Coronavirus (COVID‑19)

With the COVID-19 virus continuing to spread, specialty hospitals like ours must take immediate steps to help contain the virus and support community hospitals that are bearing the brunt of the influx of COVID-19 patients. Our President and CEO, Pat Basu, MD, is calling on all specialty hospitals to:

• Leverage telehealth to remain engaged with the patients who cannot and should not travel to facilities for their regular appointments and to connect with care teams when displaced patients come to specialty care hospitals for care.
• Welcome cancer or surgery patients coming to a specialty hospital to alleviate the impact that disruptions in care have on a patient’s emotional and physical state and reduce the risk of exposing a higher-risk patient population to COVID-19.
• Start cross credentialing to enable doctors from local hospitals to care for a patient at the specialty hospital.

If you are a cancer patient, we want to be your go-to resource in this time of need. If you are a provider, we want to partner with you for the benefit of all patients.

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to unfold, a critical worldwide shortage has developed in the supplies needed for health care workers to continue their frontline work for those suspected or diagnosed with COVID-19 and those being treated for other health needs.

We have received a number of requests from generous groups and individuals wanting to help the cancer community and offering to make hand-sewn surgical masks for our use. We are touched by this philanthropic spirit, and we are embracing this proactive, collaborative approach to helping cancer hospitals like ours avoid potential shortfalls.

Now more than ever, we recognize that Cancer Treatment Centers of America^® (CTCA) is woven into the fabric of an amazing community of talented and generous people. So if you, too, are passionate about sewing and/or know individuals or groups that sew, we have developed careful, detailed instructions on how to make hand-sewn surgical masks, to ensure that your time is well spent and the masks will provide proper protection. Also know that once the masks arrive at our hospitals, we follow a thorough process to inspect, prepare and sterilize them for use.

We recognize these are challenging times for us all. Together, working for the good of humanity, we will see this through. Please see the instructions and video below for details on the proper materials and process for making hand-sewn surgical masks.