Inside Duke Medicine | Cancer Center Issue

Over the past decade, the combina-tion of Duke’s growing reputation

for excellence in cancer care, increasing cases of virtually all cancers and the explosive population growth in North Carolina led to the inescapable conclu-sion that there was a need to create a state-of-the-art cancer facility in order to handle the growing demand and need for Duke Medicine-quality cancer services.

Leading-edge cancer care and research have been a Duke Medicine hallmark for 40 years since Duke became one of the original eight National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers in the nation following passage of the National Cancer Act in 1971.

Today, cancer care remains one of Duke Medicine’s differentiating clinical areas of expertise. More than 600 patients are seen daily in the cancer clinics or receive radiation therapy, and nearly 6,000 new patients come each year

from virtually every state and around the world. Duke’s outstanding faculty, many of whom are acknowledged leaders in their field, provide specialty and subspe-cialty care unmatched in North Carolina, the Southeast or nationally.

The new Cancer Center facility will build on that legacy and contribute to Duke’s long-term strength at a time when demand is growing rapidly for the type of leading-edge care, enhanced through basic and clinical research, that the Duke

Cancer Institute provides. The greater Triangle’s population is expected to rise 11.5 percent to above 2.4 million by 2015, led by Durham and Wake coun-ties. The number of new cancer cases is expected to rise by 16.5 percent statewide over the next five years, with the greater Triangle bearing much of that burden with a projected increase of 23.1 percent in new cases.

Clearly, even with the expansion of some other local and regional cancer facilities, there is a growing and specific need for specialty cancer services and programs at Duke.

All of these factors led Duke Medicine leadership to begin planning for the new, state-of-the-art facility in 2007. In just seven months, the building will open as a premier, patient-focused facility that delivers compassionate, multidisci-

A leading-edge facility to address critical needs and opportunities

S p e c i a l i S S u e : c a n c e r c e n t e r f a c i l i t y

Fulkersonsowers

It’s sometimes hard to believe

that after several years of planning and anticipation, we are now entering the home stretch in the creation of a cancer facility that will enable

a transformation in the way that cancer patients are treated at Duke, and is consistent with our organizational mission, vision and values.

As we move closer to its opening, I believe it is important for every staff member, faculty and volunteer to clearly understand why we are creating this facil-ity, and how it will enhance our ability to better care for patients and more clearly define an optimal experience for patients and families.

This special issue of Inside Duke Medicine is designed to provide this information and more.

In this issue, you will find detailed information about the many ways the Cancer Center facility will optimize the care experience for an increasing popula-tion of cancer patients by creating a welcoming, healing environment focused on comfort and convenience for the patient and family; enhance the work en-vironment for faculty and staff; facilitate the development of the new Duke Cancer Institute model; and strengthen the clini-cal and research reputation and position for Duke’s national and internationally known cancer program.

I encourage you to take a few mo-ments to review the information in this publication to gain the fullest possible understanding of this project that is so important to our patients, their families

and our staff – and to our ongoing mission as a world-class medical center.

As you no doubt have noticed, the new Cancer Center facility is one of many strategic building projects taking place on campus that will shape the future of Duke Medicine for decades to come. These historic changes, which also include the Duke Medicine Pavilion and the Learning Center, are all about advancing our teaching, research and clinical care missions.

This is indeed an exciting time for Duke Medicine, and we look forward to sharing more information regarding the transformation of the campus over the coming months and beyond.

– Victor J. Dzau, M.D. chancellor for Health affairs, ceO of DuHS

we’re entering the home stretch

DzAu

see A leADing-eDge FAcility to ADDress criticAl neeDs

AnD opportunities, p.2Atrium

plinary care to patients and their families in one convenient location.

As people lead longer, fuller lives with cancer thanks to new treatments and therapies, there is a greater need to care for the patient as a whole person in order to successfully address the full spectrum of medical and emotional challenges.

“Delivering care to our patients in a healing environment that meets their clinical, spiritual, emotional and psycho-social needs has become an increasingly vital part of our cancer care,” said Kevin Sowers, MSN, RN, FAAN, president of Duke University Hospital. “Our new building will enable the highest level of care to be focused on every aspect of the patient experience.”

