Temple University Health System (TUHS) announced today that Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Department of Radiation Oncology is being integrated within Temple University Health System and that Eric M. Horwitz, MD, FABS, FASTRO, has been appointed Chair of the health system-wide Department of Radiation Oncology, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, effective January 1, 2022. The moves are the latest examples of TUHS Cancer Service Line integration.
“Fox Chase Cancer Center’s ongoing integration with Temple University Health System is a true collaboration in every sense—encompassing clinical programs and research efforts, partnering on important new initiatives, and benefitting from the combined resources of an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a large Academic Health System,” said Michael A. Young, MHA, FACHE, President and CEO of Temple University Health System and Temple University Hospital.
Dr. Horwitz joined Fox Chase in 1997 and has led a clinical and research program that has grown exponentially in size and patient volumes. He will continue that leadership across TUHS in his newly expanded role.
In keeping with the focus on driving integration efforts in cancer services across TUHS, Curtis Miyamoto, MD, has been appointed to the critical new role of Chair, System Integration Committee, TUHS Oncology Service Line. Fox Chase Chief Operating Officer Joel Helmke will co-chair the Committee, which will launch in the spring and include a combination of key constituents from all campuses and mission areas in oncology. Dr. Miyamoto is a senior and respected clinical leader whose 20+ years of experience as Chair of Radiation Oncology gives him an unparalleled perspective on Temple’s oncology program, as well as the unique characteristics of the diverse populations served across TUHS. His guidance will coordinate Temple’s efforts to integrate its clinical cancer programs, expand research activities and clinical trial participation, and develop unified cancer data systems across its campuses.
“Advocates of integration are many. They include the National Cancer Institute, the TUHS Board, and most successful health systems throughout the U.S.,” said Young. “No matter the metric, effective ‘system-ness’ in healthcare offers the promise of many important achievements: collaborations and shared resources that lead to safer care and better outcomes, efficiencies that produce greater capacity for growing patient volume, purchasing clout that enables acquisition of more supplies and equipment, and greater research partnership opportunities. We continue to make good progress in each of these areas.”
Young added, “This is an exciting time for TUHS’s newly combined Radiation Oncology Department, as we develop a framework to expand access to clinical trials and world-class cancer care to more patients coming to any TUH or Fox Chase campus.”