Saint Francis Care signs letter of intent with Smilow Cancer Hospital

New Haven, Hartford, CT (November 18, 2014) — Saint Francis Care, parent of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, has signed a Letter of Intent with Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven to explore a potential agreement to create an integrated oncology services program to serve the greater Hartford community.

This preliminary step allows the Saint Francis/Mount Sinai Regional Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven to explore an oncology services relationship that builds off an existing partnership that has been collaborative and highly productive for many years. By combining the resources of two highly-respected institutions, Smilow Cancer Hospital specialists will be able to provide expanded treatment options and research initiatives in collaboration with Saint Francis medical oncologists.

Teams from Saint Francis and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven will now begin the due diligence process to review policies, procedures and practices with the goal of developing a definitive agreement. Specific terms of the Letter of Intent are confidential.

"Saint Francis will serve as the northern campus of Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center," said Thomas Lynch, M.D., director, Yale Cancer Center; physician-in-chief, Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven. "This will mean that a full range of clinical trials will be available to patients in Hartford. Saint Francis doctors will join Smilow/Yale Disease programs. We will also bring the very latest clinical trial management, quality metrics and molecular profiling. We intend a strong and complete integration that we expect to be a game-changer for northern Connecticut."

"The current forces in the healthcare reform environment have created opportunities to make infrastructure, facility and alliance investments to better serve our population," said Christopher M. Dadlez, President and CEO, Saint Francis. "We are taking progressive, innovative steps to capture opportunities such as this with Smilow Cancer Hospital that could create a model of integration and collaboration that will transform cancer care at state, regional and even national levels. Consistent with our legacy of providing high-quality, low-cost clinical excellence, we are viewing this new strategic affiliation as an opportunity to capitalize on initiatives that are leading-edge, sustainable and pioneer best-practice protocols. We are doing these things to ensure that we can continue to provide unmatched quality of care for generations to come, with a focus on amazing outcomes, delivered every day," added Dadlez.

Saint Francis treats more than 1,700 new cancer patients annually, providing disease-specific, specialized, multidisciplinary care. Saint Francis also offers access to numerous clinical research trials under the supervision of its medical oncologists.

Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven operates 11 cancer care centers across the state. The care centers enable Smilow clinicians to deliver high-quality healthcare to patients in ambulatory settings close to home.

Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven is one of the most comprehensive cancer facilities in the country. It is affiliated with Yale Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center — the only one in Connecticut with this designation.

Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven is part of the nationally recognized Yale New Haven Hospital, and is affiliated with Yale Cancer Center (YCC), one of only a few National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation and the only such center in Connecticut. Smilow Cancer Hospital, the most comprehensive cancer facility in New England, is a 14-story, 500,000-square-foot cancer hospital, which includes 168 private inpatient rooms, multidisciplinary outpatient treatment centers, 12 operating rooms, infusion suites, diagnostic imaging services, and specialized women's and children's services. YCC and Smilow Cancer Hospital are members of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), an alliance of 25 cancer centers in the U.S., whose mission is to improve the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of oncology care so that patients can live better lives. www.ynhh.org/smilow.

Saint Francis Care is an integrated healthcare delivery system established by Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, an anchor institution in north central Connecticut since 1897. Licensed for 617 beds and 65 bassinets, it is a major teaching hospital and the largest Catholic hospital in New England. Other major entities of Saint Francis Care include The Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital, the Connecticut Joint Replacement Institute, the Hoffman Heart and Vascular Institute of Connecticut, the Saint Francis/Mount Sinai Regional Cancer Center, the Joyce D. and Andrew J. Mandell Center for Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Care and Neuroscience Research, and Saint Francis HealthCare Partners. Johnson Memorial Medical Center, parent organization of Johnson Memorial Hospital, Evergreen Health Care Center, and Home and Community Health Services is also a Saint Francis Care Partner. Saint Francis Care's services are supported by a network of five major Access Centers and eight additional medical office centers sited throughout the region. For more information, visit www.stfranciscare.com.

Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), part of Yale New Haven Health, is a nationally recognized, 1,541-bed, not-for-profit hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Medicine (YSM). Founded as the fourth voluntary hospital in the U.S. in 1826, today, YNHH has two New Haven-based campuses, and also includes Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital and Smilow Cancer Hospital. YNHH has received Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the nation’s highest honor of nursing excellence. YNHH has a combined medical staff of about 4,500 university and community physicians practicing in more than 100 specialties. www.ynhh.org