Cambridge Health Alliance : News

Harvard Medical School Teaching Affiliate

For Patients

For Providers

Academics

Careers

Services

Locations

How to Give

Join Our Media mailing list

Media Opportunity Consent Form

NEWS FROM CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE

January 3, 2007

CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE OPENS NEW GASTROENTEROLOGY CENTER AT SOMERVILLE HOSPITAL CAMPUS

- PUBLIC INVITED TO TOUR FACILITY ON JANUARY 18, 2007 FROM 4 TO 6 P.M. -

Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Medford, Revere, Somerville, Winthrop, MA…Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) announced today the opening of its new Gastroenterology Center (GI Center) at CHA's Somerville Hospital campus. The state-of-the-art facility includes a four-procedure-room endoscopy suite and will be staffed by a team of physicians, nurses, and technicians who specialize in helping patients with a variety of digestive disorders ranging from heartburn to cancer.

A usually treatable cancer, colon cancer is second only to lung cancer in terms of mortality rate. The GI Center's multidisciplinary staff are committed to increasing the community's access to screenings. Clinicians at the GI Center will provide a full spectrum of services in a patient-friendly setting designed to help ease patients' anxieties. Gastroenterologists will work closely with an expert team of surgeons, all trained in minimally invasive surgical care, in order to ensure continuity of care.

Karim Fawaz, MD, Director of the GI Center, is enthusiastic about making it a place where patients feel at ease. "Consolidating all GI services into one center will allow us to focus on our patients' needs," said Dr. Fawaz. "This new center will permit us to not only provide multidisciplinary care but also allow our patients to get an appointment quickly, reducing their anxiety and ensuring timely care."

Dr. Fawaz will lead a tour of the GI Center as part of an Open House on Thursday, January 18th, from 4-6 p.m. It is free and open to the public. For more information, please call Deborah Gates, RN, Nurse Manager, at (617) 591-4422.

Cambridge Health Alliance is a regional healthcare system with three hospitals and more than twenty primary care practices in Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston's metro-North communities. As a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Health Alliance offers medical residency/training programs and undergraduate learning experiences in hospital and community settings. Cambridge Health Alliance also includes the Cambridge Public Health Department, CHA Physicians Organization (CHAPO), and Network Health, a managed Medicaid plan.