Native Las Vegan and practice leader takes helm after more than 15 years of advancing community engagement, patient care and physician recruitment
Comprehensive Cancer Centers (Comprehensive) announced today the appointment of Lisa Santwer as executive director, continuing the practice’s tradition of leadership grounded in patient care, innovation and proven community advocacy.
A longtime Las Vegan, Santwer has worked with Comprehensive since 2010 and most recently served as director of support services. In her new role, she will provide leadership, consultation and professional-level support to physicians across the practice while overseeing organizational operations that impact patients, employees and the Southern Nevada community.
Lisa Santwer
“Lisa has been at the core of building Comprehensive’s reputation as a leader in cancer care, research and community outreach,” said Dr. Rupesh J. Parikh, practice president of Comprehensive. “Her passion for patient-centered innovation, combined with her deep roots in the Las Vegas community, makes her the perfect choice for guiding our practice into its next, incredible chapter.”
Through her 15 years at Comprehensive, Santwer has overseen business development, advertising, public relations, government relations, strategic partnerships, community outreach and referring physician marketing. She has also provided leadership related to research, pharmacy, medically integrated dispensing and managed care. Her efforts have supported physician recruitment, including the addition of recruiting oncologists and clinical research experts, pulmonologists and breast surgeons, and helped drive investments of more than $25 million in advanced treatment technologies.
Santwer has created some of the practice’s most successful marketing campaigns, including a high-profile partnership with the Vegas Golden Knights and a Southern Nevada-wide skin safety community outreach initiative that provides free sunscreen at public parks and events that has been recognized nationally and now in its 12th year. She also established the practice’s signature Comprehensive Cares program to formalize its community giving and outreach strategy.
Beyond the practice, Santwer is a well-known civic leader. She has served on leadership committees of the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, and has served on the boards of Las Vegas HEALS, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation and the UNLV College of Sciences Advisory Board.
A graduate of UNLV with a bachelor’s degree in communications, she earned her Master of Business Administration from LSU Shreveport. She started her career working in public relations at Purdue Marion & Associates, serving clients throughout the state. Santwer lives in Las Vegas with her husband Rob and their two sons, Luca and Lachlan.
About Comprehensive Cancer Centers
Comprehensive Cancer Centers is an award-winning multi-specialty practice comprising medical oncology, hematology, radiation oncology, breast surgery, pulmonary services, cancer genetic counseling clinical research and other infusion services, with treatment centers and offices throughout Southern Nevada. For more than 40 years, the practice has provided oncology services to patients in and out of state with a specialized physician and nursing staff. Comprehensive, an affiliate of The US Oncology Network, offers state-of-the-art technologies, latest advancements in cancer treatment and groundbreaking clinical research trials. The practice participates in more than 150 Phase I, Phase II and Phase III clinical research studies each year and has played a role in developing more than 100 FDA-approved cancer therapies. For more information, visit the company’s website.
