A woman walks to the main entrance of Johnson Memorial Hospital in Franklin. The hospital was the victim of a cyberattack on Oct. 1.
DAILY JOURNAL FILE PHOTO
Johnson County patients who need radiation for cancer will soon have more convenient treatment options.
Johnson Memorial Health is joining forces with Franciscan Health and the Cancer Care Group to provide radiation oncology consultations at the hospital’s Franklin location, as well as at Franciscan Health hospitals in Indianapolis and Mooresville.
“This is a really good example of cooperation as opposed to competition in the health care world,” said Dr. Peter Garrett, a member of Cancer Care Group and medical director of Franciscan Health Cancer Center.
By coming together, the health care systems are able to more effectively use their resources while making cancer treatment that much easier.
“The relationship harnesses our hospitals’ collective expertise,” said Dr. David Dunkle, president and CEO of Johnson Memorial. “Further, it enables our hospital to continue pushing the frontiers of cancer care for our Johnson County community and beyond.”
Radiation therapy effectively targets cancer cells using high energy linear accelerators, which focuses x-rays or electrons directly on a tumor, decreasing the damage done to surrounding healthy tissue. About 50% of all cancer patients receive the treatment, Garrett said.
Using it to treat cancer, particularly in conjunction with drug treatment, can have dramatic results.
“Radiation is really quite an important part of the cancer tool,” Garrett said.
Johnson Memorial Health does not currently have a radiation center in its cancer treatment center.
Through the joint venture, radiation oncologists with the Cancer Care Group will consult with local patients, determine the course of treatment and handle follow-up appointments with the patient. Though the radiation itself will still be done at Franciscan Health, the myriad of other doctor’s visits and examinations can be done closer to home.
Imaging, blood work and other testing will be done at Johnson Memorial Health. Appointments with oncologists or other health care providers working with the patient can be coordinated by hospital staff, Garrett said.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for cancer patients, because being a cancer patient is hard,” he said.
The partnership also makes sense from an economics standpoint, as two hospitals relatively nearby each other are sharing costs to more efficiently care for patients, Garrett said.
“These things are becoming more common, and will become more common. At Franciscan Health, we really strive to work with other hospitals so that (more) types of treatment that can be done in the local community – we don’t want to take that away,” he said.
