New alliances increase access in Georgia to world-renowned cancer care

8/13/2014

Effective last month, Piedmont Healthcare is officially part of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Network. Kevin Brown, CEO of Piedmont Healthcare, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that the deal will take Piedmont’s quality assurances “to a new level.”

“The Piedmont/MD Anderson partnership, along with the alliance announced by WellStar and Mayo Clinic earlier this year, means that patients in Georgia have even more access to the highest quality, evidence-based cancer care in the country,” said Georgia CORE’s president and CEO Nancy M. Paris.

Best practices from MD Anderson will be implemented at Piedmont Atlanta and Piedmont Fayette hospitals. Eventually, Piedmont Henry and Piedmont Newnan hospitals will also become active members of the MD Anderson Cancer Network.

The collaboration allows Piedmont doctors to become certified through the MD Anderson Cancer Network and access evidence-based, disease-specific guidelines for cancer treatment, prevention, early detection and follow-up care developed by a national leader in cancer care. Thomas Burke, executive vice president of the MD Anderson Cancer Network, said that this new partnership with Piedmont “will raise the bar even higher for cancer care in Georgia.”

WellStar Health System, located in Marietta, is the largest health system in metro Atlanta with a network of five hospitals. Its newly formed alliance with the Mayo Clinic Health System connects WellStar and its patients to a world-renowned research and health system that specializes in cancer and cardiac care. The Mayo Clinic has a network of physicians and hospitals in Minnesota, Florida, and Arizona. This partnership between WellStar and the Mayo Clinic will help cancer patients avoid unnecessary travel and access the highest quality of cancer care close to home.