Flint-based McLaren Health Care will acquire the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, creating the largest cancer research and provider network in the state.
Under the terms of the agreement signed Wednesday, which still needs to be reviewed and amended by the boards of both organizations, McLaren will invest an undisclosed amount of money in Karmanos over a multi-year period. The investment will support capital improvements, programs, and services.
“This agreement gives us the opportunity to extend our reach to give more people a better chance at surviving this disease,” says Dr. Gerold Bepler, president and CEO of Karmanos. “This truly integrated model not only allows us to impact more cancer patients across Michigan, it also strengthens our efforts right here at our main campus in Detroit. This ultimately helps Karmanos achieve its mission of preventing, detecting, and eventually eradicating cancer.”
The McLaren Cancer Institute in Clarkston will now be known as the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, while McLaren’s cancer clinical trials program will be merged into a single Karmanos Cancer Institute Clinical Trials Office. Both the Karmanos Cancer Institute and Karmanos Cancer Center will retain their respective assets, existing boards of directors, and their relationships with Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center.
Patricia Ellis, a Karmanos spokeswoman, says the institute examined a number of organizations, but McLaren best matched Karmanos’ strategic goals and mission. McLaren operates 10 hospitals along with ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, and the state’s only proton therapy center. The combined network will provide cancer care to more than 11,000 newly diagnosed patients, and more than 80,000 cancer survivors annually.
Karmanos’ 1,000-plus employees will remain at its Detroit, Farmington Hills, and Monroe-based locations. There are no plans for layoffs as a result of this agreement, Ellis says.
In other news, Crittenton Hospital Medical Center in Rochester announced it will open a $65-million south tower in January. The tower will offer private patient rooms on four of its six floors as well as units dedicated to treating cardiac and orthopedic spine and joint patients.
