Alliance expands research consortium and enables health system to add new dimension to clinical research to improve patient diagnoses and precision medicine treatments within local communities

McLeod Health announced today that it has joined Guardian Research Network, a nationwide healthcare system research consortium. The strategic relationship will enhance the research efforts of McLeod by bringing more novel diagnostic and treatment options to patients in northeastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina communities.

McLeod joins other GRN member health systems committed to continuously exploring improvements in patient care by playing a role in the discovery of new ways to diagnose and treat diseases, such as cancer. “We are thrilled to welcome McLeod Health to GRN,” said Shirley Trainor-Thomas, vice president of Partner Network. “With the long history McLeod Health has for providing quality care, it is a perfect fit with the GRN family of not-for-profit health systems and will bring another dimension to the network,” she commented.

Joining GRN underscores the McLeod commitment to innovation by leveraging new capabilities and facilitating connections to ground-breaking research. As a locally owned system, McLeod Health is committed to achieving new levels of medical excellence and aligning programs to ensure delivery of medical services to families where they live and work.

McLeod already has a foundational research infrastructure and, according to Judy Bibbo, Vice President of Patient Services, “wants to expand care options so that local patients have access to cutting-edge research without leaving the area to participate in studies. Being a part of GRN’s network will help expand targeted treatments and offer more care options to patients who could benefit from immunotherapy and other gene-based therapies, for example,” she added.

Representing more than 2.5 million patients across the country, GRN focuses on advancing healthcare data technology and introducing clinical trials that lead to accelerating cures for life-threatening diseases. “We are looking forward to a successful, collaborative relationship with McLeod as we work together to bring the community increased opportunities for clinical trials and advanced treatment options,” Trainor-Thomas concluded.