Seattle Cancer Care Alliance moves forward with plans

The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, which brings together the oncology-related patient care services of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the UW and Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, has made significant progress in the past year.

In July, after months of detailed planning and renovation of space at Children’s, pediatric bone marrow and stem cell transplant patients were moved from the Hutchinson Center’s quarters at Swedish Medical Center to Children’s.

Also over the summer, the Cancer Care Alliance, as it had been known since the agreement was announced, added the word “Seattle” to its name. By now, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance has adopted a logo and trademarked the name and logo.

The next big step for the non-profit, jointly governed organization is the move of the FHCRC adult bone marrow and stem cell transplant patients from the quarters at Swedish to UW Medical Center. This will be done in two phases, with the first group of patients arriving at UWMC in March and the second group in July. New quarters on the 7th and 8th floors of the Cascade Tower are being prepared for this group of patients and associated services.

More than 60 teams of physicians and staff are now working at UWMC and FHCRC on this move, said Lisa Brandenburg, UWMC associate administrator and oncology services administrator. “We have taken a patient-oriented, quality improvement approach, involving people in the planning who actually do the work,” she added.

Along the way, ground was broken last spring for the new Alliance outpatient clinic building on the Hutchinson Center campus near South Lake Union. The building will be just north of the Mercer Street offramp from I-5. For more information on the building in construction, see:
http://www.fhcrc.org/admin/facilities/facplan/daydev/

The building is scheduled for completion in about a year and will bring together many of the cancer outpatient services from the three institutions.

Models of the building were displayed this summer at a series of “facilities preview” sessions offered at the three participating institutions.

Many outpatient cancer services will continue to be provided at UW Medical Center. Of the total patient volume of the UWMC Cancer Center, only about half will move to the new Alliance building, Brandenburg has said. The main site for radiation oncology will remain at the UW, as will the major portion of surgical oncology care. The move of some services will provide greatly needed expansion space for others at UWMC, Brandenburg said.

Norm Hubbard is the SCCA’s chief operating officer. Dr. Fred Appelbaum, UW professor of medicine and head of the Medical Oncology Division at the UW and the Clinical Research Division at the Hutchinson Center, is the executive director. Janet Leeds coordinates marketing, communication and planning efforts for the Alliance. ¶

Claire Dietz