Cancer Center Completes 1st Phase of $23M Renovation and Expansion Project
Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center started work in June, 2013, on a $23 million renovation and expansion project of its facility in Baton Rouge. The goal of the project is to upgrade building systems and help enhance the services provided to patients throughout their treatment. It reached an important milestone earlier this month, when the center announced the completion and opening of the phase one areas.
By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor
In June 2013, Mary Bird Perkins–Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center embarked on a $23 million renovation and expansion of its facility in Baton Rouge, La.
The goal of the project is to upgrade building systems and enhance services provided to patients throughout their treatment. The project reached an important milestone earlier this month, when the center announced the completion and opening of phase one areas.
The first phase of the $23 million project called for the construction of a 14,000-sq.-ft. infusion (chemotherapy) suite on the sixth floor of the building. It includes an onsite state-of-the-art clinical oncology pharmacy, as well as 52 semi-private and four private infusion bays with equipped with TVs, headsets and Wi-Fi.
Another phase one project was the 8,149-square-foot Thomas J. Moran Imaging Center. Named after a grateful and generous former patient, the center offers the latest in diagnostic technologies and is important for treatment planning and palliative therapies. Mary Bird Perkins–Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center also added a new treatment room for the revolutionary Elekta Versa HD radiation therapy technology, which provides faster and more accurate treatments for a wide range of cancers.
The renovation and expansion project is scheduled for completion in early 2015. When completed, it will deliver a new family and visitor hospitality area, new offices, a new entrance and front lobby area, a meditation room, donor recognition wall, radiation oncology area and much more.
“This phase one completion is a great example of the depth and breadth of cancer services and amenities that will be available to patients when our renovation is complete,” Linda Lee, Cancer Center administrator, said in a statement for the press. “This project has been years in the making, and there has been an enormous amount of planning and care invested in creating a Cancer Center that is second to none in the region. Every element was designed to provide a comfortable and efficient patient experience.”
Photo credits: Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center
