Temple and Fox Chase to announce “agreement”

Temple University Health System and Fox Chase Cancer Center said Wednesday that they will announce a "definitive agreement" at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Their joint statement did not specify what that agreement entails, and press officers for both entities did not answer calls to their office or cell phones.

The two institutions already collaborate on some services, such as doctor training and bone-marrow transplants. They have been in talks for several months.

Temple faces financial challenges, in part because its North Philadelphia location attracts large numbers of Medicaid patients, who generate less revenue than patients with private insurance do. Fox Chase, a rare freestanding cancer center, has sought to expand for years but had to give up on its plans to grow into Burholme Park next door after courts sided with neighbors who opposed the move.