McLaren Health Care, a nine-hospital not-for-profit system based in Flint, Mich., signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Detroit-based Karmanos Cancer Institute.
Karmanos, one of the nation's 41 comprehensive cancer centers, and McLaren are now Michigan's largest cancer-care provider with more than 12,000 patients annually and the fourth-largest cancer center in the U.S., said Dr. Gerold Bepler, Karmanos' CEO.
Karmanos, officials said, will continue its longstanding relationships with Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Detroit Medical Center.
But Detroit Medical Center, a division of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., is opposed to the deal. “We are very disappointed in the decision of the (Karmanos) board and the way it was handled,” DMC CEO Joe Mullany said. “We are aware several board members are opposed. (The affiliation) is detrimental to cancer care in Detroit.”
Mullany said DMC will now explore developing additional oncology affiliations with other providers.
Bepler said the agreement, which will become effective in several weeks after the boards have amended their governing agreements, will create the largest cancer research and provider network in Michigan. McLaren has agreed to provide a “substantial capital investment over a multiyear period” to improve Karmanos facilities, fund clinical trials, basic and translational research programs, Bepler said. Specific dollar figures were unavailable.
