Building a better way to treat cancer

Peter Herbert, MD

Imagine a sea of white coats crowding into a city hall hearing. When New Haven was considering plans for the new Smilow Cancer Hospital, faculty turned out in force to support it. Peter N. Herbert, MD ’67 has spent much of his life at Yale, graduating from the medical school in 1967 and now serving as Yale- New Haven Hospital’s chief of staff and senior vice president for medical affairs. He had never seen the faculty so passionate about a project. The planned cancer facility aroused passion in Herbert as well, moving him to make a gift to the Yale Cancer Center, which will benefit two institutions dear to him: the hospital and the medical school. Cancer services at Yale are spread across many locations. The Smilow Cancer Hospital will bring all cancer-related services under a single roof. A patient will be able to meet with specialists together on a multidisciplinary plan of care and also take advantage of amenities as varied as a healing garden and a wig shop. Patients will have a better experience; physicians will be able to practice more collaboratively; and opportunities for translational research will emerge. During the long planning process, faculty physicians were uncompromising in demanding a state-of-the-art facility centered on patients’ needs, says Herbert. “I think this is probably the best thing we’ve ever done for physicians and patients here in New Haven,” Herbert says. The Smilow Cancer Hospital’s grand opening is projected for late in 2009.