By Lois Thomson

If you want to know “what’s new” across Baptist Health Cancer Care, be prepared for quite a long answer. Dr. Leonard Kalman, interim system chief executive of Baptist Health Cancer Care and interim executive medical director of Miami Cancer Institute, was pleased to discuss the many new programs, innovations, and happenings to start the new year across the program.

As background, Dr. Kalman explained that he is a medical oncologist who came to this community 43 years ago, joined a private practice, and grew that practice to 47 doctors. The practice ended in 2014, and that group of oncologists became the legacy employees of the Miami Cancer Institute. “At that point I assumed my duties as the executive deputy director and chief medical officer. Among my many duties are to recruit physicians and help direct the development of our clinical programs.”

The “interim” portion of his title refers to the fact that founding CEO, Dr. Michael Zinner, recently passed away. Dr. Kalman said, “I worked closely with him as my partner, my boss, my friend, to build this cancer institute. Upon his death I was named as the interim leader of Baptist Health Cancer Care.” The national search to fill the position is underway. But Dr. Kalman acknowledged, “We’ll never replace him, but we’re looking for someone with a similar academic background who also has some of the same personal qualities. He was humble, kind, compassionate, and easily approachable.”

While Dr. Kalman continues with his responsibilities, he said the institute is “very much focused on growth in terms of new patients and new sites of care, as well as full integration with the Lynn Cancer Institute in Boca. We have become a destination cancer system. Our national and international reputation is growing every day and every year. We are intent on building on that, as our physicians continue to give lectures and make presentations at the most prestigious national and international meetings.”

In addition, Dr. Kalman mentioned that Miami Cancer Institute’s radiation oncology facility is state of the art, equipped with every possible modality to optimize patient care, including a showcase proton facility. Proton therapy is the latest in radiation oncology, delivering precise treatments that maximally reduce side effects by sparing the normal tissue surrounding a tumor.

With its growing presence, Dr. Kalman admitted, “We’ve outgrown our current facility. So we have developed another building called the Al and Jane Nahmad Women’s Cancer Center, a 160,000 sq. ft. building across the Baptist Hospital of Miami campus from the current facility, a unique building where we will focus on the care of women with cancer. Our breast cancer patients will be seen there, as well as our gynecological oncology patients, supported by our plastic surgeons and other providers and programs designed for the special needs of women with cancer.”

The institute has hired a new physician, Dr. Anastasia Tousimis, former chief of breast surgery at Georgetown, to be the medical director of the women’s cancer center. She will coordinate care there among all the providers in a multi-disciplinary, women’s centric fashion.

Dr. Kalman also mentioned that he’s especially proud of a young woman’s breast cancer program developed by breast surgeon Dr. Starr Mautner and breast cancer medical oncologist, Dr. Reshma Mahtani. While women of every age have issues when it comes to the disease, young woman have special concerns that this program will address.

He mentioned, too, the institute’s partnership with the New World Symphony, a partnership fostered by his predecessor, Dr. Zinner. “There is an Arts in Medicine program, where artists come in and work with the patients. It’s been documented that when patients get involved in arts, whether it’s painting, drawing, or other artistic endeavors, this improves the quality of their lives as they progress in their cancer journey.”

Through all of this, Dr. Kalman said, “We hold ourselves to high standards. We strive for the clinical outcomes for our patients. And we want them to feel that both the clinical expertise and the patient experience are second to none.”

In describing the overall care provided by the Miami Cancer Institute, Dr. Kalman called it, “comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, innovative, and compassionate. It’s all about the patients and their families getting the very best care.”

For more information, visit https://baptisthealth.net/services/cancer-care.