Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center created a safe outpatient CAR T-cell therapy program that allows patients to receive advanced cellular therapy closer to home. This model improves access for rural patients, reduces the burden of inpatient stays, and strengthens community-based precision cancer care.
Nationally, approximately 1 in 5 patients who qualify for CAR T-cell therapy never receive it due to geographic distance, travel burden, or limited availability at specialized inpatient centers. Recognizing a critical need in its community, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, launched the region’s first fully outpatient CAR T-cell therapy program for select blood cancers, fundamentally redefining how advanced cellular therapies can be delivered safely outside of a hospital setting and earning the program a 2026 ACCC Innovator Award.