Valley Health System in Bergen County, New Jersey has partnered with the Mount Sinai Health System to offer state-of-the-art, comprehensive cancer care in the North Jersey area. This partnership will enable Valley to provide enhanced inpatient and outpatient cancer services by offering access to an expanded roster of clinical trials and Mount Sinai's nationally renowned experts in the field of cancer care, and the development of new programs and services.
This oncology alliance is one of the first such collaborations between the two organizations. Mount Sinai and Valley will work together to enhance patient care at Valley's Blumenthal Cancer Center in Paramus and the main campus in Ridgewood by:
- Establishing new clinical programs and services
- Enhancing existing programs and services through access to and coordination with Mount Sinai's nationally renowned cancer experts
- Expanding access to clinical trials; Initiating research programs to advance education and medical science
- Establishing clinical information system linkages that will enhance quality, continuity and evaluation of care
- Collaborating in the development of a clinically integrated physician network for the delivery of high-quality, cost-efficient care
"We are proud to partner with Valley Health System to offer cancer care services," said Steven Burakoff, M.D., The Lillian and Henry Stratton Professor of Medicine, professor of Oncological Sciences, and director of The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, a National Cancer Institute designated cancer center. "We recognize the high quality of cancer care that Valley Health System has traditionally provided, and see many opportunities to offer patients in northern New Jersey the foremost in cancer care through this partnership."
Arthur Klein, M.D., president of the Mount Sinai Health Network, said, "The clinical and academic affiliation between the Valley Health System and the Mount Sinai Health System will lead to better coordinated, higher quality health care in many arenas across our tri-state Metropolitan region."
New York City-based Mount Sinai comprises seven hospitals and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Valley Health System, headquartered in Ridgewood, N.J., includes The Valley Hospital, Valley Home Care and Valley Medical Group.
"This relationship with Mount Sinai will benefit our community by offering access to an expanded roster of clinical trials, programs and services for patients diagnosed with cancer," said Audrey Meyers, president and chief executive officer of Valley Health System and The Valley Hospital. "We look forward to working with Mount Sinai to bring world-class cancer care to the residents of northern New Jersey."
According to Robert Korst, M.D., medical director of Valley's Blumenthal Cancer Center, among the first Mount Sinai clinical trials that Valley patients will have access to include new treatments and treatment protocols for cutaneous malignancies, including melanoma and other skin cancers; genitourinary malignancies, including prostate and kidney cancers; and hematologic cancers and serious blood disorders, including leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes. Some treatment protocols will include bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapeutic vaccines.
"Many of these new treatments are at the vanguard of cancer care today," Dr. Korst said. "We are very excited that our patients will experience expanded access to these treatments and to Mount Sinai's physician network — all integrated within the personalized high-quality cancer care that they receive at Valley and from their Valley physicians and cancer specialists. Our Valley cancer experts also look forward to expanded clinical research opportunities with their colleagues at Mount Sinai."
Several renowned Mount Sinai cancer experts are expected to begin collaborating with Valley's cancer care team, including:
- Philip Friedlander, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, and Dermatology
- Luis M. Isola, M.D., director of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Program
- Gerald J. Friedman Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, and Pediatrics
- Sundar Jagannath, M.D., director of the Multiple Myeloma Program and professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology
- William K. Oh, M.D., chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology
- Ezra M. Greenspan M.D., professor in Clinical Care Therapeutics, associate director of Clinical Research, and professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology and Urology
An important aspect of this Valley-Mount Sinai partnership is the opportunity for prospective multidisciplinary videoconferences, during which cancer care experts at both hospitals will discuss patient cases with a goal toward determining optimal treatment, follow-up and management of individual patients. Physicians, researchers, nurses, social workers, and other members of the cancer care teams at both cancer facilities will participate in these videoconferences.
"Our relationship with Mount Sinai also enables our physicians and other members of the cancer care team to reach Mount Sinai providers easily for consultations on specific patient cases and for combined educational opportunities, which will allow them to learn from each other," said Thomas Rakowski, M.D., director of Medical Oncology at Valley.
The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has awarded Valley's Cancer Program a Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation Gold Level, the highest level of recognition and one attained by only 30 percent of cancer centers in the U.S. It also has been honored by the commission with a prestigious 2015 Outstanding Achievement Award. Valley is the only hospital in northern New Jersey and one of only two in New Jersey to receive this award in 2015. Other recognitions include a Women's Choice Award as one of America's Best Hospitals for Cancer Care and six Gold Seals for cancer care from The Joint Commission.
Valley's cancer care services include:
- Diagnostic pathology, mammography, MRI, CT scan, PET scan, and ultrasound;
- Medical, surgical, and interventional oncology
- Radiation oncology and Gamma Knife Center
- Chemotherapy and infusion therapy
- Clinical trials
- Specialized management of breast, lung, GI, gynecologic, urologic and hematologic cancers
- Pain management services
- Outpatient and Inpatient Palliative care services for patients needing symptom management
- Integrative health services, including massage and exercise classes
- Social work services
- Nutrition counseling
- Genetic counseling
- Support groups
- Educational programs
- Free annual screenings
- Home care and hospice services
Here's what Dr. Ephraim Casper, Director, Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care, had to say about the oncology partnership between Valley Health System and the Mount Sinai Health System:
