New Providence Cancer Center Designed as Center of Hope for Cancer Patients
Feb. 15, 2008
PORTLAND, Ore. – For a cancer patient, hope is everything. Hope for the best doctors, the best treatment and the best, most compassionate care. That’s why the new Providence Cancer Center was designed to be “The Center of Hope,” offering everything a patient could hope for – all under one roof.
The 11-story, 490,000 square foot Providence Cancer Center will be the most technologically advanced, compassionately designed cancer center on the
West Coast. It will house renowned physician specialists in all major tumor types, internationally-recognized researchers performing bench-to-bedside clinical trials, and every amenity a cancer patient or his family could need, including counseling, a learning center, holistic health services, laundry facilities and a spa. And every aspect of the center – the paint colors, the furniture, the floor plan, the abundance of natural light, the gardens and the commissioned Northwest art – has been designed with input from cancer patients and their families.
“We wanted to create a special environment for the cancer patient,” said Walter Urba, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of the cancer center and head of clinical research for Providence Health & Services – Oregon Region. “We also wanted to ensure the best quality of care, and it’s easier to do that when all of the doctors and staff are working in one place. All of our researchers, our experts in radiation, in surgery and in medical oncology are now housed in one center, in one setting so that they can work together for optimal care of the patients.”
The new cancer center helps us to meet a growing need in the community for cancer services. “On one hand we need to be big, because we serve more cancer patients than any other cancer center in Oregon – and that population is growing,” said Calvin Harrison, executive director of Providence Cancer Center. On the other hand, we can make their journey easier by bringing everything together under one roof with the new cancer building.”
Patients will begin moving into the new building in mid-February. A service of blessing and dedication for Providence Cancer Center will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 22, with Archbishop John Vlazny presiding. A special community open house is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. – noon on Saturday, Feb. 23.
