RCCA Expands to Maryland to Become One of the Nation's First Multi-State Oncology/Hematology Physician-Owned and -Operated Networks

Andrew L. Pecora, MD

Regional Cancer Care Associates, LLC, or RCCA, one of the nation's largest physician-owned and -operated oncology networks, will now provide cancer care to patients in Maryland through four divisions in the greater Washington, DC area. RCCA is dedicated to providing innovative, comprehensive and value-based care close to home.

"Providing our comprehensive clinical and research services to patients in Maryland is a natural extension of our statewide presence in New Jersey, where we have more than 100 oncologists and 700 nursing and support staff treating patients at 25 locations throughout the Garden State. It is also a perfect complement to our ongoing RCCA Bone Marrow Transplant program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC," said Andrew L. Pecora, MD, FACP CPE, President of RCCA.

Dr. Pecora added, "We are honored that some of the most highly respected oncologists practicing in Maryland today have made the decision to join the RCCA team and assist in expanding the footprint of our patient-based care delivery organization." New RCCA oncologists in Maryland will include: Paul Bannen, MD; Ralph Boccia, MD; Iva Ferreira, MD; Nelson Kalil, MD; Victor Priego, MD; Chitra Rajagopal, MD; Patricia Rizzo, MD; Frederick Smith, MD; Dongmei Wang, MD; and James Xu, MD.

Dr. Ralph Boccia, Dr. Nelson Kalil, and Dr. Frederick Smith are three of the oncology leaders who will continue their long service to the people of Maryland and the Washington, DC metropolitan area with RCCA. Dr. Boccia, who serves as President and Medical Director of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Bethesda, MD, said, "Joining RCCA enables me to continue providing the highest quality of care in the face of healthcare delivery trends that are putting significant pressure on medical practices. There are more and more layers of paperwork, more reimbursement challenges, and a growing demand to collect and report all sorts of data. Besides being difficult in their own right, these issues can detract from the time the physician can devote to patient care and clinical research. So joining with a larger organization that has the expertise and infrastructure to deal with those matters makes sense in general. However, I'm very excited to be joining RCCA, specifically, because of the organization's great track record of providing quality cancer care in a convenient and compassionate setting. It is also deeply involved in cutting-edge clinical research, which is a major component of our practice." Dr. Boccia also serves as Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University, Chief Medical Officer of the International Oncology Network (ION) Clinical Research Program, and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Geriatric Oncology Consortium.

Dr. Kalil, a Brazilian-native, board-certified oncologist-hematologist, is President of Nelson G.N. Kalil, MD, PC. He has extensive experience with US-based and global Phase I to Phase III clinical trials, and has been Principal Investigator for many trials evaluating pipeline drugs, such as kinase inhibitors. Dr. Kalil was trained in oncology/hematology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in Bethesda, MD. He treats both local patients and international patients at his Washington-area offices. Dr. Kalil explained that those patients will benefit from his practice joining RCCA in two major ways. "First, the RCCA model allows oncologists to maintain their independence, following national clinical guidelines for cancer treatment while making individualized treatment decisions in consultation with the patient and referring physicians. Second, for those patients eligible and amenable to participating in clinical trials, we will be able to offer convenient local access to a wide range of trials in different types of cancer and study phases."

Dr. Smith, a board-certified medical oncologist with long experience as both an academic medical center faculty member and a private practitioner, will lead RCCA's division in Chevy Chase, MD. "Joining RCCA enhances my ability to provide patients with the best of both 'personalized' care — meaning individualized treatment plans based on molecular assessment of a patient's cancer and other sophisticated approaches – for which academic medicine is known, and 'personal care' – meaning strong physician-patient relationships and treatment in a comfortable, convenient setting – that long has marked community-based practice," said Dr. Smith, who like Dr. Boccia has been very active in clinical research, publishing more than 70 papers in medical journals.

"Our newly established presence in Maryland represents one of the first instances of a fully unified cancer care organization expanding across state lines," said Edward J. Licitra, MD, PhD, Chairperson of the Board of RCCA. Dr. Licitra added, "This move is a reflection of the growing roles that integration and networking are playing in assuring the delivery of high quality, cost-efficient care, but its true importance is found in what it means to patients. Someone newly diagnosed with cancer now will have ready, convenient access to oncologists, advanced practice nurses, and other clinicians with deep expertise in their type of cancer, sophisticated analytics that help shape a personalized treatment plan designed to offer optimal outcomes, cutting-edge treatment and technologies, and the more than 300 clinical trials in which RCCA and its physicians participate."

ABOUT RCCA

Regional Cancer Care Associates LLC (RCCA), one of the largest oncology physician networks in the United States, is transforming oncology care by ensuring that cancer patients have access to the highest-quality, most-comprehensive, cutting edge treatments in a compassionate and community-based setting. RCCA includes more than 100 cancer care specialists and is supported by 700 employees at 30 care delivery sites, providing care to more than 23,000 new patients annually and over 240,000 existing patients. For more information visit: http://www.RCCA.com

For further information, contact:

Bryan Soltes

bsoltes@regionalcancercare.org

201-510-0903