Tinger named chief of Bassett Cancer Institute and medical director

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Bassett Healthcare Network has selected Dr. Alfred Tinger for the new role of chief and medical director of the Bassett Cancer Institute in Cooperstown.

Tinger, who started his new position on Monday, has more than 20 years of experience as a radiation oncologist, Bassett Healthcare Network said in a news release.

He spent his transitional year as a resident at Bassett after graduating medical school in 1992, per Bassett.

Tinger has a home in Cooperstown. While practicing as a radiation oncologist in the greater New York City area, he provided support to Bassett through per-diem work, the organization said.

“I am honored and proud to be selected as the Cancer Institute’s medical director,” Tinger said in the Bassett news release. “I love Bassett and have always admired its mission. Bassett has always been about doing the best job possible for patients.”

In addition to his administrative work, Tinger plans to spend two days a week seeing patients in Cooperstown and Oneonta. Prior to coming to Bassett, he previously served as chief of radiation oncology at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco and St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers.

“I owe Bassett for any success I have achieved in medicine so far because this organization and its dedicated teachers, many of whom are still teaching, serving and leading Bassett, helped form my professional outlook and habits early in my career. Fortunately, for me, circumstances have now led me back home.”

Bassett cancer program goals

Tinger said his goals for Bassett’s cancer services are to “assure good access, excellent outcomes and the program’s sustainability,” per the release.

The field of oncology has had “important and rapid advancements,” he noted, and Bassett will “continue to track and adopt as appropriate.”

These advancements include the explosion of big data, informatics, genetics, precision medicine, and immunotherapy.

“It is an exciting time to be in the field of cancer care; the strides made over the last couple of decades are incredible and there is always something new to learn,” Tinger said. “It is also one of the most rewarding professions to be engaged in and humbling as I think about the thousands of patients and their families we have the opportunity to help and support in their cancer journey.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Photo provided by Bassett Healthcare Network