COA Elects New President, Officers, and Board Members

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, FASCO, Elected COA President

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is pleased to announce that Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, FASCO, has been elected president of COA. She is a practicing breast cancer specialist in Austin, Texas and executive vice president at Texas Oncology. Additionally, S. McDonald Wade III, MD, of Virginia Cancer Institute, and Emily Touloukian, DO, of Coastal Cancer Center, have been elected vice president and secretary. All have been active COA members for many years, serving on the board of directors and key COA committees. Each officer will take office for a one-year term beginning on January 1, 2025.

COA is a non-profit controlled by independent, community oncologists and is singularly dedicated to advocating for community oncology practices and, most importantly, the patients they serve. The officers, committees, and board members of COA further its mission to protect and foster the community oncology delivery system in the United States through public policy, advocacy, and education.

"Community oncology is the backbone of the nation's cancer care infrastructure, and COA is a powerful advocate for both patients and practices. I am deeply honored to be entrusted by my peers with leading COA into the future," said Dr. Patt. "To fully realize the promise of modern cancer care, we must ensure that patients have access to independent oncology practices in their own communities. By uniting our voices and championing what is right, we can ensure that patients and their care teams receive the resources and support they need."

Dr. Patt succeeds Miriam Atkins, MD, FACP, as COA President. COA is thankful for Dr. Atkins' leadership and inspiration as president since 2023. We look forward to working with her as Immediate Past President on COA's Executive Committee.

In addition to leadership roles, the COA Board elected new members to serve on the Board of Directors. Rosa Fletcher, chief executive officer of Oncology Consultants in Houston, TX, and Harsha Vyas, MD, FACP, a practicing hematologist and medical oncologist with the Cancer Center of Middle Georgia in Dublin, GA, were elected for the first time as COA Board members. Ms. Fletcher and Dr. Vyas have been active COA members for many years, supporting the COA Administrators' Network and COA Patient Advocacy Network with their leadership, respectively.

A list of COA Officers and Board members can be viewed online at https://communityoncology.org/about/leadership-board/. The website will be updated with the new members in 2025.

Current COA Board members Lakshmi Aggarwal, MD, and Gary Kay, MD, will rotate off of the Board at the end of 2024. COA would like to express its sincere thanks to Drs. Aggarwal and Kay for their extensive contributions and service to community oncology.

About the Community Oncology Alliance: The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for community oncology practices and, most importantly, the patients they serve. COA is the only organization dedicated solely to community oncology where the majority of Americans with cancer are treated. The mission of COA is to ensure that patients with cancer receive quality, affordable, and accessible cancer care in their own communities. More than 1.5 million people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer each year and deaths from the disease have been steadily declining due to earlier detection, diagnosis, and treatment. Learn more about COA at www.communityoncology.org.

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SOURCE Community Oncology Alliance