Johns Hopkins, WellSpan extend cancer care partnership

Johns Hopkins Medicine and WellSpan Health formed a partnership to expand cancer care nearly a decade ago, and that collaboration is poised to continue.

Johns Hopkins and WellSpan said Thursday that they have extended their partnership, calling it the “next phase” in their relationship.

The organizations said the partnership will allow more patients across central Pennsylvania to get access to Johns Hopkins’ advanced cancer care.

WellSpan operates 12 hospitals across central Pennsylvania and also serves some patients in northern Maryland. WellSpan’s territory covers cities such as York and suburban areas near Lancaster and Harrisburg, but its footprint also includes swaths of rural communities. Based in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is within 60 to 90 minutes of much of WellSpan’s service area.

The two health systems formed their partnership in 2017, and Johns Hopkins and WellSpan expanded their partnership in 2021.

Roxanna Gapstur, president and CEO of WellSpan Health, said in a statement that the two organizations shared a similar vision of offering more cancer care from a top academic medical center to supplement WellSpan’s community-based cancer programs.

"Today, that vision continues to deliver meaningful benefits for our patients and it reflects our shared commitment to ensure more people can access world-class cancer care while remaining close to home and surrounded by their support systems,” Gapstur said in a statement.

Kevin Sowers, president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine, said that he is looking forward to expanding access to cancer care.

"Our collaboration with WellSpan Health reflects a shared belief that every patient deserves access to the highest level of cancer expertise, regardless of where they live," Sowers said in a statement. "Over the years, we have built strong clinical and research relationships that support health care professionals, advance innovation and improve patient experience.”

All of WellSpan’s patients have access to the advice of experts from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. WellSpan patients will get most of their care from physicians in the WellSpan Cancer Institute.

WellSpan pointed to plans to bolster its cancer services in the system. WellSpan says it is investing in a comprehensive oncology program at WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, about 60 miles from Harrisburg. WellSpan acquired the hospital in 2024.

In addition, WellSpan has also recently announced a strategic partnership with

Cancer Care Associates of York to offer more care for patients in York County.

WellSpan has brokered a host of partnerships to find new ways to expand care in recent years.

The system has partnered with Emerus to open three micro hospitals in central Pennsylvania this year.

The hospitals offer emergency departments and typically have 10 inpatient beds, and can transfer patients with more serious needs to one of the system’s larger hospitals. But WellSpan says the smaller hospitals allow patients to get emergency care closer to home.