The University of Tennessee Medical Center officially opened its new Cancer Institute in Knoxville at a ceremony attended by hundreds of patients, physicians, staff, and community leaders. At 108,000 square-feet, the new building nearly triples the size of the medical center’s previous cancer care facility (Fig. 1). The growth is in response to the increase in cancer cases treated at the medical center as well as the projected rise in new cancer cases in the next 2 decades.
“We believe the new Cancer Institute represents the evolution of care and provides the best possible healing environment for our patients and their families facing a cancer diagnosis,” said Joe Landsman, President and CEO of The University of Tennessee Medical Center. “Our patients and their families joined our dedicated and highly trained physicians, nurses and staff of the Cancer Institute in the planning of the building. As a result, we’ve incorporated elements of design and functionality that are important to those receiving and delivering care.”
Construction of the $23 million facility took about a year to complete. The new center brings the full scope of the medical center’s outpatient cancer treatment capabilities under one roof, thus making access to care during the cancer journey more convenient for patients and their family members, said John L. Bell, MD, Director of The University of Tennessee Medical Center Cancer Institute.
The new facility will be a hub for cancer research for physicians and researchers at The University of Tennessee Medical Center and UT Graduate School of Medicine. The research and clinical trials area will continue to offer studies for cancers such as breast, prostate, colorectal, lung, pancreas, melanoma, hepatobiliary, and others. ■
