World-class cancer care comes to North County

Siteman Cancer Center began treating patients at Christian Hospital in north St. Louis County on July 1.

Based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, the new location is Siteman’s fifth location in the St. Louis area.

Siteman Cancer Center at Christian Hospital will offer the North County community convenient access to nationally recognized cancer care, including clinical trials evaluating innovative cancer therapies. It will  serve residents in North St. Louis, North St. Louis County, Southern Illinois and the region.

Timothy J. Ebelein, MD, Siteman’s director, described Christian Hospital as a pillar of the North St. Louis community.

 “We’re thrilled to provide area residents with exceptional cancer care closer to home,” said Eberlein, the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor at the School of Medicine.

For now, Siteman will offer cancer care on the Christian Hospital campus, at 11125 Dunn Road near Interstate 270 and Highway 367. It is currently located in Christian’s medical office Building 2, site of the former Christian Cancer Care Center.

However, a new facility is planned for Siteman at Northwest HealthCare, six miles west of the hospital, pending necessary approvals. That site, at 1225 Graham Rd. in Florissant, would become home to Siteman’s North St. Louis County satellite, with an anticipated groundbreaking in early 2018 and opening in 2019.

 “Christian Hospital has a long, proud history as a committed community member and partner,” said Rick Stevens, president of Christian Hospital. Stevens oversees the Dunn and Graham roads facilities. “By combining efforts with Siteman, we look forward to continue serving the people of North St. Louis and Southern Illinois, including those who are medically underserved, and to offering patients even more treatment options.”

Funding for the new satellite location and the planned new facility comes from Washington University School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare.

Rick Stevens

“We look forward to continue serving the people of North St. Louis and Southern Illinois, including those who are medically underserved, and to offering patients even more treatment options.” – Rick Stevens, president of Christian Hospital.

Medical oncologist Timothy Rearden, MD, who has been practicing at Christian Hospital for 22 years, became the medical director of Siteman at Christian, as well as a full-time Washington University School of Medicine faculty member in the Division of Medical Oncology. He will continue to see cancer patients at the North St. Louis County location.

“Dr. Rearden is an integral link between Siteman and the community,” said John DiPersio, MD, PhD, deputy director of Siteman and director of the Division of Oncology at the School of Medicine, who also is the Virginia E. and Samuel J. Golman Professor of Medicine.

“He is well-respected and well-known, and his longstanding commitment to serving the residents of North St. Louis County is part of who he is. By joining the Washington University faculty and the Siteman team, he’ll continue caring for patients and be able to offer many more treatment options.”

Washington University radiation oncologist Mackenzie Daly, MD, is the director of radiation oncology at Siteman at Christian Hospital. Other Washington University physicians who will see patients at Siteman at Christian Hospital include Anna Roshal, MD, and Nikolaos Trikalinos, MD, oncologists and genitourinary and gastrointestinal cancer specialists; Camille Abboud, MD, and Allison King, MD, PhD, hematologists; Cesar Santa-Maria, MD, oncologist and breast cancer specialist; Virginia Herrmann, MD; Katherine Glover-Collins, MD, PhD; and Donald Buck, MD, breast/reconstructive surgeons; Arnold Bullock, MD, and Ramakrishna Venkatesh, MD, urologic surgeons;  Muhammad Yasin, MD, general/colorectal surgeon; and Jiayi Huang, MD, Christina Tsien, MD and Wade Thorstad, MD, radiation oncologists.

Most staff members who treat cancer patients at Christian Hospital’s outpatient cancer clinic became Washington University employees July 1 and will continue seeing patients at Siteman Cancer Center at Christian Hospital. Additional staff members are expected to be hired over time.

“What often is a rare cancer elsewhere is a tumor type we treat every day,” Eberlein said. “That, combined with the depth and breadth of our cancer research programs, gives us the expertise to tailor treatments to patients according to their individual needs. We welcome the opportunity to extend that level of care to North St. Louis County and throughout the region.”

Appointments for any Siteman location can be made by calling 314-747-7222 or 800-600-3606 toll-free weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or by visiting www.siteman.wustl.edu.