CARTERVILLE — Southern Illinois Healthcare has announced that SIH Cancer Institute has joined the Siteman Cancer Network as its fourth affiliate.
“We’re excited about the partnership and that we will be working more closely with Siteman,” SIH CEO Rex Budde said.
The partnership had been formalized in March, but before an announcement could be made, everything was shut down due to COVID-19.
The partnership is strengthening and expanding the SIH Cancer Institute’s connection to the renowned Siteman Center based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, both in St. Louis.
“We have always had a very strong relationship with Barnes-Jewish Hospital. This collaboration is taking it to the next level,” Dr. Muhammad Popalzai, medical director of SIH Cancer Institute, said.
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Membership in the Siteman Network will provide more direct access to cancer prevention and control strategies developed by Siteman, such as education materials, self-screening tools for patients and genomic and genetic testing.
“We can come together and bring different evidence-based practices to the region … with better outcomes for patients,” SIH Cancer Institute System Director Jennifer Badiu said.
She said being part of the network also gives patients access to a wide range of clinical trials at Siteman.
Dr. Timothy J. Eberlein, director of Siteman Cancer Center and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor and Bixby Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, called the partnership “really exciting” and explained the necessity of the partnership.
“Our region around St. Louis, Southern Illinois and Eastern Missouri are some of the most health challenged in the United States of America,” he said. “We partner with organizations like Southern Illinois Healthcare to make our presence more effectual and impactful in those communities.”
Other partners in the Siteman Network are Alton Hospital, Boone Hospital in Columbia, Missouri, and Phelps Health in Rolla, Missouri.
Eberlein also pointed out that the two organizations have worked together for years. The formal partnership helps facilitate a closer relationship between the two organizations. He praised SIH CEO Budde and the staff at SIH for their efforts to bring higher levels of care to Southern Illinois.
In addition to the cancer network, SIH and Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine collaborate in the areas of trauma care, stroke and cardiac care, and rehabilitative medicine, as well as other areas as patient needs arise.
For more information at cancer care in Southern Illinois visit sih.net.
For more information about Siteman Center Center and the Siteman Network, visit siteman.wustl.edu.
