WINCHESTER, VA (May 11, 2015) – The Winchester Medical Center has broken ground to build the first freestanding cancer center in the area.
The 52,000-square-foot center will adjoin the Diagnostic Center on the northeast side of the WMC campus and will unite various cancer treatment services, equipment and physicians under one roof.
The Cancer Center will co-locate all outpatient oncology services in one building, including physician offices, exam rooms, and treatment areas for chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical oncology, clinical research, and support services. The facility will connect directly with the existing Diagnostic Center, making follow-up imaging and lab tests more convenient.
On the grounds of the new Cancer Center, a healing garden will offer a place of rest and respite for patients and their families.
Looking over the site of the new Cancer Center.
“A couple generations ago, when one received a diagnosis of cancer, it was very quietly stated,” explained President and CEO of Valley Health System Mark Merrill. “It was whispered around the house, because people assumed (at that point in time) that it was a death sentence.”
According to Merrill , the new cancer center hopes to change all that by “breaking ground” in researching the disease and treating patients across the four-state area.
Howard Shockey & Sons, Inc. is the project’s general contractor. Shockey is also building a major project at a different Valley Health facility—a new emergency department and medical office building at Shenandoah Memorial Hospital. The Cancer Center was designed by Perkins & Will and the emergency department/medical office building was designed by Touchstone Design.
The new Cancer Center is expected to be completed by August 2016.
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