COA Appoints Frederick Schnell as Medical Director

Community Oncology Alliance

Community Oncology Alliance

Frederick M. Schnell, MD, has been appointed to the newly created position of medical director at the Community Oncology Alliance (COA). With over 30 years of experience as a physician and CEO of a community oncology practice, Schnell plans to reform the future of oncology payment.

Schnell previously served as the CEO at Central Georgia Cancer Care in Macon, Georgia. He is also a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia as well as a clinical professor of hematology and oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute and Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, where he focuses on breast and genitourinary cancer.

In the past, Schnell served as president at both COA and the Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology. He received the Distinguished Cancer Clinician Award from the Georgia Cancer Coalition.

According to a statement from COA, the organization expects Schnell’s insights to make significant differences in future strategies for community oncology. As a founding physician of the organization and a member of the COA Board of Directors for several years, Schnell looks forward to coming back to this team.

We are pleased to have Dr Schnell joining the Community Oncology Alliance team. His years of practice, patient care and an intimate understanding of the issues facing cancer care providers and cancer patients make Dr. Schnell perfectly suited to be our Medical Director," Jeff Vacirca, MD, CEO of NY Cancer Specialists in New York and president of COA, said in a statement. The rapidly changing landscape of cancer care delivery in the United States demands insight like his to craft the future strategies for community oncology.

While the landscape of cancer care in the United States is changing quickly, Schnell will be taking this position at a time where his guidance can be most useful. With over 3 decades of practice in community oncology, he will craft new strategies to reform the field today.

“This is a crucial time for community oncology. There are obstacles and issues to be sure, but the future is so much more positive and COA has more resources than at any time in its history,” Schnell said in a statement.

COA is a non-profit organization dedicated to community oncology practices and their patients. With a mission to ensure cancer patients receive quality, affordable, and accessible cancer care, COA has built a national network of community oncology practices over the last 15 years. They advocate for public policies to benefit cancer patients.

COA is an association partner of Targeted Oncology. Together, they strive to bring oncologists the latest in cancer research and practices.