Parkview Health president and CEO Mike Packnett joined health system and community leaders yesterday to announce Parkview’s plan to invest in a new state-of-the-art, patient-centered cancer facility.

The Parkview Cancer Institute will be located on the Parkview Regional Medical Center campus. Plans call for the institute to include 125,000 square feet and a ground breaking for the $80 million facility is planned for the fourth quarter of 2015, with the completion of the project scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2017.

Throughout the country, the number of cancer cases treated every year is rising. Within this region, Parkview has seen significant growth in the number of patients needing treatment. Parkview’s increased volume in patients can be attributed to more patients choosing to receive cancer care at Parkview, and a growing and aging population throughout the region.

“At the heart of our planned cancer institute are patients and families,” said Mike Packnett, president and CEO, Parkview Health. “We’re creating a healing environment that promotes comfort, hope and confidence while providing patients access to specialized cancer care physicians and providers. This cancer institute will be a facility that is built to deliver both a clinical and supportive experience for patients and families that is unequaled throughout this region.”

Parkview is working with many of the best cancer facilities around the country to understand what the Parkview Cancer Institute should include. As a patient-centered cancer institute, the facility will minimize the feeling of being in a hospital by incorporating a healing environment through the use of natural lighting, private spaces for families, respite rooms and more. The Parkview Cancer Institute will be a physician led facility using an enhanced care navigator system that will allow for a coordinated process to help improve quality of care and patient experience.

“A patient’s cancer journey begins at diagnosis and that’s when Parkview’s support of the patient and their family also begins,” said Neil Sharma, MD, Parkview Physicians Group – Endoscopy. “Treating cancer isn’t just about trying to eliminate the cancerous cells that are making a patient ill; there are many complexities that also need to be addressed when treating cancer. The Parkview Cancer Institute will meet those additional needs, greatly enhancing the continuum of care for our patients. As a physician led facility, we will empower the patient and their family to get the treatment they desire, in one place, and our physicians and care providers will be there to support them throughout their cancer journey.”

The new cancer institute will be built on the southeastern portion of the campus and connected to Parkview Regional Medical Center. This will allow for enhanced patient flow and more convenient access to other services sometimes needed by patients receiving cancer care.

The cancer institute physicians and care providers will expand work with the Mirro Center for Research and Innovation to enhance and increase the number of clinical trials patients have access to.