Maureen Killackey, the clinical director of cancer services for NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, called the hospital”™s new $60 million surgery and oncology pavilion a “one-stop shop.”
That”™s because the new center, expected to open in March, will feature services and technology not previously offered, including on-site radiation treatment as well as additional infusion stations and a pharmacy.
“Eighty percent of cancer care can be done here,” Killackey said. “This is really spectacular.”
Connected to the hospital”™s main entrance, the 40,000-square-foot, four-story pavilion built adjacent to the current cancer center is complete with eight operating rooms ”“ all nearly double in size from the current operating areas ”“ seven exam rooms and 16 patient-recovery stations to go along with advanced cancer-fighting technology.
Killackey, also the chair of the New York State Cancer Detection and Education Program Advisory Council, said during a recent tour of the facility provided to the Business Journal that the center will not only provide advanced technology and services to both patients and staff, but will also ensure the Bronxville hospital its place in a continuously evolving cancer treatment landscape in Westchester.
“We are switching now into competitive mode,” Killackey said.
The opening of Lawrence”™s new center comes at a time when White Plains Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which Killackey referred to as the “behemoth” in West Harrison, make expansion efforts and adjust their business models to compete for a share of the market.
Memorial Sloan Kettering, which offers chemotherapy and infusion services, radiation therapy and clinical trials at its Sleepy Hollow outpatient facility, opened an additional 114,000-square-foot outpatient facility at 500 Westchester Avenue in West Harrison in October 2014. The move was opposed by several Westchester hospitals and the Westchester Medical Society, but Sloan Kettering was eventually approved by the state Department of Health in 2011.
In October, White Plains Hospital, a member of Montefiore Health System, opened a 35,000-square-foot, six-story outpatient physician tower with an expanded infusion center, pharmacy and new reception area. The expansion, which brought the hospital”™s cancer treatment center to more than 70,000 square feet in size, includes a boutique, cafe and complimentary massage, aromatherapy and acupuncture programs for patients.
Both Killackey and Tracey Lewis, the hospital”™s vice president of operations, agreed that the center was necessary to help the hospital compete.
Lewis said the new pavilion will be a major upgrade over the current cancer facility, which both deemed cramped and not nearly spacious and technologically advanced to match the rising number of cancer patients in the region.
A radiation therapy center on the lower level will include three exam rooms and a PET/CT scanner, which provides advanced medical imaging.
The first floor will include seven exam rooms, a total of 19 infusion stations, the pharmacy, a support lab and medical prep areas.
With sunlight streaming in from the ground-floor windows, the space features 13 community infusion stations, four semi-private stations and two fully private infusion areas. Patients will have access to televisions and a pantry.
The second floor includes the operating rooms and medical prep areas and other support areas as well as a post-anesthesia care unit with 16 patient recovery stations and additional support spaces.
Lewis said many of the cancer center’s patients come from surrounding communities including Bronxville, Eastchester and Scarsdale, and she hoped the nearly all-inclusive pavilion would increase the number of its patients coming from Westchester.
Calling it a “much less overwhelming experience,” she said the oncology pavilion will provide for fluid patient intake and treatment.
“Right now, if we had a patient in the hospital who needed radiation, we would have to send them to Columbia or elsewhere,” Lewis said. “We can analyze blood specimens in real time, conduct physician visits, do lab tests and so much more.”
Video and Internet capability allow for remote meetings with Columbia doctors in new conference rooms. The surgery and oncology pavilion was built on the site of a former garden, which was lifted up during the construction process and moved to what is now the third floor.
“We gained a lot without losing a lot,” Lewis said.
Citing the growing 65-and-over population in Westchester ”“ those most at odds to develop cancer ”“ the hospital was awarded a certificate of need by the state Department of Health in 2008. Lawrence Hospital Center first received approval for the project from the Bronxville Planning Board in December 2012, and began construction in July 2013. The project was funded through a combination of borrowing, fundraising and hospital equity, officials said.
Lawrence Hospital joined the NewYork-Presbyterian Regional Hospital Network, which includes Columbia University Medical Center in Manhattan, in 2014. The oncology pavilion marks Lawrence Hospital”™s latest major capital project, following the completion and opening of its cardiac catheterization laboratory in April 2015.
The new oncology pavilion is expected to add 70 employees, including 32 full-time staff members and four new physicians from Columbia. Over the next month, workers will be completing mostly cosmetic touch-ups and equipment installation before the scheduled March 7 ribbon cutting ceremony, when the new center will begin accepting patients.
Construction crews were still working on Jan. 19 to complete two elevator shafts as well as the on-site pharmacy lab, which is the last feature expected to be completed.
Bronxville patients will continue to have access to clinical trials held in Manhattan.
“It”™s truly an academic-community partnership,” Killackey said.
But along with implementing new technology and services comes the need for both current and incoming medical staff to learn and relearn techniques and practices, which Killackey expressed confidence in happening quickly.
“It’s all about teamwork,” she said.
