A Team Approach to Care

OCHSNER HEALTH AND ST. TAMMANY HEALTH SYSTEM WORK TOGETHER TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF CANCER CARE

In June, Ochsner Health and St. Tammany Health System opened St. Tammany Cancer Center - A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center, a new state-of-the-art cancer center bringing innovation to the fight against cancer. Located on the campus of Ochsner Health Center - Covington and near St. Tammany Parish Hospital, the new center provides patients with access to world-class cancer care close to home.

This new space is home to a multidisciplinary team of expert providers, clinicians, allied health and support services specialists working together to evaluate patients, deliver a treatment plan and work together as a unit to execute that treatment plan. This team approach means that you have a whole network to lean on and each member of the team knows what the other is thinking and doing.

“Cancer can be extremely complex, daunting and frightening to our patients. There are many factors that come into play and multiple doctors and specialists that are needed to provide excellent care. With our multidisciplinary approach, we hope to make this easier for patients. Our goal is to allow patients to have multiple visits coordinated in one location to optimize their care,” said Dr. Angela Buonagura, St. Tammany Health System breast care specialist and surgeon.

As part of this approach, the team participates in tumor conferences to collaboratively discuss individual cancer cases on a routine basis. This approach enables the combined clinical expertise of each team member to coordinate and facilitate an individualized treatment plan for each patient using nationally recognized clinical guidelines that promote evidence-based care.

“Our multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer care is much more than a quality benchmark - it is essential to our commitment to evidence-based, progressive care for each and every patient. These sessions are another way that we as healthcare providers can ensure a tailored, whole-person approach to the care we provide each of our patients. As a breast radiologist, there is no better way to convey details of each patient’s case directly to the care team and ensure that we all have a consensus for the best plan moving forward,” said Dr. Natalie Fitton, breast radiologist at St. Tammany Health System.

Working together in this way allows physicians from multiple specialties – including medical and radiation oncology, radiology, surgery, pathology, clinical psychology, and others – to come together and share opinions in an interactive forum. Patients also benefit from a more integrated care plan with input from medical specialists and allied health including patient navigation, social work, clinical trials, rehabilitation services, integrative medicine and nutritional counseling.

“Having all of these individuals work together ensures that patients receive balanced recommendations and a well-executed treatment plan. With a cancer diagnosis you need to move at an efficient, quick pace to get the appropriate answers, complete the workup, develop the treatment plan and initiate the treatment plan in time to truly make a difference, and potentially lead to a cure,” said Dr. Brian Moore, Director of the Ochsner Cancer Institute.

Along with this multidisciplinary approach to care, the new center is home to the latest technology in cancer care treatment. This includes the cancer center’s linear accelerator equipped with Vision RT, which provides the most accurate targeting of radiation beams that account for the patient’s breathing and changing movements while undergoing radiation. Through increased collaboration and cutting-edge technology, Ochsner Health and St. Tammany Health System provide expert care conveniently to patients on the Northshore.

For more information, go to northshorecancercare.org or call 985-249-2383. St. Tammany Cancer Center, A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center is located at 900 Ochsner Blvd., Covington, LA 70433.