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Prognosis Excellent for Medical Care, Research
Published Mar 05, 2007

If you’re sick or injured in the Portland region, six principal health-care systems are ready to help: Adventist Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Legacy Health System, Oregon Health & Science University, Providence Health System and Southwest Washington Medical Center.

All offer top-notch care. And an important bonus is cutting-edge medical research.

For example, 135 researchers are on staff at Legacy’s Clinical Research and Technology Center, “and that doesn’t include all the physicians who do clinical research. That’s another 90 physicians in the hospitals,” says Dr. Tony Melaragno, Legacy clinical vice president of research.

With an annual $10 million research budget, Legacy researchers are tackling orthopedic, eye and neurobiology challenges and working to establish a cancer research initiative.

“Legacy has one of the two Level 1 trauma [centers] in Oregon, and a lot of the doctors who participate in the trauma team are interested in research – the orthopedic trauma surgeons specifically,” Melaragno says. Accordingly, those physicians pushed for an alliance of medicine with biomechanics. The result is a laboratory that combines basic and applied research with product development.

Providence Health System, Oregon’s largest health-care system, is another leader in the trend toward increased medical research. Its Centers of Excellence – Providence Cancer Center, Providence Heart and Vascular Institute, and Providence Brain Institute – all seek to provide world-class care by focusing on the benefits of breakthrough technology and research for patients at the bedside.

Recently, two leading Oregon physicians were named to head expanded research efforts within Providence. Dr. Albert Starr, an internationally acclaimed heart surgeon, serves as director of academic affairs and bioscience development.

Dr. Walter Urba, nationally recognized for groundbreaking work in cancer and immunotherapy at Providence Cancer Center, is the new physician director for research. Both men see Providence’s research efforts as key elements in providing the best in patient care.

Providence also is a major provider of health-care coverage through its Providence Health Plan.

Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald

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Magazine:
Business Images of the Portland Region, 2008 Edition

Headline:
Prognosis Excellent for Medical Care, Research

Summary:
Health care and research go hand in hand at medical centers across the region

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