Selected Podcast
Palmdale Regional and City of Hope Partnership
Dr. Amartej Merla and Benjamin Gocke, Director of Business Development at Palmdale Regional, discuss the partnership between City of Hope and Palmdale Regional Medical Center and what this will mean for the Palmdale community.
Featured Speakers:
Ben Gocke, Palmdale Regional's is a new member to the leadership team as Director of Business Development for Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Ben was born and raised in the Antelope Valley and received a masters in Public Health from A.T. Still University as well as a Masters in Health Administration from the University of Southern California. He has been in the healthcare industry in the Antelope Valley for 14 years, five of which have been spent in a hospital setting.
Amartej Merla, MD | Benjamin Gocke
Amartej Merla, M.D., has broad experience in the treatment of a wide variety of malignancies, including solid tumors and hematological malignancies. He puts his patients first. His mission, as he sees it, is to provide “selfless care to the patients and placing their needs and happiness above everything.” Dr. Merla completed his medical degree in India. He was also trained in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States. He completed his internal medicine residency at St Luke’s University Hospital, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and further completed his hematology-oncology fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, New York. Dr. Merla is excited about the ongoing research and treatment in the field of oncology. Precision medicine and targeted treatments catering to the individual needs of the patient are the major developments in the field of oncology per Dr. Merla. He is very happy to join City of Hope as it gives him a great opportunity to treat malignancies using world-class technology and research.Ben Gocke, Palmdale Regional's is a new member to the leadership team as Director of Business Development for Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Ben was born and raised in the Antelope Valley and received a masters in Public Health from A.T. Still University as well as a Masters in Health Administration from the University of Southern California. He has been in the healthcare industry in the Antelope Valley for 14 years, five of which have been spent in a hospital setting.
Transcription:
Palmdale Regional and City of Hope Partnership
Amanda Wilde (Host): This is Palmdale Regional Radio. I'm Amanda Wilde. Today, we're looking into an inspired collaboration between City of Hope and Palmdale Regional Medical Center that is sure to have lasting impact in the greater Antelope Valley. Meet Dr. Amartej Merla, oncologist-hematologist at City of Hope, and Benjamin Gocke, Director of Business Development, Palmdale Regional. Welcome to you both.
Dr Amartej Merla: Good morning.
Benjamin Gocke: Thank you, Amanda. Happy to be here.
Amanda Wilde (Host): The goal of your alliance is to create the finest comprehensive care for patients in the greater Antelope Valley. So starting with you, Ben. What do each of your organizations bring to this partnership?
Benjamin Gocke: Happy to answer that. As you said, it's really an inspiring partnership. What Palmdale Regional, I think, City of Hope, looked to bring to the table. Palmdale Regional certainly has the resources that allow us to create a path of care for cancer patients that treats the disease. But what we really look for with the partnership with City of Hope, and what they do so well is collaborating on their mission of treating not only the patient and the disease that they have, but their soul and making sure that the patient is taken care of from a physical, mental, welfare and wellbeing, which is really, I think, at the heart of this collaboration and this partnership.
Amanda Wilde (Host): So holistic care.
Benjamin Gocke: Yeah. So the holistic care, so not just the collaboration between the physicians, which we know is so important, but there's other hospital departments that we will get together with our City of Hope partners, so that all aspects of the cancer care are taken care of. The hospital and the resources that we have available, and also the people that City of Hope can bring to the table, helping patients navigate the systems, making sure that there's social work involvement, making sure that nutrition is part of the treatment plan and that aftercare and that survivorship and the time between the end of treatment and continuing through past active treatment and making sure that there's nothing in the next five years, all those are portions of this partnership.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Dr. Merla, what does the partnership between City of Hope and Palmdale Regional mean for the residents of Antelope Valley? What kind of opportunities does that open up for residents?
Dr Amartej Merla: City of Hope is a leading oncology institution in the country. We have been ranked consistently as one of the top cancer centers by US News and World Report. We provide cutting edge technology and research, top-notch cancer care. This combined with great patient care provided at Palmdale Regional would bring, I think, excellent access to excellent healthcare center in the community.
We have our main hospital in Duarte and more than 35 community locations. And the main idea is to serve populations closer to home. The partnership will bring us developed various programs like the urology program, breast program, surgical residency program, which in turn will facilitate better healthcare. One of the aims with this partnership is also to expand our reach into the community and make clinical trials, which we have at City of Hope available to our vulnerable population in Antelope Valley region.
Amanda Wilde (Host): What services will City of Hope offer on the Palmdale campus, Dr. Merla?
Dr Amartej Merla: So, City of Hope opened two new offices next to Palmdale Hospital, apart from our current campus in Lancaster. We will provide medical oncology and general surgery consultation. We will also provide comprehensive urological services to both benign and malignant conditions. As a part of affiliation, we will help Palmdale Regional develop a surgical residency program.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Ben, why does this make you better together than you would be separately? Is it a combination of the resources? It sounds like you're expanding programs as well. Is that a result of collaboration?
