Regional Cancer Center to break ground for addition

By DEBORAH McQUAID

August 2, 2000 Web posted at: 11:14 AM EDT (1514 GMT)

ERIE, Pennsylvania (Erie Time News) -- The Regional Cancer Center is planning a $3.5 million addition and renovation that will increase the chemotherapy treatment, pharmacy and laboratory areas and create a new entrance.

Construction is expected to start in September.

The 18,000-square-foot expansion will be added to the east side of the building, which is located at 2500 W. 12th St.

The project will also include 3,084 square feet of renovation space.

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Both the boards of Saint Vincent Health Center and Hamot Medical Center, which jointly own the Regional Cancer Center, have approved the project, said William Harriger, chief operating officer of the cancer center.

The "L" shaped addition will surround the existing building to the east, and will triple the size of both the laboratory and pharmacy, and the chemotherapy treatment area will be nearly doubled. The new entrance will be on the east side. The medical records area will also be expanded, and a patient resource area will be added.

The cancer center, built 13 years ago, has outgrown its space, Harriger said. Built with 32,000 square feet of space, areas like the pharmacy, the laboratory and other offices are too small for the current patient load, he said.

About 300 people a day come to the cancer center. Eight years ago, the center performed 2,000 treatments in oncology. This year, 20,000 will be done. Every day, about 70 patients undergo chemotherapy treatments.

"We've been able to handle that growth with the existing building, but we've reached a point where we just can't function with it," Harriger said. "It'd be nice to have a little more space."

The cancer center renovated its chemotherapy treatment area just three years ago, going from four chairs to 12. While receiving treatment, patients sit in comfortable chairs. Treatments can range from 10 minutes to eight hours. With the addition, there will be 21 chairs for chemotherapy treatment.

Another area that will be added is a patient resource room that will contain a library of books and tapes and computers with access to the Internet. Currently, a bookshelf in the hallway holds books.

Harriger said about 2,000 hours were spent planning the project. All members of the staff were involved. The architects of the original building, Weber Murphy Fox, have designed and will coordinate the expansion and renovation.

The growth experienced at the cancer center is not due to increased cases of cancer, Harriger said. Patients with cancer spend less time in regular hospitals, he said, and more drugs are available to fight cancer. People have more options for treatment, he said.

The population is also aging. Medicare recipients make up 60 percent of the cancer center's patients, he said.

"It's not like we're seeing new types of cancer," Harriger said.

With the new drugs available for treatment of cancer, patients don't get nauseated as they did in the past, he said. "They're able to tolerate higher doses (of treatment) and over shorter periods of time," he said.

The caseload has simply outgrown the cancer center, Harriger said. The center needs private areas for quiet discussions with doctors and nurses and other staff, and more private areas will be incorporated into the new design, Harriger said.

With the onset of cancer, "there are a lot of decisions to be made and not a lot of time to make them," he added. The creation of a patient resource area where information can be researched will help with that.

The new design of the building will be integrated with the original, which was "ahead of its time," Harriger said. The waiting area for chemotherapy will be expanded and contain large windows giving a panoramic view of the grounds to the east, a grassy area with many trees.

"It all has to do with the comfort level of the patient," he said. The addition "will mirror the building itself," he said, with many windows in the treatment area.

Drawings are being finalized and bids will be advertised for contractors. Ground is expected to be broken in September with completion in the summer of 2001.

Harriger said the addition should accommodate the needs of the cancer center into the foreseeable future.

The Regional Cancer Center treats primarily people living in Erie County. Ninety percent of the patient population lives within a 75-mile radius of the center.

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