Construction of Outpatient Facility in New Jersey Begins
September 30, 2004
Memorial Sloan-Kettering's first stand-alone facility in New Jersey features latest in
cancer care, therapeutic design.
BASKING RIDGE, NJ - BASKING RIDGE NJ, September 30, 2004 - Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) today announced construction of a new outpatient cancer treatment facility in New Jersey. The new facility will incorporate the latest concepts in therapeutic design and offer the latest advances in cancer care.
Located within the Mountain View Corporate Center at exit 33 of I-78, the new outpatient center in Basking Ridge will be convenient for cancer patients in Somerset County and other areas of central New Jersey.
"Frequently, cancer patients from this area who choose to receive care from Memorial Sloan-Kettering must travel into Manhattan for all treatment services," said Abe Lopman, Executive Director, Regional Care Network, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Approximately 17 percent of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's patients are from New Jersey. The new Basking Ridge facility will allow many of these patients to receive their outpatient cancer care in a more convenient setting.
The center's close-to-home location will offer the highest standards of comprehensive cancer care delivered by MSKCC's clinicians in a facility designed to meet the unique needs of cancer patients and their families. Services to prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat cancer will be provided. These will include outpatient chemotherapy, radiation oncology, comprehensive diagnostic radiology, medical and surgical consultations, ambulatory surgery, cancer screening and patient education, and integrative medicine.
"This paradigm shift in the delivery of cancer services reflects the larger transformation of medical care for most diseases. Increasingly, patients in the United States receive medical care safely and efficaciously in an ambulatory setting, rather than through a lengthy stay in a hospital bed," said Albert Casazza, MD, Associate Physician-in-Chief, MSKCC Regional Care Network.
Designed by the Philadelphia-based firm EwingCole, the new facility will stand on a fraction of a 26-acre tract of wooded land. Leaving most of the site wooded will increase views to nature to help comfort cancer patients. The building will have a curved form and a soft look, and windows throughout the center will flood interior spaces with light. Even typically isolated interior spaces such as those used for MRI services will offer daylight and views of nature. Inside and outside, the color palette will emphasize earthy, natural hues, and warm colors were carefully selected to minimize unfavorable color associations for patients.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering has been working closely with the leadership of Bernards Township and the State of New Jersey to obtain approvals to construct this new outpatient cancer center.
"It has been a pleasure to work with one of the finest cancer care centers in the nation to bring the latest in cancer treatment and technology to the residents of Central New Jersey," said Bernards Township Mayor Ali Chaudry. "Memorial Sloan-Kettering has demonstrated their unwavering commitment to improving the lives of cancer patients and their families in our community and beyond, and we welcome them as a great asset to Bernards Township."
The new 85,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open in Summer 2006. The site also has the potential to expand to a total of 162,000 square feet.
MSKCC's commitment to outpatient cancer care for New Jersey residents first began eight years ago with the opening of facilities at St. Clare's Hospital in Dover and Denville, New Jersey. The Basking Ridge location will be the first stand-alone facility for MSKCC in New Jersey. MSKCC's growing network of regional care centers also includes facilities on Long Island and in Westchester County, New York.
"We are replicating a very successful model of outpatient cancer care, based on years of experience of our expert medical staff, and making it more accessible to patients," said Dr. Casazza. "We look forward to opening this facility and to becoming part of the Bernards Township community."
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is the world's oldest and largest institution devoted to prevention, patient care, research and education in cancer. Our scientists and clinicians generate innovative approaches to better understand, diagnose and treat cancer. Our specialists are leaders in biomedical research and in translating the latest research to advance the standard of cancer care worldwide.
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