Demand for Cancer Care Drives Hospital Expansion
By Michael O’Connor, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
May 27–Construction of a new cancer center that is part of the Nebraska Medical Center’s westward expansion is on schedule, and doctors are expected to start seeing patients in November.
Increased demand for cancer treatment is driving construction of the center, southeast of 180th Street and West Dodge Road.
The hospital is running out of room for cancer services at its midtown campus, said Chad Kruse, a facility analyst with the medical center. The outpatient cancer center, announced three years ago, will double the hospital’s space for cancer treatment. The center is a joint project with UNMC Physicians.
The new center is the first step in the hospital’s plans for a smaller west Omaha version of its midtown campus. The medical center also has purchased land for a new hospital at the West Dodge site, but there is no timeline for construction.
The medical center will have about 70,000 square feet of an 85,000-square-foot building that is being constructed by Dana Magid Development, a private developer.
Dana Magid is paying the $26 million cost of constructing the building, said Tucker Magid, an owner of the company. The medical center will have a long-term lease with Dana Magid for the space.
The cancer center will take up 45,000 square feet of the medical center’s space in the building.
The number of patients seeking cancer treatment at the medical center has been growing, and the patient count is forecast to grow by 15 percent within five years. The hospital treats 7,500 cancer patients annually.
The medical center has said there has been an increase in patients from the region and across the country seeking cancer care at the hospital. The hospital’s prostate, leukemia and lymphoma treatment programs are among those drawing patients from outside the Omaha area.
–Contact the writer: 444-1122, michael.oconnor@owh.com
—–
To see more of the Omaha World-Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.omaha.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.