Benjamin Gocke: Absolutely. You know, healthcare, historically, has had some fragmentation. And as a hospital, we're only a portion of the journey of a patient getting well. But we need physicians, we need the support staff. There's a lot that goes into caring for a patient, especially with something as complex as cancer.
So while we are expanding programs and wanting to partner with community organizations such as City of Hope, who have the expertise and who have that really best practice that the residents of Palmdale really and Palmdale Lancaster in the Antelope Valley in general really deserve. So it is a necessity for Palmdale as a hospital to partner with physicians and organizations such as City of Hope, so that we can meet that need in the community.
And we are exploring a lot of models with City of Hope, and how we can really make a mark for patients. It is an exciting prospect to be able to work with an organization like City of Hope because of their excellence and because of the mission that they have to really treat that whole patient. And being able to bring that to the community here is really special and really a reason why I think a lot of us get into healthcare and to meet that needs of the patients in the community.
Amanda Wilde (Host): How can community members best leverage these new services, Ben?
Benjamin Gocke: That's a good question. And I'm going to kick it over to Dr. Merla to give us, I think, some advice on screening process. I know personally, I'm getting to the age where some of these screenings are getting important and timely. And I'm a little bit nervous, to be honest. Some of them can feel embarrassing for a guy. So, I'm really curious to see what Dr. Merla has in terms of advice for somebody like me and having friends and acquaintances who have had to go through the process, how important it can be to get those screenings.
Dr Amartej Merla: Sure. Thanks, Ben. I think, first, starting off with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been a huge challenge, I would say, like any other subspecialty. We have to adopt and be innovative as we face challenges in and during the pandemic.
As healthcare has been directed to accommodate emergencies during the pandemic, screening for cancers have really taken a back burner. So, rates of cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment have significantly decreased in the height of the COVID pandemic. But now, we are seeing that this has recovered since. But I don't think it's still back to the baseline. We have seen lot of cancers in the community and more people are now presenting with advanced cancers after missing routine screening. So as a result, going back to routine screening, especially in defined high-risk population, is essential.
The National Cancer Institute actually from one of the studies estimate 1% increase in death over the next 10 years from breast and colorectal cancer screening, which is approximately 10,000 excess deaths because of delayed screening, the delayed screening during the pandemic. So, screening helps to detect cancers early, which in turn improves survival and cure rate. So, eligible populations should get screening as well as know that prevention and early detection is the key for success.
So according to the United States Preventative Task force, women at an average risk of breast cancer need to be screened starting at the age of 50 to 75 years. They should get an annual, or at least every two years, a mammogram. Adults of age 45 to 75 years should be screened for colon cancer. The task force also recommends low-dose CT screening for adults aged 50 to 80 years for lung cancer who have 20-pack year history of smoking, and who are current smokers or quit within the last 15 years.
Screening for prostate cancer is also important. Different organizations have different age starting limits for prostate cancer. But in general, after the age of 50 years, a patient or an adult with an average risk of developing prostate cancer should get screening by getting PSAs done on a regular basis.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Yeah. One thing I've learned from podcasts with doctors is the faster you discover and address an issue, the more likely you'll achieve a positive outcome. What other trends are you seeing in cancer care coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Dr Amartej Merla: So, as a result, as I mentioned, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the things affected is patients coming to the clinics in the height of the pandemic. We have seen a lot of challenges because of maintaining wearing masks, maintaining safe social distancing. So, we have seen less number of patients coming to our clinic. So, we have to really adopt to new changes and we have incorporated getting telemedicine or televideo appointments to help to address these issues so that patient care is not affected and can be done in a safe fashion.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Two medical organizations coming together with the services and all the attending departments and things you have to involve to make this happen is really a heavy lift. And you both have been involved in it for a long time. What was the best moment in all of that for you?
Benjamin Gocke: For me, there were I think two critical components. One, when we actually put the ink to the paper, and all the work, the pre-work that had gone on for I think years, actually came to fruition and we're able to announce and have the affiliation formalized. So, that was the first one and that was earlier this year.
The second one actually came very recently when I was able to tour the offices that City of Hope has built on the campus of Palmdale Regional. And just the physical presence of the two offices that Dr. Merla had mentioned was really special. I kind of got goosebumps as I walked through. First of all, it's a beautiful, fantastic facility, state-of-the-art equipment, the space that they really need to be able to treat the residents in the community here. That was a really special feeling. And I think the next one will come in the very near future when both offices are actually seeing patients here on the Palmdale Regional campus at their City of Hope offices.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Dr. Merla, do you have any moment like that that you'd like to share?