Cancer care teams will work side-by-side, providing seamless care and benefitting in turn from the result-ing greater opportunities to collaborate. Clinical and support services will be located within the disease-based programs, also enhancing staff efficiency and collaboration. Related clinics will occupy the same floor, strengthening their respective programs.

“The new Cancer Center facility is absolutely essential for us to be able to care for the increasing number of people being diagnosed with cancer,” said William J. Fulkerson Jr., M.D., executive vice president of Duke University Health System. “Our ability to fight and cure cancer, now and well into the future,

will be strengthened by this new building and the welcoming, patient-centered environment it offers.”

The Cancer Center facility will complement the new Duke Cancer Institute, which was launched in November 2010. The resulting synergy will create an innovative model for research and care that will further distinguish Duke, ranked by U.S. News & World Report for nearly 20 years as one of the nation’s premier centers for cancer services. The DCI’s first executive director, Michael B. Kastan, M.D., Ph.D., a renowned cancer scientist and thought leader, begins work at Duke on Aug. 1, coming from the Comprehensive Cancer Center at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“In building the new Cancer Center facility and the Duke Medicine Pavilion, we are laying the cornerstones for the bright future of Duke Medicine and ensuring that we continue to provide the very best in care for our patients, families and community we serve,” Sowers said. n

A leADing-eDge FAcility to ADDress criticAl neeDs AnD opportunities, continued

2 inside Duke Medicine July 2011

garden


A quick-reference guide to the need for a cancer facility First and foremost, the new Cancer Center facility supports our mission to deliver exceptional care to patients – while respecting the needs of the human spirit – by providing innovative, integrated clinical care, research and education.

Need for the New fAcility

• As one of the country’s premier cancer treatment and research institu-tions, our patients deserve a state-of-the-art facility that matches our recognized clinical excellence.

• The demand for Duke cancer services is growing rapidly with more than 600 patients being seen daily in our cancer clinics, infusion center or in radiation therapy.

• New cancer cases in North Carolina are projected to increase by 16.5 percent, and by 23 percent in the greater Triangle region over the next five years.

• In addition to forecasts of increased incidence of cancer locally and statewide, the greater Triangle population is projected to increase from 2.16 million in 2010 to 2.41 million by 2015 – an increase of 11.5 percent.

• Despite the expansion of some other local and regional cancer facili-ties, there is a growing and specific need for specialty cancer services and programs at Duke.

• It’s important for our facility to support caring for the whole patient – clinically, spiritually, emotionally and psychosocially.

eNhANciNg the pAtieNt ANd fAmily experieNce

• Almost all clinical cancer services will be located in the new facility, which will support multidisciplinary care and greater patient convenience.

• Patients will benefit from having physicians, nurses, clinical trials team members, pharmacists, counselors, social workers and dietitians all working side-by-side to provide comprehensive care.

• Greater synergy between cancer treatment and clinical trial opportuni-ties will be achieved through the co-location of services and faculty.

• Among many unique features, the facility will provide a quiet room for personal reflection, a shop offering cancer care products and services, a café with healthy food options, and a rooftop garden area in which patients can receive their chemotherapy outdoors overlooking the green space and healing garden.

• The new spaces and unique features in the facility were designed with input and suggestions from patients and their caregivers, as well as by staff and faculty.

• The creation of needed and adequate space will accommodate patient and family privacy in a comfortable environment.

3July 2011 inside Duke Medicine

The robust demand for Duke’s world-class cancer care shows no signs of

abating. On the contrary, all indications are that demand will continue to rise significantly as the number of cancer cases increases and as the state and local population continues to grow.

Duke University Hospital saw more than 50,000 patients with a diagnosis of cancer in 2010. Nearly 6,000 were new patients, from virtually every county in North Carolina and every state in the nation. More than 60 percent of the patients were referred to Duke for their initial treatment.

Meanwhile, clinics and treatment areas are operating on extended hours as more than 600 patients are seen every day in the cancer clinics, infusion center or to receive radiation therapy – facili-ties never designed to handle anything approaching the current volume of patients, let alone to continue to meet the exploding demand for services.

