A joint venture between hospitals and doctors was a revolutionary concept for cancer care in 1987. With a pioneering spirit the Presidents of Saint Vincent Health Center and Hamot Medical Center, and Erie's cancer physicians at the time, Drs. Peter Scibetta, Jay Jenkins and William Brereton, agreed to partner for the benefit of patients and families in the Erie region. Their pooled resources and cooperation made The Regional Cancer Center (RCC) one of the first freestanding comprehensive outpatient cancer centers in the country.

Years later the collaboration continues, and The RCC continues on the leading edge.

Together Saint Vincent and UPMC Hamot have combined their resources to create a single coordinated cancer service, building a program that has attracted outstanding and difficult-to-recruit medical professionals. Through collaboration they avoided the unnecessary duplication of services and equipment and have been able to infuse RCC with resources necessary for the latest technology, while keeping costs down. Although collaboration between two competing organizations can be challenging, they have successfully kept their focus on what is best for the patients and the community. That cooperation has yielded a higher quality cancer service delivered more cost-effectively than if each hospital had established a separate program. Progressive leadership over the past 26 years, in a dynamic and sometimes volatile healthcare environment, has built an outstanding nationally recognized program that most communities our size can only dream of.

Cancer care has advanced significantly. The RCC has evolved to keep pace, and RCC's history shows a constant theme throughout the years: provide the best care available to patients regardless of their ability to pay.

With a constantly-changing reimbursement climate, keeping the organization viable has required agility and commitment. In 2008 RCC affiliated with UPMC CancerCenter, one of the largest integrated community networks of cancer physicians and health care specialists in the world. The Center's working relationship with UPMC CancerCenter brings the resources of one of the top academic programs in the country to our regional program. This collaboration brings comprehensive, state-of-the-art treatment innovations and services within reach, close to home at The Regional Cancer Center.

Today, board certified physicians and more than 160 staff care for thousands of regional residents each year. On any given day more than 350 unique patients have an appointment at The RCC. In 2012 RCC provided care to over 9,900 patients, providing experts, compassion and hope close to home.