UCSF, John Muir expand cancer care in San Francisco area

University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and John Muir Health are building upon their current cancer care collaboration by building a new outpatient center.

UCSF and John Muir, based in Walnut Creek, California, began their affiliation in 2015. It currently includes a number of specialties, including organ transplant care. As part of the expansion, the two health systems will open an outpatient center in Berkeley, California, in 2018, the health systems said in a statement.

“John Muir Health and UCSF are like-minded organizations, committed to delivering cancer care in our communities through high-quality, efficient, value-based care,” said Mike Thomas, president and chief administrative officer of John Muir Medical Center, in a statement. “Our partnership will leverage one another’s strengths to enhance the lives of our patients and allow them to remain in their own communities, where the support of friends and family can assist in the healing process.”

The health systems are expanding cancer care and long-term surveillance due to a demand from the aging population in the area.

“Together, we can offer patients care across a continuum of services and help them navigate their individual medical needs,” said Alan Ashworth, PhD, president of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, in a statement. “They will have access to specialists in both health systems, an extensive support network, and the most precise and personal cancer services that John Muir Health and UCSF have to offer.”