St. Joseph’s Health partners with Roswell Park for cancer care

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — St. Joseph’s Health is partnering with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo for cancer care and oncology services.

The initiative “reinforces the hospital’s commitment to providing personalized, patient-centric cancer care close to home,” St. Joseph’s Health said in its Thursday news release.

The care will integrate advanced therapies, personalized treatment plans, and a collaborative team of experts, per the release.

“We are now able to offer a wide range of services, including accurate and timely diagnosis through the latest imaging procedures; comprehensive lab services; genetic testing; and advanced endoscopic procedures,” Meredith Price, senior VP of hospital operations at St. Joseph’s Health Hospital, said in her remarks at the hospital’s Thursday announcement. “The St. Joseph’s Health cancer-care program covers various cancer types, such as breast, colorectal, and gastrointestinal cancers as well as blood cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma. This collaboration allows us to provide care to patients who were previously being sent outside of the St. Joseph’s Health network for treatment.”

The organizations have been planning for this partnership since March 2020, Price noted.

St. Joseph’s cancer care is currently housed in temporary space in the hospital, but the organization is building a new space inside the physicians’ office building next to the hospital, she added.

The “cornerstone” of this initiative is the partnership with Roswell Park, a nationally recognized leader in cancer care, St. Joseph’s Health said. Established in 2019, the Roswell Park Care Network is an alliance of medical providers “committed to delivering exceptional, guideline-driven care” to patients across New York state and beyond.

The collaboration allows St. Joseph’s Health to offer the latest treatment options, integrated care plans, access to clinical trials, and advanced telemedicine via Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center in upstate New York.

As part of the venture, St. Joseph’s Health and Roswell Park announced Dr. Haider Ali Khadim, an experienced oncologist, as the medical-oncology director. Dr. Khadim completed his residency and fellowship at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

“This partnership … is going to bring world-class cancer care right here to Syracuse in conjunction with an NCI-designated center,” Dr. Steven Hanks, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health and St. Peter’s Health Partners, said in his remarks at Thursday morning’s launch at St. Joseph’s Health Hospital. “That means clinical trials. That means access to advanced treatments, such as advanced immunotherapies that everybody’s been hearing about. It also means an enrichment of our own local process for diagnosis and treatment.”