Memorial plans one-stop cancer care
1/20/2005 South Bend, Indiana Heidi Prescott South Bend Tribune About one year ago, Dr. Rafat Ansari participated in a cancer care roundtable conference in Chicago. The oncologist listened to discussions convincing him of the future direction of cancer treatment in the region. This direction was unveiled on Wednesday by Ansari, an oncologist at Michiana Hematology-Oncology, and administrators at Memorial Hospital. The two health groups have partnered to build and operate a regional $20 million Cancer Care Center north of Memorial in downtown South Bend. The plans call for a 70,000-square-foot, free-standing center to be built just west of the current hospital entrance. The building will extend over the existing Bartlett Street toward Madison Elementary School. It will open in late 2006. The idea is to bring every kind of physician and clinical service a patient may need in one place, said Ansari. Today, cancer patients might need to see three or four physicians in different locations. "We learned the only way to go is to have one single cancer center where all the disciplines are met," said Ansari. "We've been discussing it for over 10 years now, and finally we decided the timing is right." About 160 people will work in the Cancer Care Center. The center will comprise Michiana Hematology physicians as well as support staff members from Memorial Hospital. It also will mean the creation of new jobs, hospital officials said. The center will house multi-disciplinary clinics, including thoracic oncology, breast cancer, prostate cancer, head and neck cancer, [...]