Region's Only Dedicated Heart Hospital Cancer Institute to Open July 5
Saint Francis Medical Center will open the doors of its new Heart Hospital Cancer Institute to the public for a community open house event on Sunday, June 26, from 1 to 3 pm.
The Heart Hospital Cancer Institute is the region’s first and only facility dedicated to the treatment of cardiac and cancer patients. This 208,000-square-foot, $84 million project began in July 2008 and is the largest private construction project in Cape Girardeau to date.
The open house event will feature tours of the new facility, refreshments, the world’s largest and most realistic walk-through inflatable heart, and a variety of health booths. This is a unique opportunity for the community to see behind the scenes of this new facility that takes heart and cancer care to a new level.
Physicians and staff, the people who work in these areas every day, designed many features of the building. Additional elements were incorporated into the design based on input from patients and families.
The 60-bed Heart Hospital will feature a pre- and post-procedure holding area, six ultrasound rooms, 50 private acute care rooms, a 10-bed cardiac intensive care unit, and five cardiac catheterization labs. The electrophysiology lab within the Heart Hospital’s Arrhythmia Center is one of the first in the world to feature an advanced 3-D visualization tool, which provides significant benefits to patients. The building design allows for efficient patient throughput, validating Saint Francis’ commitment to comprehensive cardiovascular care in one location.
The design of the Heart Hospital allows for convenient access to and from surgery, the Gene E. Huckstep Emergency and Trauma Center, and the main building’s radiology department. This is the ideal situation for heart patients when every second counts.
The Cancer Institute is a fully integrated cancer facility featuring improved comfort and convenience for patients; technological advancements, including chemotherapy and imaging upgrades; and medical and radiation oncologists under one roof. This facility will provide groundbreaking cancer care and treatments for patients, and Saint Francis remains the only facility in the region affiliated with MD Anderson Physicians Network®.
The building’s lower level houses imaging services, radiation treatment services, a laboratory and a boutique. Cape Radiation Oncology will relocate to this space, which features a permanent, dedicated P.E.T./CT imaging scanner; the region’s only CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System; linear accelerators that provide image-guided radiation therapy with respiratory gaiting; and intensity modulated radiation therapy. Patients will also have access to electronic brachytherapy.
The third level houses the Infusion Center, with 35 flexible treatment stations, including four private rooms. The physicians of Cape Medical Oncology also will move to offices on the third level for patients’ convenience.