Dr Amartej Merla: Sure. I agree with Ben. You know, several hours have been spent by a lot of people from both organizations to bring this ideation on table. And one of the most happiest moments is when I did my first clinic in the new location. And it was absolutely fantastic and a very nice office. And seeing the first patient on the very first day, I think, was a great, exciting moment for me.
Last comment is we have a large racial minority and disadvantaged population in Antelope Valley, and access to healthcare has been a major concern, and I think our partnership would help address these concerns.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Thank you both for your efforts to serve more people with more comprehensive services.
Dr Amartej Merla: Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
Benjamin Gocke: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Thank you both. And that concludes another episode of Palmdale Regional Radio with Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Please visit our website at palmdaleregional.com for more information and to get connected with one of our providers. For more health tips and updates, follow us on your social channels and be sure to check out all the other interesting podcasts in our library. Until next time, be well.
Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians.
.
Palmdale Regional and City of Hope Partnership
Amanda Wilde (Host): This is Palmdale Regional Radio. I'm Amanda Wilde. Today, we're looking into an inspired collaboration between City of Hope and Palmdale Regional Medical Center that is sure to have lasting impact in the greater Antelope Valley. Meet Dr. Amartej Merla, oncologist-hematologist at City of Hope, and Benjamin Gocke, Director of Business Development, Palmdale Regional. Welcome to you both.
Dr Amartej Merla: Good morning.
Benjamin Gocke: Thank you, Amanda. Happy to be here.
Amanda Wilde (Host): The goal of your alliance is to create the finest comprehensive care for patients in the greater Antelope Valley. So starting with you, Ben. What do each of your organizations bring to this partnership?
Benjamin Gocke: Happy to answer that. As you said, it's really an inspiring partnership. What Palmdale Regional, I think, City of Hope, looked to bring to the table. Palmdale Regional certainly has the resources that allow us to create a path of care for cancer patients that treats the disease. But what we really look for with the partnership with City of Hope, and what they do so well is collaborating on their mission of treating not only the patient and the disease that they have, but their soul and making sure that the patient is taken care of from a physical, mental, welfare and wellbeing, which is really, I think, at the heart of this collaboration and this partnership.
Amanda Wilde (Host): So holistic care.
Benjamin Gocke: Yeah. So the holistic care, so not just the collaboration between the physicians, which we know is so important, but there's other hospital departments that we will get together with our City of Hope partners, so that all aspects of the cancer care are taken care of. The hospital and the resources that we have available, and also the people that City of Hope can bring to the table, helping patients navigate the systems, making sure that there's social work involvement, making sure that nutrition is part of the treatment plan and that aftercare and that survivorship and the time between the end of treatment and continuing through past active treatment and making sure that there's nothing in the next five years, all those are portions of this partnership.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Dr. Merla, what does the partnership between City of Hope and Palmdale Regional mean for the residents of Antelope Valley? What kind of opportunities does that open up for residents?
Dr Amartej Merla: City of Hope is a leading oncology institution in the country. We have been ranked consistently as one of the top cancer centers by US News and World Report. We provide cutting edge technology and research, top-notch cancer care. This combined with great patient care provided at Palmdale Regional would bring, I think, excellent access to excellent healthcare center in the community.
We have our main hospital in Duarte and more than 35 community locations. And the main idea is to serve populations closer to home. The partnership will bring us developed various programs like the urology program, breast program, surgical residency program, which in turn will facilitate better healthcare. One of the aims with this partnership is also to expand our reach into the community and make clinical trials, which we have at City of Hope available to our vulnerable population in Antelope Valley region.
Amanda Wilde (Host): What services will City of Hope offer on the Palmdale campus, Dr. Merla?
Dr Amartej Merla: So, City of Hope opened two new offices next to Palmdale Hospital, apart from our current campus in Lancaster. We will provide medical oncology and general surgery consultation. We will also provide comprehensive urological services to both benign and malignant conditions. As a part of affiliation, we will help Palmdale Regional develop a surgical residency program.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Ben, why does this make you better together than you would be separately? Is it a combination of the resources? It sounds like you're expanding programs as well. Is that a result of collaboration?
Benjamin Gocke: Absolutely. You know, healthcare, historically, has had some fragmentation. And as a hospital, we're only a portion of the journey of a patient getting well. But we need physicians, we need the support staff. There's a lot that goes into caring for a patient, especially with something as complex as cancer.
So while we are expanding programs and wanting to partner with community organizations such as City of Hope, who have the expertise and who have that really best practice that the residents of Palmdale really and Palmdale Lancaster in the Antelope Valley in general really deserve. So it is a necessity for Palmdale as a hospital to partner with physicians and organizations such as City of Hope, so that we can meet that need in the community.
