New cancer center on horizon for St. Joseph Hospital
The nurses at Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin haven't used a pedometer to measure the distance between their two outpatient cancer treatment areas, but it's a decent walk.
And if you're a patient, your options are a wheelchair or a short ride in the car.
That will change in mid-January when the hospital begins treating patients at the new Bob and Edna Meadow Regional Cancer Care Center.
The 26,000-square-foot facility will enable the St. Joseph staff in the radiation and infusion departments to work in one area, improving collaboration and efficiency.
"There will be a whole lot more communication going on and the patient will be right in the center of it," said Andrea Duval, the center's director.
For patients, most of whom will come to the hospital for treatment lasting anywhere from one hour to a whole day, warm earth tones and natural light will replace cold, antiseptic colors and drab tiles.
The new center has four private rooms and 10 separate stations for infusion procedures, such as chemotherapy, compared to a capacity of nine patients now.
The U-shaped upper level is flanked by two outdoor terraces that provide scenic views and can be used if a patient wants treatment outdoors.
Each new station also has sliding partition in case patients want to lean on others for support or simply have some quiet.
"A lot of our patients get to know each other over time and don't want to be closed in," said Mary Gleason, the center's clinical nurse manager. "The environment is conducive for healing and renewal."
The Meadows family donated $5 million toward construction, which began last year. Hospital staff pitched in another $250,000.
The staff will host an open house from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, 77 N. Airlite St. For more information, call (847) 695-3200.
During a tour Monday, technicians worked to wire up the hospital's new linear accelerator, one of two that will be housed at the facility.
The new wing also has a resource center for staff education and training and art therapy for patients; a boutique for gifts; a healing garden on the ground floor; larger, private changing rooms; and larger break rooms for the staff.