UPMC opened a radiotherapy center in southern Italy, the Pittsburgh-based system announced Oct. 8. The facility, which is scheduled to begin accepting patients later this year, will become part of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, one of the largest integrated cancer networks in the U.S.
Here are three things to know:
1. The UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at Villa Maria in Mirabella Eclano, Italy, follows the operational model of the UPMC San Pietro FBF Advanced Radiotherapy Center, which opened in Rome in 2013. The Rome facility was UPMC's first cancer center in the country.
2. The Villa Maria facility will be fully operational later this year and will offer a number of innovative radiation therapy treatments and other services. Fifteen full-time healthcare professionals were hired to staff the cancer center, including radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and nursing and administrative staff. The facility will also be part of UPMC's telemedicine program and will be able to connect Italian providers with UPMC cancer experts in Pittsburgh, Italy and Ireland.
3. UPMC has maintained operations in Italy for more than 20 years. Its first endeavor included the creation and management of ISMETT, a specialty hospital in Sicily formed in partnership with the regional government.
"This new cancer center will have a positive economic and social impact on this region and provide the kind of advanced care that patients must now travel long distances to receive," said Bruno Gridelli, MD, executive vice president of UPMC International Services, in a news release. "We're excited to once again show how UPMC can work with public and private partners to improve healthcare around the world."
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