The current demand coincides with projections of significant future growth locally and statewide in the number of new cancer cases. A 16.5 percent statewide increase in the number of new cancer cases is anticipated over the next five years, with the greater Triangle

region bearing much of that burden with a projected increase in new cases of 23.1 percent. In 2011 alone, Durham County is expected to see more than 1,200 new cases of cancer and Wake County nearly 4,000, among nearly 52,000 new cancer cases statewide.

At the same time, North Carolina’s population continues to rise, jumping 1.5 million between 2000 and 2010 and fast approaching the 10 million mark. The state now ranks as the 10th most populous in the nation.

Likewise the greater Triangle region, Duke’s primary service market and from which most referrals come, continues to see tremendous growth – particularly in the core counties of Durham and Wake. The region’s population is forecast at 2.41 million by 2015, up 11.5 percent from 2010. A recent study projects that the Raleigh area will be the nation’s

fastest growing metropolitan region between 2010-2020, rising to 1.5 million inhabitants from 1.2 million.

All of the above factors, combined with the increase in the number of people living longer as cancer survivors, make clear the growing and specific need for Duke’s specialty cancer services and programs, even with the expansion of some other local and regional cancer facilities.

“The existing demand for cancer care at Duke, combined with significant future growth in the number of new cancer cases, creates a critical need to expand our ability to provide multidisciplinary, patient-centered care,” said Carolyn Carpenter, associate vice president of oncology services and interim administra-tor of the Duke Cancer Institute. “The Cancer Center facility will be the clinical cornerstone of the DCI, where we will bridge scientific discovery and clinical care to transform how patients and families experience cancer.”

When the new Cancer Center facility opens in just seven months, it will position Duke Medicine to accommodate existing and future demand for cancer

rising population, demand for services drive creation of new cancer center facility

cArpenter willett

Honoring our past, investing in our futureThe new Cancer Center facility is far

more than a significant investment in a building that will provide the best pos-sible care to patients and their families while enhancing the work environment for Duke Cancer Institute faculty and staff.

Those clearly are important elements of the mission, vision and values of Duke Medicine, and of a new building in which everyone, including those not involved in cancer care, justifiably can take pride. But the Cancer Center facility also represents Duke Medicine’s histori-cal commitment as an organization to look toward the future and embrace the opportunities and challenges.

James B. Duke did exactly that in 1925, when he bequeathed $4 million (nearly $50 million today) to create Duke University Hospital, which opened five years later, as well as medical and nursing schools. Down through the years, Duke Medicine has continued to honor James B. Duke’s bold spirit, investing in new

buildings, programs and enterprises that have forged its reputation as a world-class medical organization.

That past serves as a guide as Duke Medicine again invests in itself, its people, its outstanding clinical and research programs – in its future – with the construction of the Cancer Center facility and adjoining Duke Medicine Pavilion.

“To stand still is to fall behind,” said Victor J. Dzau, M.D., chancellor for health affairs and CEO of Duke University Health System. “As the world changes, as the needs of our state and region change, we must maintain our proactive vision not just to preserve, but to strengthen, the Duke Medicine enter-prise and our ability to provide the finest available care. The new Cancer Center facility embodies that commitment.”

The health care landscape continues to evolve in ways James B. Duke could never have envisioned. Uncertainties abound and competition is keen. But his

vision 86 years ago laid the cornerstone for today’s Duke Medicine, which has grown into an acknowledged leader in cancer care – one of our differentiating clinical areas of expertise with a signifi-cant impact on our financial performance – and in other clinical and research fields.

Duke Medicine made the decision to build the Cancer Center facility from a position of market and financial strength as an investment in our future. The project, along with the Duke Medicine Pavilion, will strategically position Duke Medicine for continued success and sta-bility in the future, and ensure its ability to meet the existing and growing need in the greater Triangle, state and beyond for the kind of cutting-edge, compassionate care that sets Duke apart.

“It’s a big milestone and commitment that signals growth and the maturing of cancer care at Duke,” said Joseph Moore, M.D., a medical oncologist with the Duke Cancer Institute. n

see growing DeMAnD For services Drives, p.5

Duke Hospital under construction, 1928 / Duke Archives photo


For patients, a brighter world of cancer care


Doris Ann Price of Raleigh has battled breast cancer on and off

since 1993 under the care of the Duke oncology team.

