I have known two people who were diagnosed with a serious form of cancer and had to make occasional trips to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. On the appointed days they and a relative would fly to Texas, stay over a night or two for specialized treatment, and then fly back.
We were grateful for the care, and the hope, that the University of Texas-based hospital provided, yet each time I heard about the friends having to leave town I felt a little angry.
“Dammit,” I thought to myself, “this type of treatment should be available in New Orleans.” To get the help they needed, locals should have been able to take a United cab rather than Southwest Airlines, and then be able to sleep in their own beds.
This is a city with a great medical innovation heritage. It is where Dr. Alton Ochsner first linked cigarette smoking to lung cancer. He was also a leader in heart transplants.
And it is where Dr. Rudolph Matas pioneered vascular surgery, among many other innovations. Alton Ochsner founded the hospital complex that carries his name; Matas would contribute his estate to the Tulane School of Medicine.
Last week, in what will be be one of the most important news stories of the year, came some good news. An announcement was made that Ochsner Health and MD Anderson had formed a partnership, to be known as the “Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center,” that will create a fully integrated cancer program.
Terms of the marriage are quite complex but there is optimism among patients. Included in that list is one in particular, a member of the board: Andrew Wisdom, chairman of the Ochsner Health Board of Directors, made an especially touching comment during the announcement:
As a board member, I’m incredibly proud to see Ochsner’s team join forces with a global leader in cancer care, and, as a current cancer patient, I’m incredibly grateful to see our organizations come together. I’m one of many people who will be personally impacted by this partnership today and in the future. To my fellow patients on their cancer journeys: This brings us one step closer to hope, recovery and healing.
This new partnership supersedes a previous arrangement that MD Anderson had with East Jefferson Hospital, which was once classified as a “Certified Member” of the MD Anderson system. That program ended in 2016. Ochsner joins with a higher status as a “Partner” program.
In answer to the big question, will locals still have to go to Texas to receive treatment? The answer, as reported in The Advocate, is a firm, "NO.”
Through this partnership, patients should not have to travel to Houston for treatment. The integration of MD Anderson's practices in Ochsner care will provide patients the same care they would receive in Houston.
Those who have been collecting flight coupons for Southwest Airlines can save them for Las Vegas instead.
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