The UAB Health System Cancer Community Network now has 12 associates in four states throughout the Southeast.The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System Cancer Community Network is leading the way for how oncology care is being delivered in the region. Launched in 2010, the network now consists of 12 hospitals across Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi that emphasize collaboration between UAB and community cancer centers to provide evidence-based, high-value cancer care to patients in their local communities.
The idea of the network is to bring cancer care closer to home for patients while reinforcing UAB’s best practices. As a premier academic medical center, UAB offers disease-specific multidisciplinary care teams, nationally recognized clinical trials and leading-edge technology, such as remote telemedicine services, in collaboration with the other network members.
“The health care landscape is constantly changing,” said Edward Partridge, M.D., director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. “And when we started out, we wanted to partner with community cancer centers and hospitals to provide convenient access to exceptional health care services. Now six years later, the network not only has grown exponentially, but has truly transformed oncology care in the region.”
Associates in the network include University of South Alabama Mitchell Cancer Institute in Mobile, Alabama, Montgomery Cancer Center in Montgomery, Alabama, Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center in Anniston, Alabama, Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, Alabama, Marshall Medical Centers in Guntersville and Boaz, Alabama, Russell Medical Center in Alexander City, Alabama, Fort Walton Beach Medical Center in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center in Panama City, Florida, Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, Mississippi, and Singing River Health System in Pascagoula, Mississippi.“The health care landscape is constantly changing,” said Edward Partridge, M.D., director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. “And when we started out, we wanted to partner with community cancer centers and hospitals to provide convenient access to exceptional health care services. Now six years later, the network not only has grown exponentially, but has truly transformed oncology care in the region.”
Serving the Patient
The Cancer Community Network touches more than 70,000 cancer patients across the region.
“The patient is at the center of our care model,” said Warren Smedley, MSHA, cancer service line director at the UAB Health System. “Ultimately everything we do is to benefit our patients with better outcomes.”
The network facilitates collaboration between local and UAB physicians to bring the highest quality of care to the patients of each member facility. They collaborate on clinical education programs, community outreach, early detection and screening, quality of life initiatives, and information on the latest clinical trials.
Sabra Shores, 63, is an example of how the UAB Health System Cancer Community Network helps patients. Shores, a retired middle school teacher, was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer in September of 2011. She lives in Chipley, Florida, a rural area 45 minutes north of Panama City. She initially started her care with a medical team, including patient navigator Kay Hankins, at Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center. However, because of the advanced nature of her disease, she was referred to UAB for surgery and specialized treatments.
“There was never really any hesitancy with my going to UAB,” Shores said. “When I met my UAB doctor, a specialist in ovarian cancer, I knew I had made the right decision. Throughout the whole process of four months, I never had so much as a cold or infection with everything that I was going through. To me, that is a testament to the type of care I was getting.”
Each time Shores got home in between treatments, her friends, family and church were waiting for her. It was important for her to feel connected to them during the process. Hankins was also instrumental in helping Shores with resources and guidance at home. They have formed a special friendship, as Shores has now done with other patients like herself.
Next month, Shores celebrates her five-year anniversary of being cancer-free.
“I know I have gotten the best care possible at UAB, and it never would have happened without this relationship that UAB and Gulf Coast has,” she said. “My doctor at Gulf Coast and my doctor at UAB know what is going on with me every step of the way.”
Shores still travels to UAB every six months for follow-up appointments and sees her doctor in Panama City for regular checkups. “Every day is beautiful to me now.”
Collaborating To Find Solutions
As the demand to curb health care cost increases, there is a need for innovative methods to improve patient care. In engaging the network associates, UAB has been able to apply for grants and demonstration projects to solve real-world problems. Patient Care Connect, an innovative new concept in cancer care, is a derivative of the collaborative relationship that exists between UAB and its network associates.
| As the demand to curb health care cost increases, there is a need for innovative methods to improve patient care. |
Based on the premise that coordinated cancer management leads to decreased overall cost, UAB applied and received athree-year innovation grant from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services to test the novel concept of pairing a trained nonclinical, professional navigator with a cancer patient across the continuum of their care. The goals of the program were to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits, hospital admissions and in-patient intensive care unit days, as well as encourage evidence-based clinical pathways, adopt earlier use of hospice care, reduce use of chemotherapy in the last two weeks of life, and provide the highest quality of life for people diagnosed with cancer.
About 40 professional, nonclinical navigators worked across network sites and helped patients make informed decisions that ultimately resulted in better health and better health care with significant cost savings.
Based on its involvement with Patient Care Connect, UAB was selected to participate in the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation’sOncology Care Model demonstration project. UAB is one of nearly 200 physician group practices and 17 health insurance companies to participate in this care delivery model that supports and encourages higher-quality and patient-centered care coordination.
The Oncology Care Model is one of the first CMS physician-led specialty care models that builds on lessons learned from other innovative programs rewarding high-quality patient care through performance-based payments. UAB encouraged its network members to participate and provided those that did with data and resources to help them with their application. Four of the sites are also participating in the Oncology Care Model project.
“This is another example of how the network adds value to the local community,” Smedley said.
Recognized as a leader in cancer care, the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, along with its network sites, will continue work to transform health care delivery through practice redesign focused on improving access to coordinated, evidenced-based, patient-centered care so patients get the care they need, when they need it.
Bringing Communities Together
Many communities in the Deep South are challenged by tough economic times andstruggle to manage costs, improve outcomes, and develop services specific to their population and community.
| “What we are trying to do is take the strengths of each community and bridge it together with UAB’s expertise, services and technology to become stronger together,” Smedley said. |
“What we are trying to do is take the strengths of each community and bridge it together with UAB’s expertise, services and technology to become stronger together,” Smedley said.
Joining the network gave the University of South Alabama Mitchell Cancer Institute additional access to resources and technology that the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center could offer.
“We are thrilled to be part of this important network of cancer centers,” said Michael A. Finan, M.D., director of the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute. “The opportunity to share our collective expertise, resources and capabilities allows our centers to deliver higher-value care, closer to home, than any of us could do individually. This is a strong group that benefits our local communities. The collaboration with UAB and others can only enhance what MCI is already doing to bring the latest in cancer research and treatment to the people of the Gulf Coast.”