In 2006, after 13 cancer-free years, her cancer returned as stage four and metastasized, meaning she would be on treatment indefinitely and spend much of her time at Duke.

Price comes to Duke because she feels the medical team and researchers are unmatched in their expertise. She also is excited about what the new Cancer Center facility will bring to her weekly treatment time and overall patient experience.

“To create an environment with some living things, plants, openness and light, is incredible,” said Price, who loves the outdoors, especially hiking, kayaking and the North Carolina mountains. “All those things are important because as a cancer patient you can feel closed in and your world can feel darker.”

Price relishes the option to receive her treatment outside on the new garden terrace or even inside by a window overlooking the healing garden.

In 2006, Price was told she might live another 18 months to two years.

“The truth is, no one knows how much time they have left, so all we can do is embrace life and embrace people and try to make our lives as full as we can,” she said. “As a cancer patient, I don’t want to live every day feeling like I have been labeled with a big ‘cancer’ sticker, but to continue being embraced as the same human being I was prior to

my diagnosis. The word ‘cancer’ only draws power when we speak of it in fearful tones instead of using it to simply reference a medical condition.”

The new building will provide space to develop and integrate supportive care services, including support groups, nutri-tion counseling, financial counseling, survivorship services, and recreational therapies.

James Hines of Raleigh knows his support group is an essential part of his care. In June 2006, while Hines was still in the hospital recovering from a radical prostatectomy, counselor Patrick Plumeri, MS, LMFT, told him about the prostate cancer support group.

“The nice thing about the support session is that you find your experience is usually very similar to what others are experiencing, and it made me feel I am not alone in this fight with cancer,” he said. n

price

One of the most significant reflections of the new Cancer Center facility’s

patient-focused approach to delivering care is its grouping of related services for the convenience of patients and their families.

With outpatient cancer services cur-rently dispersed throughout Duke Clinics and Duke University Hospital, patients often invest additional time and energy in moving from one location to another. With the new Cancer Center facility, all of those services will be conveniently located

in one patient-centric facility. To name a few:

Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, dietitians and others will work side-by-side to provide patients a full array of seam-less, coordinated care. Clinical and support services like phlebotomy and radiology will be located within the facility, optimizing staff

synergy as well as patient convenience. The breast and gynecology cancer clinics will be on the same floor to strengthen the women’s cancer programs. And the

gastroenterology and thoracic cancer clinics will be co-located to further evolve the esophageal cancer program.

All of this will occur in a spacious and comfortable atmosphere in which every detail – big and small, down to paint, furniture and fabric selections – was selected with input from patients.

“Our patients and their families are the core of everything we do every day, and opportunities like the one the new building offers – to improve their experi-ence, even in the smallest ways – are what the Duke experience is all about,” said Tracy Gosselin, RN, MSN, AOCN, assistant vice president and associate chief nursing officer, Oncology Services.

Among the Cancer Center facility’s many patient-focused amenities are a quiet room for personal reflection, a shop featuring cancer care products and services, and a rooftop garden that will allow patients to receive chemotherapy treatments outside overlooking a green space and healing garden.

“We’re putting a building in place that will allow us to efficiently and compassionately care for our patients,”

said Louis Diehl, M.D., a medical oncolo-gist with the Duke Cancer Institute. “It’s hard to say that you are going to make cancer care a pleasant experience, but the new building will enable us to make it more comfortable and address many more patient needs.”

One current challenge in the clinics is patient wait times, said Joseph Moore, M.D., a medical oncologist with the Duke Cancer Institute. “My hope is that services will be more efficient and streamlined in the new building due to the increased space and multidisciplinary approach.”

With its ability to focus on the full constellation of patients’ needs, the new facility also will streamline and coordinate patient access to information about participation in the Duke Cancer Institute’s cutting-edge clinical trials involving thousands of patients – one of the significant advantages of receiving cancer care at Duke and a key reason many patients choose Duke.

