WEATHER:

PLANTING THE
SEEDS OF HOPE
Roper St. Francis Breaks Ground for New West Ashley Cancer Center
 
roper hospital cancer center west of
From left, Allen Carroll, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital CEO; Scott Broome, Roper St. Francis Cancer Center Service Line Director; Peter DiNicola, Roper St. Francis Healthcare Service Line Director for Engineering, Clinical Engineering and Safety; and David Dunlap, Roper St. Francis Healthcare President and CEO were among participants who planted “Seeds of Hope” at the groundbreaking celebration for West Ashley Cancer Center last week
 
Special to West Of
 
Roper St. Francis Cancer Center and Charleston Hematology Oncology Associates, P.A. (CHOA) held a groundbreaking ceremony last week for the new West Ashley Cancer Center. The center will be located on the campus of Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital on Henry Tecklenberg Drive. The 76,000-square-foot, $19 million outpatient facility is expected to be completed and see its first patients in fall 2010.
 
“This will serve as a place for hope and healing with expert physicians, nurses, specialized caregivers, state-of-the-art technology, and significant resources designed to support cancer patients and their families, all under one roof in a convenient location,” said David L. Dunlap, President and CEO for Roper St. Francis Healthcare.
 
In a symbolic gesture, officials at the event participated in the ceremonial planting of “seeds of hope” in containers that will be used at the Cancer Center’s entrance once it opens. South Carolina Poet Laureate Marjory Wentworth, who created the Roper St. Francis “Expressions of Healing” cancer support program a decade ago and who continues to teach the program, read an excerpt from one of her best known poems, “Rivers of Wind.”
 
The new, 3-story stucco building features an architectural design in keeping with the pastel palette of existing buildings on the St. Francis Hospital campus. The center will also house offices for CHOA physicians. Plans call for a comprehensive array of outpatient cancer services including radiation, chemotherapy, PET/CT, CT, and labs will be offered pending regulatory approval. A new linear accelerator will offer all of the latest therapies available for radiation treatment.
 
A patient resource library, retail boutique with wigs, prostheses, and specially designed garments, and café are among other features of the new Cancer Center. “From the start, our vision has been to create a central place where cancer patients will have access to both their medical treatments as well as services and programs that support their individual needs,” said Scott Broome, Service Line Director for Roper St. Francis Cancer Center.
 
“Like the community and the people we serve, our hospital campus is vibrant and growing,” said Allen Carroll, CEO for West Ashley’s St. Francis Hospital.
 
The Roper St. Francis Cancer Center also operates a dedicated Oncology Research Department, of which the Clinical Trials Program is part. To learn more about Roper St. Francis Cancer Center, go to www.ropersaintfrancis.com/cancer/.