Goshen Center for Cancer Care to Present at Health Care Forum for Sen. Bob Dole

GOSHEN, Ind. –  Goshen Center for Cancer will join the national health care debate next week, with its integrated model to be included in discussion on high value care that could potentially shape healthcare reform at a national level.

At the invitation of former Sen. Bob Dole, Goshen Health System’s President and CEO James O. Dague and Dr. Doug Schwartzentruber, MD, FACS will be presenters at a national health care forum on Aug. 4 at the Dole Institute of Politics on the Kansas University Campus in Lawrence, Kan.

Together, Dague and Schwartzentruber will highlight the unique qualities of the cancer center from its multidisciplinary approach to cancer center-salaried physicians to the integrated, team approach that ensures efforts are not being duplicated and that the patient is getting the best treatment possible in one location without having to visit multiple doctors or specialists.

Sen. Dole’s invitation was extended after the former Senator visited Goshen in June as the keynote speaker the cancer center’s annual program to honor cancer survivors, True Celebration.

“Goshen Center for Cancer Care strives to deliver the highest value care possible through the daily collaboration of the doctors and staff to map out the best treatment options for our patients. It’s an honor that Sen. Dole recognized the effectiveness of the model we have in place,” Dague said. “Our hope is that what we’ve learned at the cancer center about patient care can be used as tool by others to ensure patients across the country are getting the best care available.”

This health care forum hosted by Sen. Dole, meant to explore ways to ensure and promote a strong individual role in health care, is just one of four such forums being conducted this year across the country.

Having seen many legislative battles over health care in their careers, Sen. Dole has partnered with fellow former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders, Tennessee Republican Howard Baker of Tennessee, and Democrats Tom Daschle of South Dakota and George Mitchell of Maine, in launching the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Leaders’ Project on the State of American Health Care.

The project is an unprecedented effort to produce policy recommendations that address the delivery, cost, coverage, and financing challenges facing the nation’s health care system. 

Each of the four Leaders will host a forum in their homes state to address four key topics, or “pillars,” of health care reform: preserving and improving quality and value of care; providing affordable, accessible coverage choices in a reformed insurance market; ensuring and promoting a strong individual role in health care coverage and costs; and securing a workable financing mechanism for health care.

Sen. Daschle’s forum on improving the quality and value of healthcare in April included such panel members as the president and CEO of Mayo Clinic and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
 “Goshen Health System and Goshen Center for Cancer Care are honored to participate in this effort alongside Senators Dole, Daschle, Mitchell and Baker as they work to develop policy recommendations for the nation’s healthcare system,” said Dague. “It is a humbling invitation and we take seriously this offer to join the discussion as we look ahead at the difficult issues on the healthcare horizon.”
A video, transcript and podcast of the Aug. 4 forum will be available on the Bipartisan Policy Center’s web site following the event at www.bipartisanpolicy.org.

About Goshen Center for Cancer Care:
The Goshen Center for Cancer Care is a leader in innovative cancer treatment. They were among the first to adopt a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment. They offer holistic programs for strengthening minds as well as bodies, place a premium on family involvement and spiritual needs, and encourage patients to play a decision-making role in treatment selection. Through this integrative team approach, the center provides medical, radiation, nuclear and surgical oncology as well as naturopathic medicine.

The Goshen Center for Cancer Care is involved in, and sponsors, a number of clinical trials. Additionally, prevention, screening, diagnostic and treatment trials are conducted at the Goshen Center for Cancer Care, as well as quality of life trials and genetic trials. Clinical trials offered include treatments for breast cancer, colon cancer, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, head and neck cancer, liver cancer, melanoma, myeloma, prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer. To find out more about the Goshen Center for Cancer Care or Goshen Health System, call 866-561-HOPE or visit.

About Goshen Health System
Goshen Health System is a not-for-profit provider of health care that includes Goshen General Hospital, The Goshen Center for Cancer Care, Park Home Medical Equipment, PrimeCare Physician Network, Team:Bariatrics, The Retreat Women’s Health Center and Indiana Lakes Managed Care Organization. The health system is an affiliate partner of Clarian Health. For more information about Goshen Health System, contact Bridget Levitz, Public Relations Coordinator at 574-535-2776 or visit .

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