“We’re excited about the increased opportunity that the building and also the larger Duke Cancer Institute infrastructure will bring to the services we offer,” said Cheyenne Corbett, Ph.D., LMFT, director of the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program. “I think that once the facility matches the high level of care they receive here, patients will have even greater confidence in and satisfaction with the cancer services we provide at Duke.” n

it’s all about our patients and their families

Hines

DieHl

waiting area

garden terrace


gosselin


As patients and families enter the lobby of the Cancer Center facility, they

will step into a cozy, living room-style space with fireplace, sofas, chairs and decorative carpeting.

A nearby café will offer indoor and outdoor seating and a health-focused menu with fruits and vegetables from local farmers. Occasional cooking dem-onstrations will highlight healthy eating options for cancer patients.

The building also will include a Duke Cancer Patient Education Program resource center providing educational materials, computer kiosks and a skills lab for individual patient and family consultation.

There’s also a convenient retail pharmacy, open weekdays from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m., so patients don’t have to stop on the way home to get their prescriptions filled.

As part of our commitment to caring for a full range of patient needs, a quiet room for meditation and personal reflection, featuring calming lighting and

relaxation programs, will be open to patients, visitors and staff.

Many cancer patients see changes in their appearance as a result of chemo-

therapy, surgery and radiation therapy. A new shop will offer private spaces where patients can, for example, select a variety of head coverings and have consultations for post-surgical garments. As part of the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program, the shop will continue providing these services and items to patients free of charge, but some items will be available for purchase.

Registration is designed to improve flow and ease navigation in the new building.

Each clinic will have a spacious, comfortable waiting area with large windows. Volunteer-staffed hospitality stations will be located in each waiting area, serving refreshments and snacks to patients and families.

A focal point of the building is a central, five-story, light-filled atrium, which looks down on spiraling artwork filled with inspirational quotes from Duke cancer patients and friends. n

patient-centered amenities abound

care services. At the same time, it will optimize the total patient experience and work environment for clinical teams to further enable them to focus on patient care.

Thanks to the facility’s ample space, including 73 infusion stations and eight linear accelerators for radiation therapy, staff will be able to treat more patients at the same time, on a schedule more convenient for patients. That’s particularly helpful during the busy mid-day and afternoon, when most patients prefer to receive treatment.

“We’re seeing a lot more patients

now than we did even a couple of years ago, in the same limited space, so we’re filling up faster,” said Jamie Garran, RN, BSN, a nurse in the treatment room who works with breast and gynecology cancer patients. “It’s a challenge for us as staff who want to provide our patients with comfort and privacy. The new facility is going to be wonderful. I’m excited about not having to scramble to find a chair to treat a patient.”

The cancer facility’s impact will be felt across the board in enhanced opportuni-ties for collaboration and consultation among Duke Medicine’s outstanding

cancer clinicians and scientific research faculty studying the mechanisms of cancer.

“With cancer care well-established as one of Duke Medicine’s hallmark services, the new building is critical to our mission,” said Christopher Willett, M.D., chair of Radiation Oncology and interim co-director of the DCI with Anthony Means, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, pending the Aug. 1 arrival of Michael B. Kastan, M.D., Ph.D., as executive director. “We simply must continue to anticipate, adapt and move forward in the changing landscape of cancer care.” n

growing DeMAnD For services Drives, continued

this area will house a cafe, which will have a patio and garden area along a pedes-trian passageway that will link the area near the new buildings with the reseasrch portion of the campus.

lobby

Quiet room

registration



By bringing natural light into work areas, creating more space for care

providers and allowing multidisciplinary caregivers to work as teams in shared spaces, the new Cancer Center facility’s focus on the patient experience will also significantly enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of our care teams.

“A big part of improving the patient experience is creating an environment that enhances our faculty and staff’s ability to care for and treat patients,” said Kevin Sowers, MSN, RN, FAAN, president of Duke University Hospital. “That means it’s essential to create a space, as the new facility does, that inspires teamwork.”

In addition to its focus on patients, the environment in the new facility will foster doctors’, nurses’ and team members’ ability to further work together and care for their patients.

“The new facility creates space that will allow the primary nurse who works with us and our patients as part of the primary nursing model to be in the work room with us,” said nurse practitioner Sarah

Yenser, RN, MSN. “Being able to fully implement this model once we are in the new building is going to improve work-flow, triage and the patient experience.”

