Ray and Kay Eckstein Regional Cancer Care Center open house set for June 28
The lights of Broadway will shine a little brighter for cancer patients when the Ray & Kay Eckstein Regional Cancer Care Center at Baptist Health Paducah opens in a few weeks.
The lights of Broadway will shine a little brighter for cancer patients when the Ray & Kay Eckstein Regional Cancer Care Center at Baptist Health Paducah opens in a few weeks.
The $19.1 million center will be open for tours Wednesday, June 28 – 2 to 3 p.m. for cancer survivors and their families, and 3 to 5 p.m. for the public. Patient services will begin in the center July 10.
The two-story 56,000-square-foot center is on Broadway, near the intersection of 24th Street, on the northeast corner of the campus.
It consolidates a variety of cancer services from across the hospital campus into one location. Patients can get their labs and treatment all in the same sparkling new center designed with a serene healing atmosphere.
“Our lights shine bright with hope for everyone dealing with cancer,” said William A. Brown, hospital president. “Fighting cancer is hard – not just for the patient, but also on the family. We help them through the fight of their lives with a dedicated staff of cancer experts, the latest technology and now this convenient center to make the journey as comfortable and easy as possible.”
In addition to board-certified medical and radiation oncologists and surgeons, the staff includes 24 oncology-certified nurses, radiation therapists, dosimetrists, physicists, patient navigators and social workers with a combined 500 years of experience, averaging 21 years each.
Baptist Health Paducah is celebrating 50 years of cancer care, following the area’s first cobalt therapy here in 1967. The multi-disciplinary program has been nationally-accredited since 2001, with the area’s only radiation oncology service accredited since 1998. Recent technology upgrades have included da Vinci robotic surgery, 3-D mammography and stereotactic radiosurgery, which can reduce radiation treatment from weeks to days.
“Sometimes our patients will go to academic centers, such as Vanderbilt, and the specialists will say, ‘Why are you here? You can get what you need at Baptist in Paducah,’ ” Brown said.
Now patients can get Baptist’s top-rated care with the specially-designed comfort and convenience of a comprehensive cancer care center.
“Our patients are just going to love this,” said Mike Tutor, executive director for heart, oncology and radiology services. “Everything is in one place. Treatment will be more convenient and faster since they don’t have to go from department to department. Dietary, lab, pharmacy, social work – everything is there; and there is room for a friend or family member to be with their loved ones.”
The center features a beautiful domed resource center, offering information and supplies, as well as space for teleconferences, support group meetings, genetic counseling, individual and family counseling and advance care planning.
The center was designed to be beautiful inside and out, Tutor said, with garden views and original artwork meant to inspire with messages of hope, including portraits of survivors and nine original pieces of art tell stories of healing through leaves from different trees. “The focus on nature brings the outside in, a theme amplified by the multiple windows facing healing gardens of local plantings,” he said. “All are designed to provide a serene, healing atmosphere.”
Construction began in fall 2015. The second phase of the project – renovation of the adjoining radiation therapy suites – will be completed in late 2017.