital.org.

About M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Located in Houston, Texas, on the sprawling campus of the Texas Medical Center, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is one of the world’s most respected centers devoted exclusively to cancer care, research, education and prevention. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center was founded in 1941 and has treated about 700,000 patients. This year, more than 74,000 people with cancer will receive care at M. D. Anderson. Approximately one-third of these patients travel from outside Texas. M. D. Anderson ranks first in the number of research grants awarded by the National Cancer Institute, boasting 10 programs recognized by the NCI as Specialized Programs of Research Excellence.

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