The Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (VAHCS) announces the award of a $8.9 million contract to Maxon Groupe, LLC to build a new 17,375 square foot chemotherapy/cancer infusion center at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center.
The new state-of-the-art facility will augment the medical center’s existing radiation oncology clinic on the northeast side of the campus. Features of the new building will include eight additional treatment stations, which equates to a 50 percent increase to available chemotherapy treatment stations at the medical center. The building will also have a standalone pharmacy for patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. This unique feature will give Veterans the opportunity to receive the majority of their cancer care and medications in one location versus traveling to various locations across campus.
“The new cancer infusion center is a great example of how we are transforming the delivery of high quality health care services for the men and women we serve across southwest Florida,” said Suzanne M. Klinker, Director, Bay Pines VAHCS.
“As an addition to our existing radiation oncology clinic, this new facility will enable our health care providers to treat more Veterans diagnosed with various types of cancer in an environment that is accessible and patient-centered,” she said.
Construction of the new cancer infusion/chemotherapy center is expected to be complete in 2018. Doors will open to Veterans shortly thereafter.
When open, the new center will become part of the Bay Pines VAHCS’s growing cancer program which includes surgery, radiation oncology, chemotherapy, cancer support groups, cancer survivorship clinics, and cancer care navigation. Annually, about 4,000 Veterans receive one or more services through the program. Click here to read a recent feature article about a Veteran’s success through the cancer program.
The Bay Pines VAHCS’s cancer program is currently the only VA-operated cancer program in the state of Florida with an active accreditation from American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC) and has been since 1995.
Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, Bay Pines takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases that requires consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists. This partnership results in improved patient care.
There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, representing 30 percent of all hospitals. These facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients. When cancer patients choose to seek care locally at a CoC-accredited cancer center, they are gaining access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care close to home.
For more information, please visit www.baypines.va.gov and subscribe to receive email updates or follow the Bay Pines VAHCS on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System
The Bay Pines VAHCS is one of the nation’s leading VA healthcare systems, employing more than 4,000 medical professionals and support staff dedicated to providing the very best care to Veterans residing in southwest Florida. The organization is the fourth busiest VA health care system in the country in terms of patients served and is accredited by The Joint Commission, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and several other nationally recognized accrediting organizations. The Bay Pines VAHCS operates nine facilities to include the main medical center located in Bay Pines and outpatient clinics located in Bradenton, Cape Coral, Naples, Palm Harbor, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, and Sebring. To learn more, please visit www.baypines.va.gov or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vabaypines.