Home » Clark Regional Medical Center, UK HealthCare partner to provide expanded care

Clark Regional Medical Center, UK HealthCare partner to provide expanded care

Hospitals to offer additional heart, cancer care services

WINCHESTER, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2014) — Clark Regional Medical Center (CRMC) has become an affiliate in the University of Kentucky’s Gill Heart Institute Affiliate Network and also has entered into a formal collaboration with the UK Markey Cancer Center to develop its oncology service line.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA“We are excited about expanding our outpatient services in collaboration with UK HealthCare,” Cherie Sibley, chief executive officer of CRMC said. “This allows us to offer quality heart care with convenience of location to our community and the surrounding areas. Clark Regional Medical Center’s mission is to make our community healthier, and clinical affiliations between our community hospital and a regional tertiary provider enable us to advance our mission even further.”

The collaboration between CRMC and the Gill Heart Institute will improve access to tools for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, said Dr. Rick McClure, director of the Gill Heart Network of affiliates and health care partners.

“What started as a conversation about how to provide the highest quality cardiovascular care locally has transformed into a healthy collaboration between these institutions,” McClure said. “Quality cardiovascular care– available in close proximity to the patients we serve–is a critical need in the region, and the Gill Heart Institute is proud to work with CRMC to help provide that.”

In addition to high rates of cardiac health problems, Kentucky also faces some of the highest rates of cancer incidence and mortality in the nation. By establishing a new oncology service in Winchester, CRMC is demonstrating its commitment to providing top-notch care for its cancer patients. The UK Markey Cancer Center–one of only 68 medical centers in the country to earn a prestigious National Cancer Institute designation–is assisting Clark Regional Medical Center in establishing its new oncology program, which will be grounded in Markey’s policies and standards.

“We are eager to work with Clark Regional in building a strong oncology program,” said Dr. Timothy Mullett, director of the UK Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network. “Our state unfortunately ranks at the top in terms of cancer incidence and mortality, but by working together with hospitals across the state, we have the potential to make a serious impact on cancer prevention and care.”

UK Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Dr. Michael Karpf emphasized that CRMC’s new relationships with UK HealthCare are in the best interest of patients and their families.

“It has long been our goal to be Kentucky’s resource for highly complex quaternary care, so that patients don’t have to go out of state for the best treatments available,” he said. “But it makes the most sense for those same patients to be cared for locally whenever possible. These new relationships with Clark Regional Medical Center make this a reality for the people of Clark and surrounding counties.”