November 6, 2012 — and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center have entered into a partnership that will provide Lorain County residents with close-to-home access to some of the most advanced cancer treatments and clinical trials available, leaders from both hospitals announced Thursday.

UH Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is part of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University, one of only 40 centers in the country to be designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. This distinction recognizes development and use of the most effective methods of early detection, treatment and prevention of cancer, including clinical trials and advanced therapies not yet available elsewhere. UH Seidman Cancer Center also is recognized by US News & World Report as one of the top 20 hospitals for cancer care in the country.

Under the new agreement, Lorain County patients will have convenient access to some of the nation's leading cancer experts, most advanced treatments and leading-edge technologies through UH Seidman Cancer Center. These include the latest advances in gynecologic, colorectal and urologic oncology. The arrangement also creates new opportunities for Mercy patients to participate in early phase clinical trials.

"The UH Seidman Cancer at Mercy will provide patients with access to the nation's leading cancer experts, advanced treatments and leading-edge technology,"says Nathan Levitan, MD, President of the UH Seidman Cancer Center. "The new collaboration between our two organizations enables cancer patients to have access to the most advanced cancer care right in their local community. With the aging population in Northeast Ohio, the number of cancer patients is increasing and it is important to us to provide these services within the community where patients live, minimizing the need for them to travel long distances for their care."

In most cases, advanced cancer care, clinical trials and specialist consultations will take place close to home at Mercy Regional Medical Center, Mercy Allen Hospital and Mercy Cancer Center. For more complex procedures, patients will have seamless access to UH Seidman Cancer Center based at UH Case Medical in Cleveland and will receive chemotherapy, radiation treatments, complementary therapies and other follow-up care at Mercy Cancer Center.

"From the start, conversations between Mercy and University Hospitals have focused on how we can work together to better meet the cancer care needs of the community," says Edwin Oley, president and CEO of Mercy. "This partnership allows us to build on the excellent program we have at Mercy by adding the latest advances and treatments to our continuum of care."

Leaders from Mercy and UH say they are confident that this collaborative approach will lead to improved outcomes for cancer patients in Lorain County. "People with cancer heal best in familiar settings and surrounded by their friends and families," says Oley. "We are excited to partner with a well-respected research and academic program to offer Lorain County residents some of the best cancer care services available right here in our community."

About Mercy
Mercy is a full-service, not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system, which has been providing quality health care to Lorain County and surrounding communities for more than 100 years. The health system provides inpatient, outpatient and ancillary services through its two hospitals, Mercy Regional Medical Center in Lorain and Mercy Allen Hospital in Oberlin; physician offices; and specialized facilities, including the Mercy Cancer Center, Mercy Rehabilitation Center, Mercy Diagnostic Centers and New Life Hospice. Mercy has been named one of Northeast Ohio's Best Places to Work by Northcoast 99 three years in a row, and its hospitals rank among the best in quality in the region, according to Ohio Hospital Compare. Visit Mercy online at www.MercyOnline.org or on Facebook as Mercy-Lorain Region.

Mercy is a member of Catholic Health Partners, the largest health system in Ohio and one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the U.S., which has been named one of the nation's Top Health Systems by Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the quality and cost of health care.

About University Hospitals
University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of hospitals, outpatient centers and primary care physicians. At the core of our health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center.  The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research centers of excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics and spine, radiology and radiation oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its main campus includes the internationally celebrated UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children's hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University. University Hospitals Case Medical Center is the 2012 recipient of the American Hospital Association - McKesson Quest for Quality Prize for its leadership and innovation in quality improvement and safety. For more information, go to www.uhhospitals.org.