For immediate release: Aug. 28, 2008

Cancer Center's participation in national healthcare forum a success

GOSHEN, Ind. - Thanks to an invitation from Former Sen. Bob Dole, Goshen Health System has been given a voice in the national healthcare debate.

 President and CEO James O. Dague and Medical Director of Goshen Center for Cancer Care Doug Schwartzentruber, MD, FACS were in Lawrence Kansas earlier this month to discuss the importance of individuals taking an active role in their own healthcare.

Dague and Schwartzentruber were among 12 panelists invited by former Sen. Bob Dole to speak at the healthcare forum sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a non-profit organization established in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Dole, Howard Baker, Tom Daschle and George Mitchell, to provide an opportunity for tough policy challenges to be addressed in a bipartisan way.

The project is an unprecedented effort to produce policy recommendations addressing the delivery, cost, coverage, and financing challenges facing the nation's healthcare system.

The leaders individually are holding a series of forums looking at quality and value of care; affordable, accessible coverage choices; promoting a strong individual role in healthcare coverage; and securing a workable financing mechanism for health care.

Panelists at Sen. Dole's Aug. 4 forum entitled "Reforming the U.S. Health Care System: Supporting the Role of Individuals," covered topics from empowering patients to seek out high value care, the importance of health and wellness programs in the workplace and meeting healthcare needs of rural communities.

Together, Dague and Schwartzentruber highlighted the unique qualities of the cancer center from its multidisciplinary approach and salaried physicians to its integrated method that eliminates the duplication of services and puts the patient at the center of the decision-making process.

"Goshen has just about 30,000 people," Schwartzentruber said during the presentation. "This (model) could happen anywhere."

Sen. Dole, who invited the cancer center to participate in the forum after visiting Goshen in June for the annual True Celebration program, told the crowd of about 400 how impressed he had been with the way the cancer center team meets weekly to discuss every patient's case and map out treatment options.

"It was an honor to take part in this national event, and an even greater honor that Sen. Dole recognized the effectiveness of the model we have in place at the cancer center," Dague said. "Our hope is that some of what we shared during the forum can help the Bipartisan Policy Center in its effort to develop policy recommendations for the nation's healthcare system."

The Bipartisan Policy Center has said it will not release its recommendations until after the Presidential election. A video of the Aug. 4 forum is available on the Bipartisan Policy Center web site.

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 www.goshencancer.org.

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 www.goshenhealth.org.