Miami Cancer Institute Joins Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance (VIDEO)

A crisp morning on the lakefront provided the setting as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida announced the first phase of a collaborative partnership aimed at improving patient access to the latest and most effective cancer treatment advances and the highest level of cancer care. Leaders from both institutions were on hand to discuss their recently signed agreement for Miami Cancer Institute to join the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance.

The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance is an initiative aimed at improving the quality of cancer care and the lives of cancer patients. The shared goal: to foster the rapid adoption of the newest standards of care in the community setting, and to expand access to Memorial Sloan Kettering clinical trials and cutting-edge cancer research.

“For more than a century, Memorial Sloan Kettering has been delivering exceptional, patient-focused cancer care and has generated the scientific discoveries necessary to further develop effective new treatments,” said Craig Thompson, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “Today, we recognize the need to do more. Central to our mission is eradicating cancer, and through the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance — and in collaboration with Miami Cancer Institute — we have a unique opportunity to share our knowledge and best practices with a wider patient population.”

“Memorial Sloan Kettering chose Miami Cancer Institute for its commitment to delivering to our community the highest levels of innovation and precision in cancer care in combination with the renowned focus on patient experience for which Baptist Health is well-known,” said Brian E. Keeley, president and chief executive officer of Baptist Health South Florida.

Michael J. Zinner, M.D., founding chief executive officer and executive medical director of Miami Cancer Institute, noted that membership in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance provides patients with access to benefits in the short- and long-term. “The enhanced treatments and clinical care we can now offer — including standards that align with Memorial Sloan Kettering for surgical procedures, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy — will have a near-immediate impact on our patients,” remarked Zinner.

Miami Cancer Institute is slated to become the third member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance. Memorial Sloan Kettering will serve as a guide for Miami Cancer Institute to strengthen its patient care and clinical cancer research programs. Teams of physicians and other healthcare providers from both institutions will work side by side to ensure that resources, capabilities, and standards of care are the same as the most recent standards of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance.

“We believe the highest-quality cancer care cannot be achieved by adhering to practice recommendations alone,” said José Baselga, M.D., PhD, physician-in-chief of Memorial Sloan Kettering. “We must find innovative ways to share knowledge and to integrate cancer care advances into the community setting. This new partnership between Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance and Miami Cancer Institute will allow us to do that for patients in South Florida.”

“We are excited to work alongside Memorial Sloan Kettering and the other members of the Alliance to continually advance our understanding of cancer research and treatment,” said Wayne Brackin, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Baptist Health South Florida. “Miami Cancer Institute is extremely well-positioned to redefine the standards of excellence in cancer care available to our South Florida community and regional neighbors in Latin America, the Caribbean, and beyond.”

“In forming this partnership, we were attracted by the quality of cancer care provided by Miami Cancer Institute and its ability to attract top-notch faculty from across the country,” said Richard R. Barakat, M.D., deputy physician-in-chief, Regional Care Network and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance. “In addition, the spectacular new 395,000-square-foot Miami Cancer Institute facility will enable all cancer care across their organization to be integrated into a single state-of-the-art setting.”

One of the focal points of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance is creating a strong foundation and system for the expansion of clinical trials and being able to provide Miami Cancer Institute patients with the opportunity to participate in clinical trials not previously available.

The Miami Cancer Institute, located on the campus of Baptist Hospital, is scheduled to open later this year.

The Baptist Health South Florida News Team was there to cover the announcement. Watch it now.