Massey Cancer Center to open a new outpatient pavilion.
Advances in cancer care mean patients are now more likely to receive outpatient treatment rather than endure hospital stays. To respond to this shift, VCU Health’s Massey Cancer Center in Richmond is consolidating its facilities—including the flagship Dalton Oncology Clinic—to create a new $349 million Adult Outpatient Pavilion, scheduled to open on their downtown campus in December. “We’ve come up with a way to take care of patients that will become a model for the rest of the nation,” says Michael Rao, president of VCU and VCU Health System.
The new 17-story building stands at the “intersection of science, of health care delivery, and community,” says Dr. Robert Winn, director of VCU Massey Cancer Center, where the Dalton Oncology Clinic will provide access to oncology specialists, diagnostic testing, medical imaging, and an on-site laboratory and pharmacy.
(Dr. Robert Winn, director of VCU Massey Cancer Center)
A new infusion treatment floor will offer twice the current number of infusion chairs and a radiation oncology clinic will include the first MRI linear accelerator in the Mid-Atlantic region. This device provides MRI-guided radiation therapy, allowing doctors to target tumors with greater precision while reducing harmful exposure to surrounding organs. It’s a level of personalized care that has been impossible until now.
The Adult Oncology Pavilion also has been designed for easy patient navigation with ample parking, valet service, and quiet spaces to recharge located in the cafe and resource library.
Founded in 1974, the Massey Cancer Center is named in honor of philanthropists William and E. Morgan Massey, the architects of the Massey Energy Company. Of the country’s 1,500 total cancer centers, Massey is among a network of 71 NCI-Designated centers, recognized by the National Cancer Institute for their state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge treatment, breakthrough research, and lifesaving clinical trials.
“These cancer centers, as a group, perform research that increases our ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer more effectively,” says Doug Lowy, principal deputy director of the National Cancer Institute. Centers with NCI-Designation enroll thousands of patients in clinical trials that have originated within the network, all led by collaborative teams of scientists, researchers, and clinicians. It’s one reason why patients treated at Massey and other NCI-Designated Cancer Centers have higher survival and recovery rates overall.
This article originally appeared in the October 2021 issue.
