Technically, when MD Anderson’s Dr. Sairah Ahmed visited Covington recently for a presentation to a room full of physicians at the Southern Hotel, the topic at hand was chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, or CAR T-cell therapy, an innovative treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
But for many, the session was just as noteworthy as the realization of a promise to bring leading-edge cancer therapies to the region as part of MD Anderson’s nearly year-old partnership with Ochsner Health – and, by extension, to the cancer center built and operated jointly by Ochsner and St. Tammany Health System at the intersection of Interstate 12 and Louisiana 21 in Covington.
“I have great respect for MD Anderson, and I was fortunate to do my fellowship training there,” said Dr. Clark Alsfeld, an Ochsner hematologist in attendance at Dr. Ahmed’s presentation. “This partnership gives cancer patients in the greater New Orleans region access to cancer treatments that are among the most advanced in the nation, and it opens many doors for our patients as far as clinical trials and leading-edge treatment options.”
It's not just the patients benefiting from the arrangement, either.
“For providers like me, the collaboration and learning opportunities combine the strengths of our organizations for a comprehensive and trusted approach to cancer care,” Dr. Alsfeld said.
That includes the presentation by Dr. Ahmed, associate professor of lymphoma-myelola and director of the CAR T program at MD Anderson Cancer Center, on the ins and outs of CAR T-cell therapy, which is just one example of how the partnership is paying dividends when it comes to enhancing cancer care on the Northshore.
“Through this Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center partnership, there is a carefully cultivated relationship with our partners that extends this expertise to a much larger population,” Dr. Ahmed said. “Through our nationally recognized cancer team, we combine the strengths of our teams in terms of technology and clinical trials and treatments to maximize this collaboration to stay true to our mission to end cancer.”
That mission is shared by the team at Covington’s St. Tammany Cancer Center – A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center, opened in 2021 by St. Tammany Health System and Ochsner, strategic partners since 2014.
The facility is one of the seven cancer centers in the Ochsner network to be included in a separate partnership announced last June between Ochsner and MD Anderson to provide local patients access to leading-edge care based on the same protocols and practice standards as at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
In other words: That MD Anderson sign on the façade of St. Tammany Cancer Center is more than a mere sign. It is symbolic of the truly innovative cancer care being delivered inside.
“It is exciting to have this curative therapy here for our diverse population of patients,” Dr. Alsfeld said. “Our partnership with MD Anderson, coupled with access to treatments like this and clinical trials through one of America’s leading cancer care providers will continue to have an impact for our patients.”
He continued: “The sky is the limit from our standpoint. … The depth of this partnership allows us to do what is best for our patients.”