The Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute (HHCCI) has been formally certified as the charter member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Alliance, a transformative initiative to improve the quality of care and outcomes for cancer patients in community healthcare settings. The Cancer Institute comprises five cancer centers — one at each of Hartford HealthCare’s acute-care hospitals across Connecticut.
“This is a momentous day not only for the cancer programs within the Institute, but especially for current cancer patients — and those yet to be diagnosed across our state — who will benefit enormously from this innovative partnership,” said Elliot Joseph, President and CEO of Hartford HealthCare. “Through our first-of-its-kind relationship with Memorial Sloan Kettering, one of the world’s most prestigious cancer centers, we will be able to bring the latest advances in treatment and research to patients in our state much more quickly and effectively than ever before.”
“At Memorial Sloan Kettering, we are relentless in our pursuit of improving cancer care, and part of that effort includes sharing new knowledge with others and, in turn, learning from them. We are proud and excited to see this new model of collaboration take shape so that the highest-quality cancer care is more accessible to more patients,” said Craig Thompson, MD, president and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
The certification of the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute as a member of the MSK Cancer Alliance comes after one year of intensive review and assessment of all the cancer programs and services within the Institute. The five cancer centers included are located at the William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, Hartford Hospital, MidState Medical Center in Meriden, The Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain, and Windham Hospital.
Since first announcing the partnership last September, teams of cancer experts and specialists from both organizations spent thousands of hours carefully reviewing processes and clinical standards across numerous disease specialties and disciplines to ensure that they aligned with world-class standards established by MSK.
MSK, recently ranked as the top cancer center in the country by U.S. News & World Report, established the MSK Cancer Alliance as a way to rapidly move innovative, evidence-based cancer care into the community setting and enable bi-directional learning across institutions. The Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute was selected as the first member of the Alliance because of its dedication to delivering high-quality, consistent care across the state and because of the proven expertise of its physicians and medical teams.
“The goal of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance is to rapidly accelerate the pace of integrating the latest advances of cancer care into a community setting,” said Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Physician-in-Chief José Baselga, MD, PhD. “This unprecedented approach has and will continue to demonstrate real value to both organizations and, most importantly, will improve the lives of cancer patients. Our partnership is designed to adapt and respond to the particular needs of HHCCI, its clinicians, and patients — and together, we are evolving with the ever-changing practice of oncology.”
Donna Handley, Vice President of Operations for the Cancer Institute, said the rigorous, in-depth nature of the certification process is what differentiates this partnership from other cancer affiliations. She said the process has ensured that patients entering any of the cancer programs within the Institute can expect a single, elevated standard of care, from diagnosis to treatment to post-treatment and survivorship.
“We are honored to have this opportunity to work so collaboratively and constructively with our colleagues at MSK,” Handley said. “This relationship will transform the delivery of cancer care to the people of our communities and ultimately save lives.”
Handley said the Cancer Institute’s membership in the MSK Cancer Alliance will bring numerous benefits to patients, both in the short- and long-term, including:
- Enhanced treatments and clinical care, including standards that align with MSK for surgical procedures, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy
- Access to cutting-edge research, including MSK’s world-renowned clinical trials and protocols and breakthroughs in promising new fields such as molecular oncology
- Collaboration with some of the most preeminent cancer specialists in the world, working together to develop the best care plans for each patient
For more information about the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute’s programs and services, call the Cancer Connect line at 855-255-6181.
To learn more about the work being done at Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute through its membership in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance, visit www.TogetherAhead.org.
About the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance
The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance is an initiative designed to collaboratively guide community providers toward state-of-the-art cancer care. Our overarching goal is to improve the lives of cancer patients through dynamic partnership with local care providers. For more information about the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance, go to www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/msk-alliance.
About the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute
The Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute is made up of the five cancer centers at each of the acute-care hospitals within Hartford HealthCare: the William W. Backus Hospital, Hartford Hospital, MidState Medical Center, The Hospital of Central Connecticut and Windham Hospital. The mission of the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute is to ensure that cancer patients who come to any of our hospitals receive consistently excellent care built around the most advanced treatment in a compassionate and convenient setting. Through the Institute’s membership in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance, patients also are assured that their care is consistent with guidelines and standards as established by Memorial Sloan Kettering, one of the world’s premier cancer centers. For more information on the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute, go to www.togetherahead.org.