Fresh off exiting the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, radiology provider Akumin Inc. has inked a new hospital joint venture deal, leaders announced Wednesday.
The company is partnering with Northern Nevada Sierra Medical Center to help expand radiation oncology services across the Reno marketplace. Akumin said the pact also includes two independent doc groups—Carson-Tahoe Radiation Oncology Associates and Cancer Care Specialists.
“We are pleased to begin this partnership with local physicians who have an interest in growing oncology services in northern Nevada,” Helen Lidholm, interim CEO of the hospital, said in a Feb. 21 announcement. "Our new hospital has begun to expand inpatient oncology and this alignment ensures continuity of care and will provide enhanced resources, all while focusing on delivering excellent patient outcomes."
Cancer Care Specialists is the product of a 2015 merger between Alpine Hematology-Oncology and Reno Oncology Consultants, who together have been in business for 40-plus years. The practice is based in Reno and employs more than a dozen docs, according to its website. Radiation Oncology Associates, meanwhile, employs four physicians, is based in Carson City and has in-depth knowledge on the latest therapy techniques, Akumin noted.
Together they’ll work to provide “leading-edge radiology oncology services” across the Reno area, Akumin’s new CEO, Krishna Kumar, MBA, said in the announcement.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.