St. Bernards unveils new $9.9 million cancer center
by October 31, 2016 2:52 pm 284 views
St. Bernards Medical Center has expanded the first cancer treatment center in Northeast Arkansas. The newly renovated Ben E. Owens Cancer Treatment Center is fully operational, according to the hospital.
The $9.9 million project is the first phase of an overall $137 million campus redevelopment project at the hospital. It took 10 months to complete the initial phase, and it was completed on time.
The 34,000-square-foot facility will can support about 200 patients a day, St. Bernards spokeswoman Rebecca Raspberry told Talk Business & Politics. Nearly 100 of those patients will receive radiological treatments. Cancer patients will now be able to receive all of their treatments and other related services in one place, Raspberry said.
About 850 patients are diagnosed with cancer at the center each year, and 98% of those patients will receive treatments at St. Bernards, according to the hospital. There are about 4,000 patients in the program.
The center has a radiation oncology clinic, PET and CT scanning a conference room, exam rooms, a hematology/oncology clinic, 27 infusion stations, two private infusion suites, and other amenities. A lab for blood testing, a chemotherapy pharmacy, and other services will also be offered by the hospital. At least 60 cancer patient spaces will be cordoned in the St. Bernards’ parking garage.
Phase two of the project will include a renovation of the Heartcare Center that could cost up to $10 million and include an expansion of all invasive services. A new electrophysiology lab and new hybrid lab will be built, and the old cardiac catheterization lab will be renovated. More labs will also be built, along with a 30-patient preparation and recovery area, and other updates. Hospital officials hope to have this phase of the project finished by late summer 2017.
The third phase involves construction of a five-story, 245,000-square-foot surgical tower. Numerous surgery-related services, a chapel, critical care areas, and others will be housed in the tower. To build the tower, the old St. Bernards Annex building will be demolished. Construction on the tower and a reconfiguration of the emergency room/services department will begin next year and cost about $75 million. It’s slated to be completed in late 2018.
The fourth phase of the project will be a renovation of the existing medical center. Patient rooms will be remodeled, as will designated public areas. Kitchen and dining spaces will also receive updates.
First opened in 1991, the center has treated more than 25,000 cancer patients.
The hospital has 438-beds and is designated as an acute care hospital. It’s the only level III trauma center in the region and has the only neonatal intensive care unit in eastern Arkansas, according to the hospital.
St. Bernards has been in operation since 1900. A Malaria Fever epidemic overwhelmed the area at that time, and the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters of the Holy Angels Convent established the hospital to help treat sick residents.