When Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital opens its new Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Kempe Building in September, the hospital will be taking a major step toward realizing its vision of becoming a national model for a community hospital providing comprehensive cancer care.

The official grand opening of the center will take place November 1, 2009 and feature a special performance by Stories on Stage of “The Calling to Care” – an original production that tells the stories of those who dedicate their lives to caring for cancer patients – as well as tours of the new facility.

The new center brings together in one place ESJH’s Breast Care Center, cancer psychosocial services, medical and surgical oncology, a cancer laboratory, a research department, a new cancer pharmacy and the Infusion Center. Perhaps more important, it will provide a new standard for integrated care offered by an eminently qualified team of physicians and staff, led by Medical Director Dr. Richard Hesky and Executive Director Michele Carey.

“What distinguishes the program are not just the services we provide but how we have put them together so that our cancer professionals – from oncologists to lab technicians to psychotherapists to infusion specialists to radiologists – interact with one another to provide fully coordinated care to each patient,” says Carey.

One key to the coordinated care is the “care conference” in which physicians and specialist teams outline treatment protocols for patients so that care is appropriate and complete – and so that treatment and diagnostic options are not duplicated.

A second key to the coordinated care is a new electronic medical record (EMR) system – Impac Mosaiq – that is especially designed for cancer programs and is compatible with Saint Joseph’s new Epic electronic record system used throughout the rest of the hospital.

With the use of the EMR, all patient care is documented electronically, and all caregivers have access to patient information in real time. “With our EMR,” Carey says, “you’re not waiting on dictation and faxing reports and waiting on lab work.” The EMR also generates regular and timely reports to the patient’s primary care physician. “Primary care physicians will know at any point during the patient’s care exactly what is going on,” according to Carey.

Because of both the EMR and the integration of the care team, including the psychologists and social workers, referring physicians don’t have to be concerned that their patients may “fall through cracks,” says Carey. “You don’t have to worry that your patient’s going to be calling you, saying ‘I have no idea how I’m going to pay these bills. And I have these transportation needs that they don’t seem to be able to help me with.’”

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