For Immediate Release:
AMC Opens New Cancer Center
Friday, September 10, 2004
Contact: Vicki Kirby, RN
Communications and Media Director
(540) 332-4969
vkirby@augustamed.com
Located just off Interstate 64 on the campus of AMC, the new center is centrally located to serve patients in Augusta County and the cities of Staunton and Waynesboro as well as offering easy access to neighboring communities in Bath County, Highland County, Rockbridge County, Buena Vista and Lexington. This center will provide comprehensive cancer care and treatment including radiation therapy, medical oncology, hematology and infusion therapies for both outpatients and inpatients. The center is a patient focused environment providing a full range of resources for our patients and their families.
The AMC Cancer Center is committed to providing local access to high quality cancer treatment by bringing together state-of-the-art technology and highly trained healthcare professionals. Our Medical Oncology Unit provides numerous private treatment rooms for our outpatients receiving chemotherapy and other infusion therapies. Our approach in medical oncology is to develop treatment plans that provide care for the entire patient. The latest treatments in chemotherapy are available for cancer treatment as well as other infusion therapies to enhance quality of life. Patients in need of inpatient care are admitted to our designated oncology unit that provides care for all oncology patients as they go through their treatment options, which can include medical oncology or radiation therapy.
The Radiation Oncology Unit is equipped with a state-of-the-art linear accelerator. Radiation therapy, one of the recommended cancer treatment options either alone or in combination with other treatments such as chemotherapy and surgery will be a new service that AMC will offer. Radiation therapy has been the single most needed and requested service for our hospital by our physicians and patients. Currently patients from our community travel to Charlottesville or Harrisonburg for this treatment. Patients have found the travel to receive this service to be extremely difficult. A course of radiation therapy is usually five to six weeks of daily treatments. Often patients are quite ill from their cancer or other treatments and cannot make the daily trip or have difficulty finding transportation to our neighboring facilities. Having this service offered locally at Augusta Medical Center has been a major goal for AMC for a number of years. The radiation therapy service will be operated by VaLiance Health, L.L.C. - a regional partnership among Augusta Medical Center, Rockingham Memorial Hospital and the University of Virginia Health System.
"For cancer care, this approach with VaLiance Health Partners is a unique and very exciting concept that draws the very best of existing resources in our region together rather than duplicating them" said Richard Graham, President and CEO of Augusta Medical Center. "Many of our patients have received wonderful cancer care in a community setting at RMH while others have needed the level of tertiary care only available at a major university. This concept brings the proven record of both of our regional partners to our patients and does so efficiently and seamlessly. This is the way hospitals and physicians should cooperate and the best possible alternative for the patients that all of us serve." The AMC Cancer Center is integrated into Augusta Medical Center's full spectrum of resources with access to acute care services, surgery, radiology, physical and occupational therapies, pharmacy, laboratory, clinical research, nutrition services, respiratory care, social services, skilled and acute rehabilitative care, medical records, home health care, hospice and other ancillary services. Patient education, cancer resource literature, and support and survivorship groups are made available to our patients and their families.