When it comes to cancer, treatment delays can lead to less favorable outcomes
and even a greater chance of death from certain cancers. Thanks to Baptist
Health’s expanded cancer program - a result of the integration of
Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Eugene M. & Christine E.
Lynn Cancer Institute and
Miami Cancer Institute - patients receive expedited care with the specialists and services they
need, no matter where they are located.
Together, the two programs make a powerful team, offering personalized
treatment options with a multidisciplinary approach based on physicians’
clinical expertise, advanced technology and innovative clinical trials.
“Our programs are really the anchors of cancer care from the Keys
to Palm Beach,” says
Louise Morrell, M.D., medical director of Lynn Cancer Institute. “Our common goal is
to ensure that every patient with cancer, or at high risk, has access
to the very best care available. Integration means widening our circle
of expertise and having support as we expand.”
Combined Camcer Conferences
One way the team broadens its scope is through collaboration at combined
cancer conferences where physicians from both Institutes discuss patient
cases together. By pooling their knowledge and uniting their strengths,
specialists provide input to evaluate options and create the best customized
plan for each patient. And Lynn Cancer Institute and Miami Cancer Institute
share the philosophy that multidisciplinary clinics that allow the patient
to see multiple specialists in their disease (surgical oncologists, radiation
oncologists, medical oncologists) in one visit afford the greatest convenience
to patients.
Lynn Cancer Institute is already the largest provider of cancer care in
Palm Beach County and one of the largest in Florida. Miami Cancer Institute
is Baptist Health’s cancer care anchor, offering a full array of
services, and is Florida’s only member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Alliance, an alliance encompassing collaboration in clinical trials
and standards of care.
Both centers drive care through the latest molecular testing and state-of-the-art
technology. Patients and their families are supported by genetic counseling,
a full range of psychosocial services that include dietitians, social
workers, exercise physiologists, psychologists and psychiatrists, palliative
and pastoral care, and wellness and survivorship programs.
Specialty Services
For those in Palm Beach County who need specialized services available
only at Miami Cancer Institute, the referral process is accelerated, with
physicians who know each other and are comfortable working together. Some
of those services include stem cell transplantation, CAR T-Cell therapy
and highly targeted radiation therapy in the form of sophisticated proton
therapy and the MR-Linac, another new form of highly precise and targeted
radiation therapy.
Another advantage of integration is establishing joint standards of care
that physicians agree will
result in the best patient outcomes. “The staff at Lynn Cancer Institute
has put considerable effort into this work, and by combining the insights,
knowledge and skills we have at both facilities, we are able to define
the best evidence-based standards of care,” says
Leonard Kalman, M.D., deputy medical director and chief medical officer at Miami Cancer Institute.
Further Expansion
The integration of Lynn Cancer Institute and Miami Cancer Institute also
allows for greater support of the planned expansion of Lynn Cancer Institute,
including new technology and the addition of cancer services at Bethesda
Health City, an outpatient facility located between Baptist Health’s
Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Hospital West. A larger, integrated
program also makes Baptist Health’s cancer care services a more
attractive clinical research partner to the pharmaceutical and device
industries.
Integration has also helped each institution deal more effectively with
the COVID-19 pandemic. During a combined weekly Command Center meeting,
the teams discuss the pandemic’s ever-changing implication for cancer
patients. “We ensured we had a common approach and standard safety
procedures,” says Dr. Morrell. “Being part of a larger healthcare
system enabled us to have enough personal protective equipment for staff
and patients and guaranteed the medications we needed would be available.”