UNC Hospitals should give up its turf war with Cary Urology and allow it to host the statewide prostate center.
After all, the need for the center was first brought to attention by Cary Urology, which petitioned for the inclusion of a new, central prostate center for North Carolina in the State Health Coordinating Council’s annual plan.
Upon hearing of the petition, UNC Hospitals initially sent a letter to the State Health Coordinating Council, demanding that the petition be overlooked because the state’s academic medical center teaching hospitals were more than qualified to perform research on the newest and best treatments for prostate cancer.
UNC Hospitals made it apparent that it was against Cary Urology’s push for a statewide prostate center.
But the State Health Coordinating Council agreed with Cary Urology and put the statewide prostate center into the annual plan.
Once the State Health Coordinating Council’s plan was approved, UNC Hospitals decided to change its mind and submitted an application to host the prostate center along with three other medical organizations, including Cary Urology.
Cary Urology’s application to host the center in Raleigh was approved in September of 2009. Instead of relenting, UNC Hospitals appealed the decision a month later because it felt it had a strong proposal which followed the regulatory criteria for the project.
A year later, the statewide prostate center is still on hold, awaiting the outcome of the appeal.
But it is in the state’s best interest for the center to be located in Raleigh. This location would be more favorable for reaching the black male demographic, which has a one in four chance of getting prostate cancer.