Also, greater synergy between cancer treatment and clinical trial opportunities will be achieved through the co-location of all the different cancer care services. Clinical trials are an important care option for many patients and the clinical trial enrollment process will improve in the new building.

Currently, when a patient who might

benefit from a trial is identified, the team member has to locate a space for the initial conversation, or use the exam room – keeping another patient from being seen in the room. In the new building, dedicated consultation rooms will be available for important conversations about possible clinical trial options, making the process easier, more private and complementary to the multidisciplinary approach while enhancing the efficiency of the clinic exam rooms.

Shawna Savage, RN, BSN, a clinical trials nurse manager who works on phase one trials with solid tumor patients, said the dedicated space will decrease anxiety for the patients and clinical trial nurses.

“In order for us to provide the most comprehensive and effective care possible for our patients, we must work as a

team. That can be challenging when we are all spread out in different spaces and buildings,” Savage said. “To have a whole facility that is just focused on our patients and cancer care – that’s terrific.”

Joseph Moore, M.D., a medical oncologist with the Duke Cancer Institute, said his group is going to benefit from having pathology service nearby.

“Looking at actual pathologic material and being able to make a decision in real time while the patient is still in the clinic helps ease patient anxiety, as answers and next steps may be identified before they leave the building rather than having to wait anxiously for critical information and decisions,” Moore said. “Our new facility supports this type of patient-centered process.” n

enhanced work environment furthers staff’s ability to care for patients, families

yenser

sAvAge

lobby area, looking toward entrance

staff lounge gets ample natural night. large windows bring natural light into physician work room.

infusion room

work room


Moore


With last fall’s creation of the

Duke Cancer Institute and the opening of the new Cancer Center facility in February 2012, Duke Medicine is making an unparal-leled commitment to blazing new trails in

patient-focused, research-driven cancer care.

The new Cancer Center building will optimize the growth and expansion of the new DCI model that fully integrates cancer care and clinical research. The synergy fostered by the cancer facility and DCI will accelerate and advance the DCI’s mission of translating research discoveries into the most advanced clinical care for patients with cancer.

“Cancer care is among our highest clinical priorities, and the new Cancer Center facility and Duke Cancer Institute represent our strong commitment to the transformation of cancer care and research,” said Victor J. Dzau, M.D., Duke chancellor for health affairs and CEO of Duke University Health System. “We are committed to creating an environment in which all of our cancer researchers, physi-cians, educators and staff come together as one team focused around the needs of the patient.”

More than 300 DCI members are involved in the care of patients and in laboratory and clinical research that focuses on better understanding the fundamental

biological processes associated with the development of various cancers.

The new structure will break down departmental barriers and integrate our approach to cancer treatment and research into a single organizational structure as DCI clinicians working in the Cancer Center facility and research scientists working in their labs seek to speed the pace of discovery and to enhance the patients’ experience as they move from diagnosis and treatment to recovery.

Likewise, patients in the new Cancer Center facility will benefit from the convenience and comfort of an everything-under-one-roof approach. All

members of the cancer care team – from physicians, nurses and clinical trials team members to pharmacists, social workers, counselors and dietitians – will work side-by-side to provide comprehensive, compassionate care that further distin-guishes Duke Medicine’s reputation as one of the nation’s top centers for cancer care.

Michael B. Kastan, M.D., Ph.D., a re-nowned cancer scientist who now leads the Comprehensive Cancer Center at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, has been hired as the DCI’s first executive director and begins work on Aug. 1.

Kastan sees the DCI, a first-of-a-kind entity at Duke, as an emerging national model for the way cancer programs should be structured, bringing education, cancer research and patient care into a seamless and unified venture.

“This is the beginning of a new era for cancer research and care at Duke that will transform the way patients are treated and that will unite every aspect of our clinical and research mission,” Kastan said. “Many challenges remain in battling cancer but no other organization is as well-positioned – in research labs, in translational clinical trials in our clinics and at the bedside – as we are with the DCI and Cancer Center facility.”

Dzau said Kastan’s leadership and research achievements at St. Jude’s make him a perfect fit for the DCI.

