New London — A pending affiliation with Yale-New Haven Health System has led Lawrence + Memorial Healthcare to end its relationship with Dana-Farber Community Cancer Care at the L+M Cancer Center in Waterford.

The contractual agreement will end Jan. 1 by mutual agreement. Almost all of the medical oncologists employed by Boston-based Dana-Farber at the cancer center will be employed by Yale Medical Group, which is the physician practice arm of the Yale Medical School. Editor's note: This corrects an earlier version of this story.

In a letter sent to patients at the L+M cancer center, L+M President and Chief Executive officer Bruce D. Cummings pledged a seamless transition and praised the partnership with Dana Farber that led to design and development of the cancer center that opened in 2013.

“The opening of the center was a milestone in the history of L+M Hospital and a significant advance in cancer care for our region,” Cummings said in the letter.

“However, our industry continues to undergo rapid change and as we anticipate eventually having L+M Healthcare become part of the Yale New Haven Health System, it became apparent to both Dana-Farber and to L+M that this change is the best approach to take for our patients and medical oncologists,” Cummings said.

The cancer center was under contract as an affiliate of Dana-Farber until 2018, but an end to the relationship became imminent when L+M and Yale-New Haven announced that affiliation talks were underway in June. Radiation oncology at L+M and its cancer center has been provided by Yale School of Medicine for the past 20 years.

“Now, for the first time, both medical and radiation oncologists will come to us from the same organization,” Cummings wrote.

L+M’s cancer center is expected to eventually become a part of Yale-New Haven’s Smilow Cancer Center network. The Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven opened in 2009 and with 12 different programs treats the largest number of cancer patients in Connecticut, according to its website.

L+M spokesman Michael O’Farrell said transition plans already in place will ensure there is no disruption in care.

“Patients will see familiar faces and continue to receive seamless care,” O’Farrell said. “There should be a level of comfort in that and a level of comfort knowing that our partner is a significant one.”

One physician, Dr. Vanessa Johnson will not be joining Yale. She will be joining Eastern Connecticut Hematology and Oncology in Norwich.

O’Farrell said L+M’s affiliation with Yale-New Haven is still in the information gathering stages.

The Yale-New Haven network includes a children’s hospital and psychiatric hospital in New Haven and outpatient clinics in more than a dozen other communities.

Yale-New Haven’s oncology services include the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Center and 10 Smilow cancer care centers along with Smilow Cancer Hospital’s Greenwich campus and a care center at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford.

L+M Healthcare is the parent organization of L+M Hospital, the L+M Medical Group, Westerly Hospital and the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut.

 g.smith@theday.com

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