And we are exploring a lot of models with City of Hope, and how we can really make a mark for patients. It is an exciting prospect to be able to work with an organization like City of Hope because of their excellence and because of the mission that they have to really treat that whole patient. And being able to bring that to the community here is really special and really a reason why I think a lot of us get into healthcare and to meet that needs of the patients in the community.
Amanda Wilde (Host): How can community members best leverage these new services, Ben?
Benjamin Gocke: That's a good question. And I'm going to kick it over to Dr. Merla to give us, I think, some advice on screening process. I know personally, I'm getting to the age where some of these screenings are getting important and timely. And I'm a little bit nervous, to be honest. Some of them can feel embarrassing for a guy. So, I'm really curious to see what Dr. Merla has in terms of advice for somebody like me and having friends and acquaintances who have had to go through the process, how important it can be to get those screenings.
Dr Amartej Merla: Sure. Thanks, Ben. I think, first, starting off with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been a huge challenge, I would say, like any other subspecialty. We have to adopt and be innovative as we face challenges in and during the pandemic.
As healthcare has been directed to accommodate emergencies during the pandemic, screening for cancers have really taken a back burner. So, rates of cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment have significantly decreased in the height of the COVID pandemic. But now, we are seeing that this has recovered since. But I don't think it's still back to the baseline. We have seen lot of cancers in the community and more people are now presenting with advanced cancers after missing routine screening. So as a result, going back to routine screening, especially in defined high-risk population, is essential.
The National Cancer Institute actually from one of the studies estimate 1% increase in death over the next 10 years from breast and colorectal cancer screening, which is approximately 10,000 excess deaths because of delayed screening, the delayed screening during the pandemic. So, screening helps to detect cancers early, which in turn improves survival and cure rate. So, eligible populations should get screening as well as know that prevention and early detection is the key for success.
So according to the United States Preventative Task force, women at an average risk of breast cancer need to be screened starting at the age of 50 to 75 years. They should get an annual, or at least every two years, a mammogram. Adults of age 45 to 75 years should be screened for colon cancer. The task force also recommends low-dose CT screening for adults aged 50 to 80 years for lung cancer who have 20-pack year history of smoking, and who are current smokers or quit within the last 15 years.
Screening for prostate cancer is also important. Different organizations have different age starting limits for prostate cancer. But in general, after the age of 50 years, a patient or an adult with an average risk of developing prostate cancer should get screening by getting PSAs done on a regular basis.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Yeah. One thing I've learned from podcasts with doctors is the faster you discover and address an issue, the more likely you'll achieve a positive outcome. What other trends are you seeing in cancer care coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Dr Amartej Merla: So, as a result, as I mentioned, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the things affected is patients coming to the clinics in the height of the pandemic. We have seen a lot of challenges because of maintaining wearing masks, maintaining safe social distancing. So, we have seen less number of patients coming to our clinic. So, we have to really adopt to new changes and we have incorporated getting telemedicine or televideo appointments to help to address these issues so that patient care is not affected and can be done in a safe fashion.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Two medical organizations coming together with the services and all the attending departments and things you have to involve to make this happen is really a heavy lift. And you both have been involved in it for a long time. What was the best moment in all of that for you?
Benjamin Gocke: For me, there were I think two critical components. One, when we actually put the ink to the paper, and all the work, the pre-work that had gone on for I think years, actually came to fruition and we're able to announce and have the affiliation formalized. So, that was the first one and that was earlier this year.
The second one actually came very recently when I was able to tour the offices that City of Hope has built on the campus of Palmdale Regional. And just the physical presence of the two offices that Dr. Merla had mentioned was really special. I kind of got goosebumps as I walked through. First of all, it's a beautiful, fantastic facility, state-of-the-art equipment, the space that they really need to be able to treat the residents in the community here. That was a really special feeling. And I think the next one will come in the very near future when both offices are actually seeing patients here on the Palmdale Regional campus at their City of Hope offices.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Dr. Merla, do you have any moment like that that you'd like to share?
Dr Amartej Merla: Sure. I agree with Ben. You know, several hours have been spent by a lot of people from both organizations to bring this ideation on table. And one of the most happiest moments is when I did my first clinic in the new location. And it was absolutely fantastic and a very nice office. And seeing the first patient on the very first day, I think, was a great, exciting moment for me.
Last comment is we have a large racial minority and disadvantaged population in Antelope Valley, and access to healthcare has been a major concern, and I think our partnership would help address these concerns.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Thank you both for your efforts to serve more people with more comprehensive services.
Dr Amartej Merla: Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
Benjamin Gocke: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Amanda Wilde (Host): Thank you both. And that concludes another episode of Palmdale Regional Radio with Palmdale Regional Medical Center. Please visit our website at palmdaleregional.com for more information and to get connected with one of our providers. For more health tips and updates, follow us on your social channels and be sure to check out all the other interesting podcasts in our library. Until next time, be well.
Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians.
.