AdventHealth Manchester joins UK Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network
MANCHESTER, Ky. (March 6, 2026) — AdventHealth Manchester has joined the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network as the hospital prepares to bring a new oncology service line for patients in Clay County and surrounding communities in southeastern Kentucky.
The affiliation will allow AdventHealth Manchester to develop its cancer care program with guidance and support from the UK Markey Cancer Center, Kentucky’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. The affiliation will strengthen AdventHealth Manchester’s patient navigation, care coordination and supportive services, with the goal of allowing more patients to receive cancer treatment closer to home.
“As we prepare to bring oncology services to Manchester, our goal is to ensure patients no longer have to travel far from home to receive compassionate, high‑quality cancer care,” said Nick Bejarano, president and CEO of AdventHealth Manchester. “This expansion is an important step forward for our community and reinforces our promise to provide care that treats the whole person, body, mind and spirit.”
The Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network was established in 2006 to bring high-quality cancer care closer to patients across Kentucky, with a focus on prevention, education and access to clinical expertise. The network now includes 20 hospitals across the Commonwealth.
Markey affiliation will also assist AdventHealth Manchester in working toward Commission on Cancer accreditation, a national designation that recognizes hospitals for delivering high-quality, multidisciplinary cancer care. Affiliate hospitals also gain access to cancer-specific education and training for their physicians, nurses and staff, keeping local providers current on the latest treatment approaches.
“We are proud to work alongside AdventHealth Manchester as they develop their oncology services and expand what is available to patients in their community,” said Timothy Mullett, M.D., UK Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network medical director. “Through the affiliate network, they will have access to Markey’s expertise, and more patients in southeastern Kentucky will have access to cancer care close to the people and places that matter most to them during treatment.”
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns and the region’s only Level 1 trauma center.
As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.