Area cancer care options expand
Making access to top-notch treatment more widely available is one way to improve cancer care. And that’s exactly what a major area hospital and a regional office of New England’s largest private practice cancer care group are doing in Central Mass.
There is a growing need for improved cancer care in the Bay State, where an estimated 33,310 new cancer cases will be diagnosed this year – a number projected to rise to over 38,000 by 2010.
Milford Regional Hospital broke ground earlier this month on a $25 million, 54,000-square-foot building that will house a new cancer center staffed by oncologists and radiologists from Dana-Farber and Brigham and Women’s cancer centers in Boston. For cancer patients in Central Mass., the new center offers the expertise of some of the oncology field’s most renowned practitioners, access to clinical trials of those Boston-based hospitals, but with the convenience of avoiding the Hub.
"This is a defining moment in the evolution of Milford Regional as we add this critical cancer treatment facility to our long range plan for the creation of a full service community based regional healthcare system," President and CEO Francis Saba of the Milford Regional Healthcare System said during the groundbreaking last week. Milford Regional is affiliated with UMass Memorial Health Care.
The center is scheduled to open next fall.
It’s not the only health care group growing its cancer care specialty in Central Mass. In September, the Worcester-based affiliate of Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology – the state’s largest community-based private cancer care group, headquartered in Quincy – relocated from its Prescott Street office to a new space in a former nursing home at 299 Lincoln Street. The move doubled the space of the practice to nearly 9,000 square feet.
"When we moved into our first office, it seemed big at the time – and then it soon seemed very small," says Dr. David Shepro who along with Dr. Susan Donohue, started the Worcester practice in 2002. "We left room to add some additional staff, but I would guess that this new office could soon seem small, too."
The practice is geared to optimizing cancer care for each patient, and administering chemotherapy in as relaxed an atmosphere as possible. Inside its treatment room, the sterile white of a traditional hospital has been replaced with earthy blues and reds, where 12 brown leather recliners are available for patients and their families. Patients can download the movies of their choice through a wireless Internet connection.
"The atmosphere is very important in chemotherapy," says Shepro.
CHO places a high priority on customer service – making doctors and nurse practitioners quickly available for phone or in-person consultations. But inventory is important too, and Shepro’s practice – which also runs the Leominster office of CHO – has special computerized inventory equipment to keep track of cancer drugs, some of which can cost thousands per dose.
Like Milford Regional, CHO has also staked a good part of its reputation on its engagement in clinical trials – which in CHO’s case, involve a National Cancer Institute study on leukemia run in conjunction with Dartmouth Medical School.
Kenneth J. St. Onge can be reached at kstonge@wbjournal.com
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