Central Maine Healthcare to build $35M cancer center
Courtesy / CMH
Central Maine Healthcare plans a $35 million cancer center on its Lewiston campus, expected to open in 2021.
Central Maine Healthcare will build a $35 million cancer center on its Lewiston campus, the health care system announced today.
In a letter filed with the state Department of Health and Human Services, the system said it plans to apply for a certificate of need for the project, which is required before it can proceed. No date has been set for construction, but CMH officials hope to open it in 2021, according to a news release.
The center will have updated technology and will "become a critical regional resource for comprehensive cancer diagnosis and treatment," CMH officials said in the release.
“As we anticipate the future needs of an aging population — with among the highest incidence of cancer located here in Central Maine — we want to provide enhanced access to quality care,” said Jeff Brickman, CEO of Central Maine Healthcare. “We’re reinvesting in and renewing our cancer program to keep that care close to home.”
The cancer center is planned for a 54,000-square-foot site in the northeastern corner of the Central Maine Medical Center campus. Brickman said the cancer center will bring services and resources currently in different areas of the hospital into a patient-centered, accessible location. New technology and updated equipment will augment Central Maine’s multi-specialty, team-based model of care in the new location, according to the release.
Current hospital data shows that there are 42,825 patient visits each year to CMMC’s breast center, infusion clinic, radiation oncology department and oncology clinic.
Having industry-standard full-service oncology services at CMMC — allowing patients to receive care without having to travel to other care providers — could save the community $993,000 annually in travel costs and prevent patients from having to drive more than 35,000 hours each year, the release said.
“In our growing market for these needed services, we’re ready and willing to invest to provide these services locally,” said David Tupponce, president of Central Maine Medical Center.
The proposed location for the cancer center now has employee parking, and plans include developing replacement parking in another area of the campus.
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Have they resolved any of the issues they have faced over the past year, like the federal investigation that might have pulled their Medicare/Medicaid funding? Or the employee turmoil and lack of confidence? My father believed failures at CMCC contributed to a delayed cancer diagnosis. By the time he found appropriate care elsewhere, it was too late.
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