Keck Medicine pushing into O.C. with oncology network acquisition

Keck Medicine of USC has acquired a small oncology network, Orange Coast Oncology Hematology, to expand its growing presence in Orange County.

Keck intends to change the name of the newly acquired network to USC Oncology/Hematology, which will operate out of offices in Newport Beach and Irvine.

Orange County cancer patients will now have access to university-based treatment, including clinical trials and genetic stem cell research, without having to drive to Los Angeles, said Thomas Jackiewicz, chief of Keck Medicine of USC.

The acquisition is part of Keck Medicine’s ongoing expansion into Orange County, Jackiewicz said. Keck Medicine has previously affiliated with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach as part of its Orange County outreach.

“We realized a lot of people were leaving Orange County for their cancer care,” Jackiewicz said. “We really wanted to make it about the patient and try to bring cancer care closer to home.”

Under the acquisition, which was announced Wednesday, physicians with the former Orange Coast Oncology Hematology will become faculty at Keck School of Medicine. The physicians joining Keck include Greg Richard Angstreich, Minh D. Nguyen, George B. Semeniuk III, Dilruba Haque and Louis VanderMolen.