Charles Enke, M.D., medical director of radiation oncology at
Clarkson Hospital, has been appointed chairman of the department
of radiation oncology in the University of Nebraska Medical
Center College of Medicine and will serve as medical director for
the Nebraska Health System (NHS). NHS is the combined hospital
and clinical operation formed by the recent merger of Clarkson
Hospital and University Hospital. With the formation of NHS,
radiation oncology services at Clarkson Hospital and University
Hospital were merged.
The appointment was announced by Harold M. Maurer, M.D., dean,
College of Medicine. Dr. Enke also has been appointed associate
professor at UNMC. "For the first time since it was created
in 1994, the department is chaired by a full-time radiation
oncologist," Dr. Maurer said.
"With this appointment comes the opportunity for UNMC and
NHS to build together a leading radiation oncology department in
the Midwest, especially through integration into the University
Treatment Center and Clinic’s overall research and education
missions," Dr. Maurer said.
Joining Dr. Enke on the department’s medical staff will
be Robert Thompson, M.D., and Ronald McGarry, M.D., Ph.D. Drs.
Thompson and Enke have alternatively served as medical director
of Clarkson’s radiation oncology department. Members of the
medical staff are now, or will become, members of University
Medical Associates, the UNMC physician group. Plans are under way
to recruit another academic radiation oncologist this year, Dr.
Enke said.
Physically expanding the department is one priority this year,
he said. Approval was granted to build a third treatment room at
Clarkson and equip it with a state-of-the-art linear accelerator.
"It will expand the intraoperative radiation therapy
program that was part of UNMC, and will improve and support
UNMC’s bone marrow transplant program by providing a
dedicated facility for total body irradiation procedures,"
Dr. Enke said.
The third room is expected to be operational in the fall 1998.
Until this new room and the connector between Clarkson and
University Hospitals are built, radiation oncology services will
continue to be provided at both facilities, he said. Once these
projects are complete, all radiation oncology services for NHS
will be provided at Clarkson. It is expected the department will
service 60 to 70 patients a day, he said.
Combining services in one location will have several benefits
patients, Dr. Enke said.
"The department combines areas of expertise into one
area. Patients will have access to investigative protocols
available through either hospital. Patients receiving outpatient
treatments will find parking more convenient. There also is a
significant cost savings of $8 to $10 million by utilizing the
facility at Clarkson rather than building a new facility at UNMC.
"We look forward to developing working relationships with
the clinicians and staff involved with the leukemia/lymphoma
program at UNMC," he said, noting that the department is
already developing modality protocols for small cell lung
carcinoma and malignant brain tumors. "The ability to
interact with so many oncologic experts is exciting," he
said.
Dr. Enke is not new to UNMC. He and his colleagues at Clarkson
have treated patients on a contractual basis at University
Hospital, taught UNMC students and residents and participated in
cooperative cancer group research protocol activities for several
years.
He received his medical degree from the University of Iowa in
Iowa City in 1985. He then completed his internship and residency
at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals in
Milwaukee. During that time Dr. Enke also was awarded a clinical
oncology fellowship from the American Cancer Society.
From 1989 to 1992, he served as medical director of radiation
therapy in the Cancer Treatment Center at St. Francis Hospital in
Grand Island. Dr. Enke then served as medical director of
radiation oncology at Clarkson from 1992 to 1994, and then again
in 1996.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the
state. Through its commitment to research, education and patient
care, UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading
centers for cancer research and treatment and solid organ
transplantation. Nearly $25 million in research grants and
contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually. In addition,
UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more
health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other
institution.