The Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center is still the heart of cancer care at West Virginia University, but the newly branded WVU Cancer Institute is establishing a network of member health care providers meant to extend its reach across the region.
Dr. William Petros, interim director of the WVU Cancer Institute and Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, said the institute, which was officially named in the fall, has been slowly adding affiliated institutions, including locations in Parkersburg, Martinsburg, Clarksburg and even in Garrett County, Maryland.
"There are two to three more in negotiations right now," Petros said. "Some are more formal affiliations, staffed by WVU faculty, while others are more managerial affiliations, where we're providing oversight for the spectrum of care at that facility."
The Mary Babb Randolph Cancer center is the institution's flagship facility and will continue to be WVU's primary treatment facility, Petros said.
"As WVU Medicine became a formal brand and began reaching out to other regional centers, we wanted to think of a better way of describing the umbrella structure of how [Mary Babb Randolph] and WVU relate to these other centers," he said. "Our mission is to improve cancer care in West Virginia, and we'll do that by helping institutions improve the breadth and depth of their services, as well as provide them a better conduit to the services we have here."
Petros said the institute will allow for better communication and transitions for patients receiving care at the partner providers, and that in the future the partnerships will allow for more research opportunities for cancer treatment.
"The clinical aspects are just one piece - we have a big cancer prevention and control group that eventually will also help those sites with their cancer prevention efforts, and we have translational researchers and clinical researchers who can also directly interact with them," he said.
The institute plans to hold its annual spring gala next month, the first for the newly minted WVU Cancer Institute and the 31st for the cancer center. The event, slated for April 22 and 23, will be held at The Greenbrier resort and will feature continuing education for both medical professionals and attendees, as well as clinics with WVU's golf and rifle coaches and free admittance to WVU's annual spring Gold-Blue football game, held this year at the Greenbrier's AdvoCare Sports Performance Center.
Friday, April 22, will feature a Mountain State-themed Boots & Bow ties reception and dine-around dinner, where WVU basketball head coach Bob Huggins will introduce Grammy Award-winning country musician Kathy Mattea, along with The Davisson Brothers dance band from north central West Virginia.
Saturday, April 23, will offer a number of different activities, including a "Corks and Canvases" class, where participants paint a Greenbrier-themed masterpiece with the assistance of The Greenbrier's art instructor, and a healthy eating culinary demonstration with Caroline Randall Williams, an author, poet and visiting professor at WVU.
Saturday's Gala festivities will culminate with "An Evening Among the Stars," a black-tie dinner and dance featuring the Benny Benack orchestra.
Registration is $500 per person, and proceeds benefit the WVU Cancer Institute. For more information or to register online, visit www.wvu cancer.org/gala.
Reach Lydia Nuzum at
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304-348-5189 or follow
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