Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) Seattle Children's and UW Medicine have completed the restructure of their longtime relationship and the formation of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, a unified adult cancer research and care center.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center brings together Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and SCCA into a single, independent, nonprofit organization that is also a clinically integrated part of UW Medicine and UW Medicine's cancer program.
"Today's milestone is a tremendous step toward our vision of decreasing the time between discovery and delivery of the most advanced treatments for our patients. It builds on the foundation and 20-year legacy that Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, SCCA, Seattle Children's and UW Medicine have established," said Dr. Thomas J. Lynch, Jr., president and director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and holder of the Raisbeck Endowed Chair. "As a unified organization, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center will focus on improving patient outcomes, accelerating research discoveries and cures and reducing barriers to how we collaborate. Ultimately, we want to deliver the latest scientific breakthroughs to our patients and provide them with the best possible care."
Over the next year, SCCA's eight clinical care sites will be rebranded as Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center sites. UW Medicine physicians will continue providing cancer care to their current and future patients at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and University of Washington Medical Center. During the transition, high-quality patient care, research and operations will remain uninterrupted.
As part of this transition, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center establishes a new board of directors composed of 13 members, including nine community directors and four ex officio positions. The community directors bring a diverse range of expertise and perspectives from across health care, technology and professional services sectors. The ex officio positions are held by leaders at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and UW Medicine. Kathy Surace-Smith, vice president and general counsel of NanoString Technologies, was the chair of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Board of Trustees and will now serve as board chair of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.
"The formation of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center will help us redefine cancer research and care," said Kathy Surace-Smith. "Our collaboration and connectivity across our clinical and research programs will help us accelerate lifesaving discoveries and improve outcomes for patients with cancer in the Pacific Northwest and beyond."
"Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center will streamline and improve patients' personalized care experience and build on SCCA's and UW Medicine's nationally recognized clinical and research excellence as well as Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's and UW Medicine's internationally renowned research programs," said Dr. Paul Ramsey, chief executive officer, UW Medicine. "The unification of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and SCCA and the clinical integration of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center with UW Medicine will bring research and care closer together, leveraging the strengths of all organizations to ensure that patients can access groundbreaking treatments and cures as quickly as possible."
Seattle Children's, an original SCCA alliance partner, will work in close partnership with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center to advance breakthroughs in adult and pediatric oncology. "Caring for children when they need us most and working to advance pediatric research is what inspires us," said Dr. Jeff Sperring, chief executive officer, Seattle Children's. "We will continue to invest in and expand Seattle Children's leading pediatric cancer and blood disorders care and research to serve kids today and into the future and look forward to continued collaboration with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center."
The merged organization will focus on integrating teams and operations over the coming weeks and months. A new Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center brand will be introduced later this year.
To learn more, visit www.fhcc.org.
