Gulf Coast Medical Center's new affiliation with the UAB Cancer Care Network means easier access to high quality care
Panama City - Gulf Coast Medical Center is affiliating with one of the most well-known and respected hospitals in the nation. Gulf Coast administrators announced Friday morning they are the first in Florida to join the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Cancer Care Network.
Gulf Coast officials say this UAB collaboration gives them unprecedented access to cutting edge clinical trials and research, and gives local cancer patients access to the highest quality care, without leaving town.
Jean Tompkins was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007. She made the 9-hour round-trip to UAB's Comprehensive Cancer Center many times. "Many people don't have the finances or a car to get to UAB and it's a long drive," said Tompkins.
Friday morning, Gulf Coast Medical Center officials announced a new relationship that will hopefully make treatment easier for future patients. "We are pleased to announce our affiliation with the UAB Cancer Care Network," said Brian Baumgardner, the CEO of GCMC.
The new affiliation will not only give locals access to UAB's cancer experts, but also allows them the chance to participate in cutting edge clinical trials. "We are actually treating patients with brand new drugs and brand new modalities and this affiliation will bring those new modalities here to the Gulf Coast," said Dr. Edward Partridge, Director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and president of the American Cancer Society Inc.
UAB's name carries a lot of weight in the medical world. "They know for sure they are getting the best care that they can possibly get at this moment in time. You have maybe a 2 year advantage over other institutions," said Partridge. "(Without UAB and Gulf Coast's care) I don't believe I would be here today to say I am so glad UAB is going to be with us to have the clinical trials for the people who might not be able to have them otherwise," said Tompkins who is also the director of Gulf Coast Medical Center's Case Management.
The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of only 40 facilities with the National Cancer Institute designation, and it's the only one in the deep south region. Gulf Coast administrators first approached UAB about the affiliation 4 years ago. It's the 5th hospital to join the Cancer Care Network.
Medical News
-
Don't look for emergency contraception soon
The Obama administration may have backed down after a decade of fighting over emergency contraception, but don’t expect to see Plan B, or any other morning-after birth control product, out from behind the counter anytime soon. -
Second child files suit for lung transplant, gets on list
A woman whose son died of cystic fibrosis in 2009 successfully sued on Thursday to get his younger brother, now 11, on the adult waiting list for a lung transplant.
-
Sebelius won't intervene in girl's transplant case
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reiterated Tuesday that she won’t intervene in the “incredibly agonizing” case involving a 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl who is waiting for a lung transplant, telling members of Congress that medical experts should make those decisions.
-
Insurers pick up $147 million medical tab for young adults
One of the first provisions of the 2010 health reform law has had its intended effect: shifting costs from hospitals, taxpayers and families to health insurance companies, researchers reported on Thursday. It’s one of the most popular aspects of the law.
-
Health workers strike at UC Calif. medical centers
Thousands of healthcare workers walked off the job at the University of California's five medical centers on Tuesday, delaying surgeries, diagnostic procedures, treatments and emergency care throughout the state.
-
Probiotics can prevent dangerous diarrhea
Probiotics — those products that promise to replenish your gut’s 'healthy' microbes — do seem to help prevent dangerous diarrhea, researchers reported on Thursday.
-
People think they're eating less than they are
People may realize that fast food isn’t health food, but they don’t realize just how fattening it really is, researchers report. They surveyed people eating at 10 burger, chicken, sandwich and doughnut chains and found they greatly underestimated just how much they were chowing down.
-
Report questioning salt guidelines riles heart experts
An unusual medical brawl erupted on Tuesday when the influential Institute of Medicine issued a report questioning the basis of years of advice for Americans to cut their salt intake in half. -
Chris Christie's weight-loss procedure doesn't always work
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie revealed that he's had gastric-band weight-loss surgery, which experts say has the least amount of short-term risk but also yields the least amount of weight loss.
-
Caffeinated gum raises health buzz
A new line of caffeinated chewing gum is causing jitters among health advocates and prompting federal officials to take a new look at the proliferation of jolt-infused foods, including those marketed to children and teens.
-
Don't pull Avandia from market, FDA panel urges
The controversial diabetes drug Avandia should stay on the market for now, with relaxed restrictions on its use, Food and Drug Administration advisers said on Thursday. Avandia was the world’s No. 1 diabetes drug until research showed in could raise heart risks. -
Anger may raise heart attack risk, study finds
Bottling up emotions is thought to harm both mind and body, but a new study suggests that the opposite extreme may be no better. -
Just one daily soda can raise diabetes risk
Drinking just one 12-ounce soda a day may increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, a new study from Europe suggests. -
Gut bugs linked to heart attacks, strokes
Thousands of heart attack victims every year have none of the notorious risk factors before their crisis - not high cholesterol, not unhealthy triglycerides. -
12 school football players die each year, study finds
Each year in the U.S. an average of a dozen high school and college football players die during practices and games, according to a new study that finds heart conditions, heat and other non-traumatic causes of death are twice as common as injury-related ones.
-
Brisk walk may be as good as a run, study finds
Walking really is just as good for you as running – but only if you compare it in terms of calories burned and not merely on time spent, researchers reported on Thursday. -
Smart jocks: Fit kids do better at math, reading
Forget the old high school clichés about athletes not doing as well academically as less sporty kids -- a new study shows that children who exercise more do better in math, reading tests.
-
Seeing green might make your workout better
The positive effects of green exercise may have more to do with the color green than with being surrounded by nature, according to a new study. -
No time to exercise? Try 10-minute workouts
The procrastinators, the super-busy, and the easily bored in pursuit of a manageable fitness routine may find what they seek in the 10-minute workout.
-
Stressed? Exercise may help ward off anxiety
Exercise not only improves mood, it may help people maintain reduced anxiety in the face of stressful or emotional events, a new study says.
