Newswise — Loyola University Health System (LUHS) and Central DuPage Hospital (CDH) have entered into a 10-year agreement that will bring medical oncologists from Loyola's Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Maywood, to CDH to provide care at the Winfield hospital.
"This is a major step in Central DuPage Hospital becoming a destination hospital for cancer services," said Luke McGuinness, CDH chief executive officer.
The Loyola Cancer Care & Research Center at Central DuPage Hospital will offer the latest technology and techniques to area residents who have cancer. Access to clinical studies and investigational drugs are among the benefits provided for patients under the new agreement. Beginning in February, the program will be based temporarily at the Loyola Primary Care Center at Wheaton, 140 E. Loop Road. Before the end of 2008, the program will move to its expanded facilities at the Central DuPage Hospital campus, 25 N. Winfield Road, Winfield.
Lucio Di Nunno, MD is the Loyola faculty member appointed as medical director of oncology services and recruitment efforts are ongoing to bring a Loyola physician research director to CDH's campus as well. Kenneth Micetich, MD, Kevin Barton, MD, and Laura Horvath, MD, all experienced faculty in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, will also have a presence at CDH.
"We believe this is an important collaboration and milestone for Loyola," said LUHS President and CEO Paul K. Whelton, MB, MD, MSc. "We are pleased to bring academic research and care to complement the high-quality care at CDH and to further our mission of broadening access to our world-class services and leading-edge research. Now, patients from the far western suburbs can enjoy the comforts of their home hospital as they benefit from the evidence-based care brought by specialists from Loyola, the only academic medical center in the western suburbs of Chicago," Whelton added.
An onsite clinical research team will ensure that eligible patients have the chance to participate in clinical trials. In addition, in recent years, Loyola physician-researchers have focused on genetic testing and tailored therapies for cancer. That is, treatments that are custom-made in the research laboratories of Loyola's Oncology Institute to work with a patient's physical makeup. "We at CDH are happy to offer our patients this type of leading edge research and clinical techniques here in the community," said Luke McGuinness, CDH chief executive officer.
In addition to its research expertise, cancer care at Loyola is also known for its commitment to look "beyond the disease" and to provide a care plan that considers a patient's work, family, and needs for emotional support and education. "The physicians and researchers at Loyola's cancer center have always been committed to whole-person care, ensuring that our patients receive the full benefit of an academic medical center," said Dr. Patrick J. Stiff, professor of medicine and pathology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and director of Loyola's Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center.
"Beyond offering excellent clinical programs in bone marrow transplant as well as in cancers of the breast, lung and digestive tract, we use a multidisciplinary team approach, so that every patient's care plan has the benefit of a large pool of expertise," Stiff added.
Loyola's cancer program was ranked among the top 50 in the nation by US News & World Report in 2007, and has held that ranking three times in the past four years.
ABOUT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEMLoyola University Health System, www.loyolamedicine.org, a wholly owned subsidiary of Loyola University Chicago (LUC), includes the private teaching hospital at Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC),14 specialty and primary care centers in the western and southwestern suburbs, the Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook and the Loyola Oakbrook Terrace Imaging Center; and serves as co-owner-operator of RML Specialty Hospital, a long-term acute hospital specializing in ventilation weaning and other medically complex patients in suburban Hinsdale, Ill. Loyola is nationally recognized for its specialty care and groundbreaking research in cancer, neurological disorders, neonatology and the treatment of heart disease. The 61-acre medical center campus in Maywood, Ill., includes the 589-licensed bed Loyola University Hospital with a Level I trauma center, the region's largest burn unit, one of the Midwest's most comprehensive organ transplant programs, the Russo Surgical Pavilion and the Ronald McDonald® Children's Hospital of LUMC. Also on campus are Loyola's Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center and LUC Stritch School of Medicine and LUC Niehoff School of Nursing.
ABOUT CENTRAL DuPAGE HOSPITALCentral DuPage Hospital (CDH) is a nationally recognized 361-bed facility located in Winfield, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago. It is the third most active hospital in Illinois performing total joint replacements. CDH is a leading center for surgical innovations and was one of the first institutions in the nation to offer robotic-assisted surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery with bio-engineered bone protein and was the first Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in DuPage County.
Recently, CDH was recognized by U.S. News & World Report on the list of Best Hospitals in the orthopaedics category.
In 2007 CDH announced its intent to enter a joint venture with ProCure Treatment Centers Inc. and Radiation Oncology Consultants, Ltd. to build the first proton therapy treatment center in Illinois. Pending regulatory approval, patient treatment will begin mid 2010.
The hospital is part of an interdependent network of health-care organizations and services, including convenient care centers, occupational health services and a full range of options for senior living, home health and hospice care. To learn more information about CDH visit www.cdh.org or call (630) 933-4CDH.
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