Opening of St. Elizabeth Dearborn Cancer Center Brings Comprehensive Cancer Care to SEI

Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 4:47 PM

PHOTOS: A ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony was held on Friday morning.

Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3.

(Greendale, Ind.) - Patients will start being seen at the new St. Elizabeth Dearborn Cancer Center on Monday.

A ribbon cutting ceremony took place Friday morning at the new facility on Flossie Drive in Greendale.

Hundreds of community members gathered with excitement for the opening of the three-story, 66,000-square-foot facility that will bring leading-edge cancer care to Dearborn and surrounding counties. The aim of the Cancer Center is to enable better access for patients outside of northern Kentucky to receive cancer screenings, prevention and treatment.

Rob Moorhead, Board Member, St. Elizabeth Healthcare, and Superintendent of South Ripley Schools was among the speakers at Friday's ribbon cutting ceremony.

"Thank you, St. Elizabeth, for being right here for our southeast Indiana community, and thanks for bringing this vision to life," said Moorhead. "Thanks also to every person, business, organization, municipality that donated to the capital campaign to help raise funds for this cancer center. You have all had a part in making today a reality. And another thing that makes me proud is as I'm waiting for the program to begin today two of my former students from South Dearborn High School walk out of this very building where they will be working and changing lives for the people of our community. One of them reminded me of the thing I said every day at the end of announcements, which was 'make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.' Today, there really is no choice, this is a great day for southeast Indiana."

The Cancer Center offers many state-of-the-art technologies, including on-site radiation oncology to treat a broad range of cancers, including breast, lung, prostate, and colon.

The oncology wing is located on the first floor, along with two mammography rooms, one ultrasound room, and multiple breast health and radiation therapy exam rooms. According to Terri Bogan, Nurse and Site Director, radiation oncology has not been provided in the area in over 10 years due to the investment amount. The service is being brought to the area thanks to the contributions of area municipalities and individual donors.

The new facility will also include a LINAC treatment vault, CT scan and PET CT scan for the most up-to-date imaging. On-site supportive services include financial counselors, specialized nurse navigators, nutritionists, a clinical research office, social services and much more.

Doug Flora, MD, Executive Medical Director of the St. Elizabeth Cancer Center tells Eagle Country 99.3 that the new facility will give patients what they want and need, which is "all cancer care in one building."

On the second floor are 24 infusion bays (4 private, 20 semi-private) including several with a view, dedicated pharmacy, and 12 medical oncology exam rooms.

The third floor is currently shell space that is capable of build out.

When asked about the impact this facility can have on the community, Nurse Bogan gave the following statement:

"I think it is going to be significant. I know that I have family members that live here still, and they have traveled to Edgewood for treatments and to see their doctors. And I know for my family members that have needed this care it would have been significant; it would be huge. As someone from this community who's now given the opportunity to work here and to be a part of this, I'm super excited to see how this makes a difference for our community. Because I know it's going to, it's just a matter of how much."

"She's bringing cancer care home," Dr. Flora added.

When the doors officially open on Monday morning, St. Elizabeth expects to initially see 100 patients per day.

A community open house will take place on Saturday, May 18 from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The event will allow community members to explore the facility and amenities firsthand.

Eagle Country 99.3 got a sneak peak of the facility on Thursday afternoon (pictures below).