Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center’s clinicians will staff the Cancer Center at Cookeville Regional Medical Center

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has entered into a professional services agreement to provide oncology care at Cookeville Regional Medical Center (CRMC) Cancer Center beginning July 1.

Through this agreement Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center’s medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and advanced practice nurses will be Cookeville Regional’s exclusive providers of cancer services.

“This is a win-win for Cookeville Regional and Vanderbilt-Ingram,” said Buffy Key, CEO at CRMC. “In today’s healthcare scope, more and more medical facilities and systems are finding ways to partner together to deliver the best care to patients. It is always about the patients. We know that we have a fantastic cancer center right here, close to home that has been serving our area for many years. Our community needs to continue receiving comprehensive cancer care without the need to travel. Cookeville Regional powered by the experts at Vanderbilt-Ingram gives patients that opportunity to receive advanced cancer care and access to additional programs from Vanderbilt-Ingram all while remaining close to home.”

Vanderbilt-Ingram is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and one of the nation’s top oncology providers. Through this agreement, Vanderbilt-Ingram and Cookeville Regional Medical Center will collaborate to bring advanced cancer care to Cookeville and the Upper Cumberland region. Patients will receive coordinated care between medical providers and will have improved access to the second opinion program from Vanderbilt-Ingram’s subspecialists, representation at molecular tumor boards, access to the latest clinical trials and other benefits.

“We are excited to collaborate with Cookeville Regional Medical Center on our shared goal to help people diagnosed with cancer live longer and better lives,” said Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, the Benjamin F. Byrd Jr. Professor of Oncology, and director of Vanderbilt-Ingram. “As an NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, we create and implement the latest innovations and lead initiatives that result in treatment advancements while providing patients with personalized and compassionate care. An important part of our mission is bringing this expertise to every patient with cancer.”

The new cancer relationship builds on a decade-long collaboration between VUMC and Cookeville Regional. In 2012, the two entities entered an affiliation agreement to expand the scope of health care services in Cookeville and the Upper Cumberland region. The cancer collaboration follows an agreement reached in 2022 for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to provide pediatric physician services.