Cindy Hamilton

Director, Public Relations

Cindy.Hamilton@bmcjax.com
Phone: 904.202.4907
Deborah Circelli
Deborah.Circelli@bmcjax.com
Phone: 904.202.4916

NEWS RELEASE
1235 San Marco Blvd.
Jacksonville, Florida 32207
1.844.MDA.BAPTIST
BaptistMDAnderson.com

World-renowned cancer care comes to

Jacksonville with Baptist MD Anderson
Cancer Center opening
Jacksonville, Fla., Oct. 16, 2015 World-renowned cancer care is now
available in Jacksonville with the opening of Baptist MD Anderson Cancer
Center, the result of a powerful commitment of two organizations equally
committed to delivering the most comprehensive and advanced cancer
care, close to home.
Baptist Health and MD Anderson Cancer Center have partnered to
transform cancer care in the Southeastern U.S. by replicating MD
Andersons proven model of care in north Florida. Based in Houston,
Texas, MD Anderson is one of the worlds largest and most respected
centers, devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education
and prevention.
By mirroring the highly coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to care
pioneered by MD Anderson, Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center will
provide adult patients and their families with access to the same leadingedge technologies, treatment protocols and treatment options as the
nations leading cancer center.
With 114,000 new cancer cases reported each year, Florida is second
only to California with the highest new instances in the United States.

Our mission is to end cancer, and there is no better partner in northeast

Florida with which to share expertise, enhance access to select clinical
trials and improve patient outcomes than Baptist Health, said Ronald A.
DePinho, MD, president, MD Anderson. Baptist MD Anderson builds on
the strengths of both institutions and will allow us to Change Health Care
for Good while Making Cancer History.
Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center now becomes the third partner
member of MD Anderson Cancer Network, a far-reaching collaborative of
health care systems focused on sharing the knowledge and treatment
protocols that will help to eradicate cancer through education, research,
prevention and treatment. Baptist Health becomes the third partner
within the program, with full clinical and operational integration. MD
Andersons other two partners are Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center
with Banner Health in Gilbert, Ariz. and MD Anderson Cancer Center at
Cooper with Cooper University Health Care in Camden, N.J.
The opening of the Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center is a major
milestone in the history of our community, said Hugh Greene, Baptist
Health president and CEO. The power of our partnership with MD
Anderson should provide a beacon of hope for cancer patients and
families in Jacksonville and throughout the Southeastern United States.
Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center has opened with approximately 240
employees, including more than 40 dedicated physicians with significant
expertise in major oncology specialties, including breast, gynecological
oncology, urology, gastrointestinal, thoracic, neurological oncology,
colorectal, lung, prostate, melanoma, sarcoma and more. To meet the
comprehensive needs of patients and families, the center also has
specialists in oncology navigation, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy, genetics,
personal counseling, psychological care, pastoral care, and social
services.
Leading the clinical team as medical director of Baptist MD Anderson
Cancer Center is Joe B. (Bill) Putnam Jr., MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon
who most recently served as chairman of the Department of Thoracic
Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. Prior
to that, he was on the faculty of the Department of Thoracic and
Cardiovascular Surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center from1988 to
2003.
This unique program is designed to address the complete continuum of
care for the cancer patient and their family, Dr. Putnam said. Every new
patient will have the benefit of not just a single set of physicians or
surgeons eyes, but a multidisciplinary group of experts specific to that
patients cancer.

Designed to serve as a single destination for cancer patients and their

families, the newly opened Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center includes
medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgery, pathology, laboratory,
diagnostic imaging, infusion and other support clinical services. The
center, which is on the campus of Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, is
modeled after MD Andersons outpatient clinics in Houston, with private
infusion therapy stations, large patient exam rooms and beautifully
designed nursing stations and waiting areas for families. Natural light,
soothing colors and artwork provide comfort by merging the high-tech
world of medicine with the high-touch needs of cancer patients.
To accommodate anticipated growth of the center, a new Baptist MD
Anderson Cancer Center building will be designed and constructed across
the street with an anticipated opening in early 2018. We are providing a
coordinated, dedicated team for patients in one location while building a
destination cancer center that will be a symbol to the community that
Baptist MD Anderson is committed to ending cancer, said Nicole
Thomas, Baptist Health senior vice president for Specialty Services.
To make an appointment for cancer treatment or for more information, a
dedicated patient scheduling center at 1.844. 632.2278
(1.844.MDA.BAPTIST) or go to BaptistMDAnderson.com.

###
About Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center
Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center is a multidisciplinary outpatient center in Jacksonville, Florida
dedicated to cancer diagnosis, treatment, research, education and prevention. Patients at Baptist MD
Anderson Center in Jacksonville, Florida benefit from integration with MD Anderson clinicians and
researchers and receive care based on the same protocols and practice standards provided at MD
Anderson Cancer Center, the number one cancer center in America. Baptist MD Anderson Cancer
Center is located on the campus of Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville at 1235 San Marco Boulevard.
About Baptist Health
Baptist Health is a faith-based, mission-driven system in Northeast Florida comprised of Baptist
Medical Center Jacksonville; Baptist Medical Center Beaches; Baptist Medical Center Nassau;
Baptist Medical Center South; Baptist Clay Medical Campus and Wolfson Childrens Hospital the
regions only childrens hospital. All Baptist Health hospitals, along with Baptist Home Health Care,
have achieved Magnet status for excellence in patient care. Baptist Health is part of Coastal
Community Health, a regional affiliation between Baptist Health, Flagler Hospital and Southeast
Georgia Health System forming a highly integrated hospital network focused on significant initiatives
designed to enhance the quality and value of care provided to our contiguous communities.
Baptist Health has the areas only dedicated heart hospital; cancer centers; orthopedic institute;
womens services; neurological institute, including comprehensive neurosurgical services, a
comprehensive stroke center and two primary stroke centers; a Bariatric Center of Excellence; a full
range of psychology and psychiatry services; urgent care services; and primary and specialty care
physicians offices throughout Northeast Florida.

Baptist Health is a partner member of the Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Network, a program of The
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the internationally renowned cancer treatment and
research institution in Houston. For more details, visit baptistjax.com.
About The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused
on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The institutions sole mission is to end
cancer for patients and their families around the world. MD Anderson is one of only 44 comprehensive
cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). MD Anderson is ranked No. 1 for
cancer care in the U.S. News & World Reports Best Hospitals survey. It has ranked as one of the
nations top two hospitals since the survey began in 1990, and has ranked first 11 of the past 14 years.
MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health
(P30 CA016672).