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32 Hartford Business Journal • June 11, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com 26 HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL • June 11, 2018 www.HartfordBusiness.com SPONSORED CONTENT With both Saint Francis and Smilow having a similar culture of high-quality care and the best patient-centered outcomes possible, the process of teaming up the two organizations only needed some tweaking, said Kathleen Noone, the regional executive director of oncology for Trinity and executive director of the oncology service line at Saint Francis Hospital. "Philosophically, we were so similar in terms of quality focus and expectations," she said. Where the cultures of the two organizations were in sync, "with national procedures around oncology and the handling of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requirements. In other areas we had to make sure we were aligned, as some interpretation of national standards differed," she said. In the interest of delivering the best care possible, Smilow and Saint Francis quality and patient-feedback measures also had to be in line, said Noone, "so patient care becomes more predictable across locations," with streamlined benchmarks established across the system. Another significant advantage of the hospitals' partnership is that patients undergoing treatment for cancer have a great breadth and depth of knowledge at their disposal in the form of comprehensive collaborations. This offers oncology patients a deeper level of integrative care and convenience, with expert specialists right in system. Saint Francis also offers all wrap-around services patient might need, including rehabilitation before, during or after treatment, as well as integrative medicine services. On-site pharmacists are essential in not only preparing medications but in monitoring medications for side effects and toxicity, something especially important now that new oral agents are becoming available. For now, whatever isn't offered in Hartford can be done in Smilow's New Haven location, with facilitation and follow-up care done in Hartford. Telehealth is another way doctors can overcome barriers and offer quality healthcare from afar, if needed, utilizing technology for patients' betterment and convenience. It's the profound capability of the hospitals' partnership in terms of cancer care and future research that has healthcare teams in both facilities truly excited. "I am very proud of all that the teams' from both organizations have accomplished," said Noone of Saint Francis, of the innovation aspect of patient-centered care. "The area around the genome is where we focus," said Lopman, of Smilow. "Immunotherapy is the body's own way to fight cancer. When you can get to a point where you can understand how to stop tumors and keep them from growing … not with chemo, but with therapy that triggers the body's own ability to target cancer? Attracting top [research] talent is not a challenge to us. People want to be where the new discoveries are and where they are supported." The Saint Francis/Mount Sinai Regional Cancer Center is home to radiation oncology and medical oncology/hematology programs, along with support services such as a pharmacy, phlebotomy area, a laboratory for the Hematology and Coagulation Service, social work, nutrition counseling, genetic counseling and the research of ce.