Hospital’s New Cancer Center

Putting up the sign June 30 for the new Siteman Cancer Center
Putting up the sign June 30 for the new Siteman Cancer Center

Siteman Cancer Centers Opens

July 1 at Christian Hospital

Siteman Cancer Center will begin seeing patients July 1 at its newest satellite location, Christian Hospital in north St. Louis County. Siteman Cancer Center is based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, and the new location is Siteman’s fifth in the St. Louis area.

Siteman Cancer Center at Christian Hospital will offer convenient access to nationally recognized cancer care, including clinical trials evaluating innovative cancer therapies, for residents in north St. Louis, north St. Louis County, southern Illinois and the region.

“Christian Hospital is a pillar of the north St. Louis community,” said Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, Siteman’s director and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor at the School of Medicine. “We’re thrilled to provide area residents with exceptional cancer care closer to home.”

For now, Siteman will offer cancer care on the Christian Hospital campus, at 11125 Dunn Road near Interstate 270 and Highway 367. However, a new facility is planned at Northwest HealthCare, six miles west of the hospital, pending necessary approvals. That site, at 1225 Graham Road in Florissant, would become home to Siteman’s north St. Louis County satellite, with an anticipated groundbreaking in early 2018 and opening in 2019.

“Christian Hospital has a long, proud history as a committed community member and partner,” said Rick Stevens, who as president of Christian Hospital oversees the Dunn and Graham roads facilities. “By combining efforts with Siteman, we look forward to continue serving the people of north St. Louis and southern Illinois, including those who are medically underserved, and to offering patients even more treatment options.”

Funding for the new satellite location and the planned new facility comes from Washington University School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare. The latter owns and operates Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Christian Hospital.

State-of-the-art clinical care, including access to clinical trials, will be provided by Washington University medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and surgeons. Efforts will be made to ensure that care is streamlined so patients who need to see multiple physicians can see them during the same initial visit.

Medical oncologist Timothy Rearden, MD, who has been practicing at Christian Hospital for 22 years, will become a full-time Washington University School of Medicine faculty member in the Division of Medical Oncology and medical director of Siteman Cancer Center at Christian Hospital on July 1. He will continue to see cancer patients at the north St. Louis County location. Washington University radiation oncologist Mackenzie Daly, MD, will be director of radiation oncology at Siteman at Christian Hospital.

Other Washington University physicians who will see patients at Siteman at Christian Hospital include:

Medical oncologists and genitourinary and gastrointestinal cancer specialists Anna Roshal, MD, and Nikolaos Trikalinos, MD;

Hematologists Camille Abboud, MD, and Allison King, MD, PhD;

Medical oncologist and breast cancer specialist Cesar Santa-Maria, MD;

Breast and/or reconstructive surgeons Virginia Herrmann, MD; Katherine Glover-Collins, MD, PhD; and Donald Buck, MD;

Urologic surgeons Arnold Bullock, MD, and Ramakrishna Venkatesh, MD;

General/colorectal surgeon Muhammad Yasin, MD; and

Radiation oncologists Jiayi Huang, MD, Christina Tsien, MD and Wade Thorstad, MD.

“Dr. Rearden is an integral link between Siteman and the community,” said John DiPersio, MD, PhD, deputy director of Siteman and director of the Division of Oncology at the School of Medicine “He is well-respected and well-known, and his longstanding commitment to serving the residents of north St. Louis County is part of who he is.

While the north St. Louis County location is a first for Siteman, Washington University physicians and researchers have been active in the area for years. Siteman’s and Washington University’s Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD), a national model for eliminating disparities in cancer education, prevention and treatment, is rooted in the community. As part of that program, more than 100 community members in north St. Louis have been trained in public health research so they can work as partners with academic researchers, serving on research review boards and community advisory boards and piloting projects that address health disparities.

Most staff members who treat cancer patients at Christian Hospital’s outpatient cancer clinic will become Washington University employees July 1 and will continue seeing patients at Siteman Cancer Center at Christian Hospital. Additional staff members are expected to be hired over time.

Siteman is well known for its team-based cancer care involving highly trained cancer specialists, including Washington University radiation oncologists, medical oncologists and surgeons. Siteman also offers access to 500 clinical trials evaluating innovative cancer therapies, which often are not available elsewhere in the region.

Every year, more than 450 Washington University physicians treat 50,000 people at Siteman, including nearly 10,000 newly diagnosed patients, making it one of the largest and most specialized cancer centers in the United States.

“ Siteman’s main location is on the Washington University Medical Campus, which also is the site of Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The other satellite locations are in Creve Coeur at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, in south St. Louis County at 5225 Midamerica Plaza and in St. Charles County at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital.

Appointments for any Siteman location can be made by calling 314-747-7222 or 800-600-3606 toll-free weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time, or by visiting www.siteman.wustl.edu.

Siteman also partners with St. Louis Children’s Hospital in the treatment of pediatric patients, through Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Through the Siteman Cancer Network, Siteman Cancer Center works with regional medical centers to improve the health and well-being of people and communities by expanding access to cancer prevention and control strategies, clinical studies and genomic and genetic testing, all aimed at reducing the burden of cancer.

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