StemCell Therapy

Six days before the official opening of the James M. Stockman Cancer Institute in Frederick, the sand-colored lobby was already bustling with radiology patients coming in for treatment.

I hope your doctor has good things to say today, one smiling nurse told a man waiting with family members. Other patients settled into chairs beside wide plate glass windows overlooking the institutes newly landscaped healing garden. Across the lobby, a row of touch-screen check-in kiosks blinked, set up and ready for use.

The overall atmosphere hushed and efficient and full of natural light was exactly what Dr. Patrick Mansky pictured when he thought of an optimal healing environment for cancer patients. Holistic care including the importance of creating comfortable clinical conditions has become a prime focus in treatment over the past 10 to 15 years, said Mansky, the medical director of medical oncology at the new institute.

Its a big change, and the idea of optimal healing flowed into how the new building was constructed, he added. We wanted an environment that was centered around the patient and supported recovery.

The Stockman Cancer Institute, set to fully open July 31, is the newest expansion of the oncology program within Frederick Regional Health System the umbrella organization that encompasses Frederick Memorial Hospital and its affiliated clinics. The new building will replace the FRHS Cancer Therapy Center on Seventh Street and offer several new services to patients, said Dr. Mark Soberman, the medical director of the FRHS cancer service line.

One new amenity, on the second floor of the institute, is an integrative medicine suite that accommodates supplementary treatments such as acupuncture and yoga. The Complementary Therapy Clinic painted a sunny yellow includes a large front room for movement therapy classes and several adjoining areas fitted with massage tables and a row of lockers.

The institute also includes brand-new oncology equipment, including the latest model of the CyberKnife radiosurgery system. The large, sleek machine stark white and reminiscent of a prop from the USS Enterprise cuts radiation treatment time in half and is the only one of its kind in Maryland, D.C. and northern Virginia, said Dustin Simonson, a medical physicist at the SCI.

In the old model, the radiation beam only came out in a circle, but this new beam can shape the radiation to the tumor and allows us to treat larger growths, he added. Its also more flexible and heavy-duty, so we know were able to treat patients at least 50 percent faster.

The biggest coup detat, though, is the institutes ability to provide the same level of care in a much nicer environment, Soberman said. The gently curved building was designed to minimize so-called patient pong the practice of sending visitors to different areas of the hospital to meet with different specialists.

In the SCI, changing rooms flow into treatment rooms via sliding wood doors, and patients will be seen by multiple specialists in the same exam room. On the second floor, a multidisciplinary clinic allows physicians to confer and design a coordinated treatment plan for patients.

Mansky also excitedly pointed out five different color schemes in various areas of the building. Green for the infusion center, where all 20 open bays are equipped with touch-screen tablets, and blue for exam and changing rooms. The radiation and integrative medicine clinics are painted a joyful yellow, while the multidisciplinary clinic is turquoise to symbolize strength, he said. Purple reserved for the Center for Chest Disease is meant to denote courage.

Thats part of the optimal healing environment and also helps with wayfinding, Mansky said. The color, lighting, architecture everything was designed to put patients at ease.

On a solidly practical level, the SCI will also be cheaper, Soberman said. Because the center is separate from the main campus of Frederick Memorial Hospital, FRHS executives negotiated with the state Health Services Cost Review Commission to categorize the institute as part of the unregulated medical market the same classification as doctors offices or free-standing clinics. The new classification allows the SCI to offer services at lower rates than the main hospital.

Up to 40 percent lower, in fact, Soberman said. You dont have facility fees, you dont have physician fees. This is basically no more expensive than going to a private doctors office.

A dedicated financial counselor will also be on staff to consult with patients on payment options and financing treatment.

When it opens on Monday, the institute will host 92 staff members, including eight physicians and one nurse practitioner, Mansky said. The building measures 62,500 square feet and cost a total of $40.5 million, including new oncology equipment. $19.5 million of the total cost was raised through community philanthropy, according to Soberman, including a $3 million gift from local business owner James M. Stockman. Stockman, 86, owns Rockledge Plaza on the Golden Mile.

Construction took a little more than 16 months, from the groundbreaking on March 16, 2016, to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new institute on Thursday.

Stockman, who attended the ceremony, hoped his donation to the new institute would be an image booster for the local health care system. While the gift was inspired by his father, a cancer survivor, he said he also wanted to help the county overall.

As far as Im concerned, theres nothing the matter with hometown pride, he said. Its a good thing for Frederick County, but I think it will also put the hospital on the map. Frederick Memorial will be much more recognizable in the region.

FRHS has also been part of the MD Anderson Cancer Network since May 2016. The 16-member network, centralized at the University of Texas, allows local oncology specialists to offer patients more access to clinical trials and experimental treatments, Mansky said.

Follow Kate Masters on Twitter: @kamamasters.

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Frederick Regional Healthcare System set to open new cancer ... - Frederick News Post (subscription)

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