UAB Cancer Care Network adds Fort Walton Beach Medical Center

UAB affiliation provides residents in Okaloosa County and surrounding areas with increased access to advanced cancer care.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer Care Network announces Fort Walton Beach Medical Center in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., as its newest and seventh affiliate, providing residents in Okaloosa County and surrounding areas with increased access to advanced cancer care. 

FWMC_storyThe UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and UAB Medicine developed the UAB Cancer Care Network to provide community health-care providers access to exceptional cancer research and enable patients to receive care close to home. Launched in June 2011, the network links the UAB Cancer Center with community cancer centers and hospitals in Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

“We look forward to working with the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center to leverage each other’s strengths and offer access to leading-edge care and research to the tri-county area,” says Edward Partridge, M.D., director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and immediate-past president of the American Cancer Society Inc. “UAB’s 350 cancer scientists and clinicians are making discoveries every day, and with the UAB Cancer Care Network will collaborate with cancer-care providers across the region to increase access to those discoveries, ultimately saving more lives.”

Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, joins the other six UAB Cancer Care Network affiliates: Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center in Anniston, Russell Medical Center in Alexander City, Marshall Medical Centers in Guntersville and Boaz, plus Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, Ga., and Gulf Coast Medical Center in Panama City, Fla.

UAB is home to Alabama’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and the only one in a six-state region; its cancer center treats an estimated 5,000 new patients annually and is committed to providing the highest quality of life for people diagnosed with cancer, says Partridge.

The UAB Cancer Center works closely with each network affiliate to provide local access to best practices in cancer care, innovative clinical trials and support services, physician and nursing education and research expertise and resources. 

“We are proud to join the UAB Cancer Care Network as a local community affiliate,” said John Deardorff, chief executive officer of Fort Walton Beach Medical Center.  “We are excited to affiliate with one of the leading cancer programs in the nation.  This will further enhance the cancer care program at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center by increasing access to oncology resources for the tri-county area, including clinical research opportunities and leading-edge treatments.  This will further position us as the leader for cancer care in our community.”

Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, a 257-bed acute care hospital, is a member of the Hospital Corporation of America family of hospitals. The hospital is also a recipient of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation and a Joint Commission Top Performer on Key Quality Measures.

The other six UAB Cancer Care Network affiliates are the Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center in Anniston, Russell Medical Center in Alexander City, Marshall Medical Centers in Guntersville and Boaz, plus Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, Ga., and Gulf Coast Medical Center in Panama City, Fla.