CARIBOU — Renovations on the new Jefferson Cary Cancer Center are nearing completion and fund raising efforts to support the center now top $50,000. The new center will dedicate the former building for oncology and specialty services to a full-time cancer service.
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Photo courtesy of Cary Medical Center Renovations for the new Jefferson Cary Cancer Center are near completion. Looking over plans for the center are left to right: Nadia Rajack, M.D., Oncologist and Hematologist and Regen Gallagher, DO, Chief Medical Officer at Cary Medical Center. The Center will open in early September. |
The project, which will cost some $250,000 when complete, has been designed to offer patients and their caregivers a warm, private and comfortable environment. Staff involved with planning the renovations focused on the furnishings, colors and décor of the center. Dr. Regen Gallagher, administrator for the cancer service, said that the idea is to make patients as comfortable as possible during chemotherapy or other infusion service.
“We understand that receiving chemotherapy treatment can be a very stressful experience for patients and their families or caregivers”, said Gallagher, chief medical officer at Cary. “As we planned for these renovations we really took the time to consider multiple aspects of patient comforts, including soft colors, natural light, and a window view. We believe the contractor understood the approach and we will have a wonderful facility that will serve patients in a very special and comfortable way.”
The Jefferson Cary Cancer Center was made possible by the recruitment of two full-time oncologists, Dr. Allan Espinosa and Dr. Nadia Rajack. Cary has had a part-time service for many years under the direction of now-retired Dr. Ronald Rohe. Shawn Anderson, chief operating officer at Cary who is overseeing the renovation project, said that the new center is really a dream come true for the hospital.
“We very much enjoyed and benefited from the excellent service of Dr. Rohe,” said Anderson, who has been at Cary for more than a decade. “Dr. Rohe and our clinic staff took on the Cary culture of a personal, family approach to care. We always have wanted to establish a full-time service for the benefit of so many patients, and with the retirement of Dr. Rohe we set out to recruit our specialists and expand our ability to treat more patients.
“We are so pleased with our oncologists and our service grew so quickly that we had to expand facilities and improve our environment. This project has really hit a home run and we are so anxious to have our patients experience the new space,” he said.
Anderson, who has worked with the architect and contractor, expects the new center to be ready for patient use by early September if not sooner. He explained that the ‘specialty clinics’ that were formerly located in the newly renovated space will be moved to the Pines Surgical Services wing of the hospital. The specialty clinics have long been a feature at Cary and are a benefit to patients who need specialty care that is not currently available at the hospital.
“We hope this move will improve the space and convenience for patients seeking special care at the hospital,” said Anderson. “Over the years we have worked with physician specialists from all over Maine to bring them to Cary so that patients could have local access to these services. We will continue to offer these clinics because of their value to our patients.”
The renovation of the new cancer center projects a growth in patient services at Cary Medical Center. Kris Doody, RN and chief executive officer at the hospital, said that while space is at a premium it is a good problem to have.
“Our growth in patient volume and services over the past decade has been unprecedented”, said Doody who has led the hospital over the past 15 years. “We are so excited with our new cancer center and we are so thankful and proud of the foundation that has been built for our service by people like Dr. Ron Rohe, and our nursing and support staff. They have really been able to create a compassionate and intimate setting where our patients really feel part of the Cary and Pines family.
“Our new center will take this culture even further by the quality of its design,” she said.
Doody said the hospital is planning an open house for the new cancer center early this fall.
“Our oncologists have really been passionate about creating a model for rural oncology that will deliver the most current clinically advanced treatment but will also help patients thrive through nutrition, physical activity, rehabilitation, mindfulness and survivorship. There is not currently a model for rural oncology that provides this level of service and we want to build it,” she said.
The fund raising campaign to support the renovations for the cancer center is being directed by the Jefferson Cary Foundation. Donations may be sent to the foundation at P.O. Box 89, Caribou, Maine, 04736. Gifts can also be made online by visiting carymedicalcenter.org. For more information contact the foundation at 493-4849.
