Samaritan Health affiliates with Roswell Park Cancer Center for oncology services

WATERTOWN, N.Y. — Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown has affiliated with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo for oncology services.

The relationship links medical-oncology services provided at Samaritan’s Walker Center for Cancer Care with the Roswell Park Care Network, Samaritan Health said.

The new affiliation will offer cancer patients in the North Country access to the latest approaches and best practices in cancer treatment to “enhance the quality” of medical-oncology services available locally, the partnering organizations contend. Medical-oncology cancer patients in the Watertown region will have access to cancer research, education, and prevention services overseen by experts from Roswell Park, “the only facility in Central and Upstate New York designated by the National Cancer Institute as a comprehensive cancer center.”

“When opened in 2018, the Walker Center for Cancer Care represented a $16 million investment in the health of our community and changed the way cancer care is delivered in our region,” Thomas Carman, president and CEO of Samaritan Health, said. “This collaboration with the Roswell Park Care Network bolsters this investment and allows us to bring nationally recognized care to the North Country.”

Two full-time medical oncologists at the Walker Center — Dr. Florence Arnold and Dr. Ihsan Haq — will become employees of the Roswell Park Care Network and will continue to provide care for their patients at the Walker Center location. Patients at the Walker Center will benefit from enhanced capabilities and resources offered by the expanding Roswell Park Care Network. The network is described as the “most expansive community cancer, supportive and specialized care affiliation across New York State.”

“We are very pleased to partner with the high-quality oncology program at Samaritan and to work collaboratively to expand the therapies and services available to cancer patients in the North Country. Together, we will provide seamless access to services these individuals would otherwise have to travel hours for, starting with multidisciplinary care and access to oncology and surgical subspecialists,” said Dr. Thomas Schwaab, a urologic oncologist and chief of strategy, business development and outreach at Roswell Park. “Two highly qualified physicians have come onboard to serve patients at the Walker Center as a part of the Roswell Park Care Network, and we are excited about the level and integration of care these outstanding oncologists will continue to provide for this community.”