MD Anderson and Ochsner Health announce partnership to create first fully integrated cancer program in Louisiana

Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center to provide cancer treatments among most advanced in nation

MD Anderson News Release June 22, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and New Orleans-based Ochsner Health today announced a partnership to create Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center in southeastern Louisiana. Cancer patients in the region now have access to cancer treatments that are among the most advanced in the nation. Through this collaboration, Ochsner is the first and only provider in Louisiana with a fully integrated cancer program based on MD Anderson’s standards and treatment plans.

“As the state’s leader in cancer care, we’re proud to partner with one of the global leaders in cancer care to provide a full continuum of services close to home for our patients,” said Mike Hulefeld, president and chief operating officer of Ochsner Health. “Beyond MD Anderson’s accolades and top national rankings, its clinicians and researchers advance innovative therapies through clinical trials several years before they become standard practice. Now, our patients will benefit from this expanded breadth of experience and therapies in Louisiana.”

Ochsner is one of only seven MD Anderson partners in the country and the only one in Louisiana. It joins a collaborative network of hospitals and health care systems dedicated to advancing MD Anderson’s mission to improve the quality and accessibility of cancer care and research. As such, Ochsner MD Anderson patients in southeastern Louisiana receive care based on the same protocols and practice standards provided at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas, and benefit from integration with its clinicians and researchers. Ochsner MD Anderson experts adhere to the philosophy, process and guidelines of MD Anderson’s clinical leadership, and they provide a full range of multidisciplinary care options, including medical oncology, surgery and radiation.

"We are pleased to welcome Ochsner Health as our newest partner, and we applaud their team’s commitment to excellence, innovation and patient-centered care, which aligns with our own mission to end cancer,” said Peter WT Pisters, M.D., president of MD Anderson. “By working together, we are expanding our reach and impact, ensuring even more patients have access to high-quality cancer care and advanced treatments through clinical trials. We are proud to have Ochsner MD Anderson join us in Making Cancer History®.”

"Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center will transform the way we deliver high-quality, comprehensive cancer care to the communities we serve," said Pete November, chief executive officer of Ochsner Health. “Through this partnership, we aim to improve patient outcomes while supporting research that will change how we care for patients in the future. I am grateful to our physicians, clinicians and all of our support teams who made this partnership possible, changing the course of cancer care in Louisiana."

In this first phase, Ochsner MD Anderson facilities are located in the New Orleans area, Baton Rouge and Covington. They include:

Ochsner and MD Anderson will work together to certify additional sites in the future. Cancer patients throughout the entire Ochsner system will continue to receive high-quality clinical care and benefit from the largest clinical trials network in Louisiana and Mississippi.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to providing world-renowned cancer care close to home, Ochsner is thrilled to join forces with MD Anderson to offer groundbreaking research and innovative therapies not found anywhere else in our region,” said Brian Moore, M.D., medical director of Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center. “Our patients can be confident that they will receive an enhanced level of comprehensive cancer care through this partnership. Each member of our select team of cancer physicians has been certified by MD Anderson to clinically practice as part of the co-branded Ochsner MD Anderson cancer program, and appointed physicians will become adjunct members of MD Anderson faculty.”

With a holistic, patient-centric approach, Ochsner MD Anderson’s expert team provides comprehensive care to patients. A multidisciplinary team of doctors, clinicians and support specialists offers services to treat the entire person. Support professionals include nutritionists, nurse navigators, social workers, physical therapists, acupuncturists and others. Ochsner MD Anderson is dedicated to improving the health of our communities and committed to the prevention and early detection of cancer. Ochsner MD Anderson offers groundbreaking research and innovative therapies, including access to select clinical trials available to eligible patients as the only Phase I clinical trial program in Louisiana.

“Ochsner and MD Anderson’s partnership has been years in the making and will have a lasting impact on families across Louisiana,” said Andrew Wisdom, chairman of Ochsner Health Board of Directors. “As a board member, I’m incredibly proud to see Ochsner’s team join forces with a global leader in cancer care, and, as a current cancer patient, I’m incredibly grateful to see our organizations come together. I’m one of many people who will be personally impacted by this partnership today and in the future. To my fellow patients on their cancer journeys: This brings us one step closer to hope, recovery and healing.”

For more than 80 years, Ochsner has been dedicated to cancer research and new cancer therapy development, bringing innovations to treatment with more clinical trials than anywhere else in Louisiana. It is accredited by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American College of Radiology, the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (Bone Marrow Transplant) and the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. Cancer care at Ochsner is recognized by U.S. News & World Report, ranking as high performing in uterine, prostate, lung and colon cancer surgeries. Ochsner’s ear, nose and throat specialty is also ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top 50 program in the country, which includes head and neck surgical oncology. The Ochsner Cancer Institute treats more than 40,000 patients each year and has cared for patients from all 50 states and 28 countries. Each patient’s care team can include as many as 20 multidisciplinary cancer specialists working together to provide high-quality treatment. In 2022, more than 300,000 preventive cancer screenings were performed at Ochsner facilities across its system.

“This is an exciting milestone in Ochsner’s long-standing history of providing high-quality cancer care,” said Robert Hart, M.D., chief physician executive of Ochsner Health. “Through collaboration with MD Anderson’s physicians and researchers, our patients will benefit from the expertise of a global leader in cancer care. This partnership is a testament to our ongoing commitment to elevate care and expand access to clinical trials close to home in Louisiana.”

MD Anderson is one of the world’s largest and most respected cancer centers devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. MD Anderson has been working to eliminate cancer for more than 80 years and has been named one of the top two hospitals in cancer care every year since U.S. News & World Report began its annual “America’s Best Hospital Rankings” in 1990. Based in Houston, MD Anderson conducts one of the world’s largest clinical trials programs, offering more than 1,600 clinical trials covering prevention, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.

To learn more about Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center, please visit Ochsner.org/CancerServices.

Rendering of the Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center