Kings County Hospital Opens Cancer Care Center
Oct 14, 2010
>Ribbon-cutting with KCHC leadership and
elected officials: Congresswoman Yvette
D. Clarke (far right, blue suit),Brooklyn
Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham
(center, yellow jacket), NYC Councilman
Mathieu Eugene, and NYS Assemblyman
Felix Ortiz (both behind Graham).
Kings County Hospital Center (KCHC) today hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a new 15,000 square-feet, state-of-the-art Cancer Care Center that brings under one roof a variety of cancer care services previously spread out across multiple locations throughout the vast hospital campus. The new one-stop service center offers oncology, chemotherapy, surgery, medicine, pharmacy, nutrition, and social services. Kings County Hospital Center Senior Vice President Antonio D. Martin presided at the ceremony and was joined by KCHC Medical Director Abha Agrawal, M.D., U.S. Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham, NYC Councilman Mathieu Eugene, NYS Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, and KCHC Auxiliary President Mary Walters. Chief Operating Officer Roslyn Weinstein and Cancer Center Administrator Varina Deonarinesingh, who both guided the final phase of the Center’s opening, were on hand to help greet nearly 200 participants.
“This Center is the latest enhancement in our commitment to provide comprehensive cancer prevention, detection and treatment to the residents of Central Brooklyn. Our goal is to promote healing in a modern, patient-centered environment,” said Martin. “I am proud to showcase the Cancer Care Center and our staff who turned this project into a labor of love, from planning to activation.”
The Center expects to provide about 11,000 patient visits annually and features an interactive Computer Resource Library, as well as yoga and creative arts therapy for patients and families. The Center has a Patient Navigator program for breast cancer patients, and also specializes in prostate cancer screening and treatment.
“Breast cancer makes up nearly 20% of all cancers at KCHC, so breast cancer care will be a vibrant component of the new center,” said Theophilus Lewis, M.D., Medical Director of the Cancer Care Center. “All of our cancer patients will now have a new, comfortable home with a team of staff who understand their needs, whether they are medical, pyscho-social, emotional or financial.”
The $7.3 million Cancer Center is located on the 4th floor of the C Building and was funded in part by $200,000 from the hospital’s Auxiliary and $5 million from the New York City Council. The Cancer Care Center was designed by MJCL Architects.
Contact : Ian Michaels (HHC) (212) 788-3339
About HHC
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlusHealth, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nychhc.org/hhc or find us on facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or twitter.com/NYCHealthSystem.