SWOT ANALYSIS OF MEMORIAL SLOANE-KETTERING CANCER CENTER

SWOT Analysis of Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center



SWOT Analysis of Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center

Executive Summary

The world's oldest and largest private cancer center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) has devoted more than a century to patient care as well as to innovative research, making significant contributions to new and better therapies for the treatment of cancer.

Founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital by a group that included John J. Astor and his wife, Charlotte, the original building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan began its move to its present location on York Avenue in 1936 when John D. Rockefeller, Jr. donated the land upon which, in 1939, Memorial Hospital was constructed. Between 1970 and 1973, a new Memorial Hospital was constructed and this building stands on the site today.

In the 1940s, two former General Motors executives, Alfred P. Sloan and Charles F. Kettering, joined forces to establish the Sloan-Kettering Institute (SKI). SKI has since become one of the nation's premier biomedical research institutions. Built adjacent to Memorial Hospital, SKI was formally dedicated in 1948. In 1960, SKI and Memorial Hospital were unified into a single entity, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Today, the Center has more than 9,000 employees including 672 Memorial Hospital attending staff and 128 SKI members. In 2007, more than 21,000 patients were admitted to Memorial Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering accommodated 443,000 outpatient visits at its Manhattan and regional sites combined.

In recent years, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has expanded with new construction and renovations designed to meet the growing needs of both our patients and our research programs.

We have developed a network of community-based state-of-the-art outpatient cancer treatment facilities that bring our expert care closer to patients living throughout our geographical area, including Long Island, Westchester County, and New Jersey.

MSKCC's Breast Examination Center of Harlem (BECH) provides breast and cervical cancer screening at no out-of-pocket expense to the women of Harlem. Since its founding in 1979, BECH has had more than 185,700 visits. In addition, in 2003 MSKCC entered into a partnership with Harlem's North General Hospital through The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention, to offer the medically underserved population of Harlem access to the highest quality cancer treatment and screening services.

The Center's new 23-story research building, which opened in mid-2006, houses many of our laboratories and allow for expansion of a number of our research programs. The second phase of construction has commenced on a seven-story laboratory building next door. When this building is completed in 2009, both structures will be joined to create one facility.

An exciting new dimension was added to MSKCC in 2004 with the establishment of the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. A major goal of the school -- which offers a PhD program in cancer biology -- is to narrow the gap between basic cancer research and clinical applications by training a cadre of gifted young scientists to attack ...