“He is the ideal person to lead the newly launched DCI and to implement a novel model of integrated cancer care and research that will emerge when both the Cancer Center facility and DCI are fully operational,” Dzau said. n

cancer center facility, Duke cancer institute will combine to evolve cancer care, research

kAstAn

A view from below of the rooftop garden terrace area (upper right). patients will be able to receive infusion treatment on the terrace, which also is visible from interior infusion areas.

work nears completion on exterior siding.



Progress on the new Cancer Center facility continues to move forward

on schedule toward a Feb. 27 opening to patients, with the exterior essentially complete except for the canopy that will provide coverage over the entrance drop off.

The former lawn section in the middle of the Duke Clinics traffic circle has been fenced off to allow for pre-liminary groundwork for the new traffic routes and gardens. And, as part of the continued commitment to easing accessi-bility to the clinics and the new building, work will begin late this summer or in early fall on a new turn lane from Erwin Road onto Trent Drive.

Interiors are progressing, with installation of new modular casework, the beginning of framing on level one, installation of drywall on levels four and five, and completion of design for the quiet room for meditation. On the garden terrace, the wooden trellis and glass skylight were installed.

In recent months, significant work was completed on the climate-controlled concourse that will lead from Duke Clinics through the Cancer Center facility to Duke University Hospital and future Duke Medicine Pavilion. In November, the concourse’s third floor will open, allowing patients, visitors and staff to remain fully indoors as they move through the buildings.

Transitioning from the current cancer clinics to the new facility is no small task and will no doubt create temporary challenges for staff as the process occurs.

In planning the transition, the team considered key variables such as patient safety, operational efficiency, financial impact and patient satisfaction. These contributed to the final move sequencing of clinics and services that will take place over a three-week period.

Hundreds of employees from all lev-els of the Duke University Health System organization have been involved in the planning process to ensure a smooth, suc-cessful transition into the Cancer Center facility. The teams encompass a full range of areas – human resources, finance and performance services, PRMO, patient care and others – proactively working

in collaboration to identify and address all issues and concerns in time for the facility’s opening.

During the first week of the transition process, Radiation Oncology, Radiology, the Brain Tumor Clinic, Prostate Center and Hematologic Malignancies Clinic are scheduled to move and prepare for opening. Infusion is scheduled to open the second week, with the majority of the clinics – Breast and Gynecology, Thoracic, GI, Sarcoma and Melanoma, and Urology – scheduled to move and open in the third week.

Look for more communications updates as the opening date approaches. n

construction is on schedule for a late February, 2012, opening to patients

A climate-controlled concourse will link the cancer center facility with Duke university Hospital and Duke Medicine pavilion. the third floor of the concourse will open in november.

cancer center facility

at a glance• floors: 7

• Square footage: 267,000

• Estimated project cost: $220 million

• Construction initiated: 2009

• Projected construction completion: February 2012

Key components: • 123 clinical exam rooms

• 73 infusion stations

• Radiation oncology, 3 new linear accelerators

• Radiology services

• Mammography suite

patient and family amenities:• Cancer patient shop

• Outdoor, garden terrace with infusion area for patients

• Retail pharmacy

• Patient resource center

• Café

• Quiet room

Sustainability features:• LEED Silver status targeted

LeveL 00 – Radiation oncoLogyfeaturing the addition of three new linear accelerators and a con-necting renovation of the current radiation oncology clinic (connec-tion scheduled to open late 2012)

LeveL 0 – Lobby and Main FLooRfeaturing a fireplace with seating area, five-story atrium, quiet room for personal reflection, patient and family resource center, shop, café, retail pharmacy, conference room for support groups and other patient use, patient registration and labs

LeveL 1 – RadioLogy

LeveL 2 – bReast and gynecoLogy cLinicsfeaturing a mammography suite

LeveL 3 – gi, thoRacic, MeLanoMa and saRcoMa, head and neck and bRain tuMoR cLinics

LeveL 4 – inFusion featuring an outdoor garden terrace

LeveL 5 – genitouRinaRy and heMatoLogic MaLignancies cLinics

Floor by floor


Inside Duke Medicine | Cancer Center Issue

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