Photo provided by Sentara Medical Group. The Sentara Cancer Center is expected to cost $93.5 million, with an opening date set for mid 2020, according to the hospital.
NORFOLK, Va. – Sentara Healthcare will begin a multi-year and multi-million dollar effort to construct a cancer center on the campus of Sentara Leigh Hospital.
The healthcare system plans to spend $93.5 million on the Sentara Cancer Center, which they are hoping will open sometime in 2020.
According to a press release from the hospital, the new Sentara Cancer Center will bring together teams of medical professionals from Sentara Medical Group, Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), Virginia Oncology Associates and other community physicians to provide compassionate, personalized cancer care.
“The Sentara Cancer Center will bring together multidisciplinary care teams to deliver the most innovative and comprehensive cancer care for the Hampton Roads community as well as patients across the region and country,” said Howard P. Kern, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sentara Healthcare. “Developing this center is the culmination of years of work to deliver a truly integrated cancer program that will engage clinicians, researchers, support staff, community leaders, patients, and families in a collaborative way.”
The center will be modeled after other state of the art cancer centers that have been built around the nation.
Local government officials, such as Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander, spoke highly about the plans of the new cancer center that will be introduced to Hampton Roads.
“We are excited to see Sentara Healthcare and their medical partners leading the charge to bring a pioneering cancer care center to the Hampton Roads community,” said Mayor Alexander. “The development of this center is a direct reflection of efforts to bolster the region’s growth and economic prosperity.”
Sentara said that it will still provide multidisciplinary cancer care at its other facilities, which they say are vital to the communities they serve, but did show enthusiasm with the plans to have a centralized center in Norfolk.
According to the healthcare system, with cancer rates expected to grow 36% by 2030, the Sentara Cancer Center will enhance current services. It will also enable Sentara and other medical partners to engage in and accelerate research, improve customer experience, grow as a community resource, develop new care models, and provide coordinated survivorship programs to help patients transition to life after active treatment they say.
“We are thrilled to partner with Sentara and EVMS to create this comprehensive hub of oncology services,” said Dr. Dean McGaughey III, Physician, Virginia Oncology Associates. “Bringing our groups together under one roof will provide an unprecedented level of collaboration amongst providers and will enable us to achieve the best care coordination possible for our patients.”
Sentara Healthcare has been around for almost 130 years and has 12 hospitals located across Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.
