Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Opens Outpatient Facility In Basking Ridge

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 04 Sep 2006 - 9:00 PDT

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Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) opened a new state-of-the-art outpatient cancer treatment facility in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, today. The new 85,000-square-foot facility incorporates the latest concepts in therapeutic design and offers the most advanced cancer care services.

Located within the Mountain View Corporate Center (at exit 33 off I-78), the outpatient center in Basking Ridge will be convenient for cancer patients who live in central New Jersey.

"Cancer patients from this area who choose to receive care from Memorial Sloan-Kettering must frequently travel into Manhattan for treatments and services," said Abe Lopman, Executive Director of MSKCC's Regional Care Network. "Approximately 17 percent of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's patients live in New Jersey and this new Basking Ridge facility will allow many of these patients to receive their outpatient cancer care in a setting that is closer to home."

The center offers the highest standard of comprehensive cancer care, delivered by MSKCC clinicians in a facility designed to meet the unique needs of cancer patients and their families. A full complement of services to detect, diagnose, and treat cancer will be provided. These include outpatient chemotherapy, radiation oncology, comprehensive diagnostic radiology, medical and surgical consultations, cancer screening, patient education, and integrative medicine.

Imaging technology at the center includes a computed tomography (CT) scanner, digital x-ray imaging, mammography, stereotactic mammography, and ultrasound diagnostics. Treatment tools include a CT simulator and two state-of-the-art linear accelerators that map and deliver intensity-modulated radiation beams. This leading-edge technology enhances the precision of radiation therapy while reducing radiation exposure to healthy tissue.

Chemotherapy treatments are administered in a soothing environment where the nurses and staff appreciate and understand the concerns of cancer patients and their families. The staff's sole focus is on cancer, so patients can be sure that their treatment will reflect the most advanced knowledge about how to treat and live with cancer.

Designed by the Philadelphia-based firm EwingCole, the new facility occupies a small portion of a 26-acre tract of wooded land, leaving most of the property with tranquil views of nature. The building has a curved form and a soft look, and windows throughout the center flood interior spaces with light. Even typically isolated interior spaces such as those used for MRI services offer daylight and views of nature. Inside and outside, the color palette emphasizes earthy, natural hues and warm colors.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering has been providing exceptional care for patients with cancer in New Jersey for more than a decade with facilities in Dover and Denville, New Jersey. Those programs have now been moved into the new facility in Basking Ridge, which has the potential to expand to a total 162,000 square feet.

The new facility employs approximately 100 people, including 15 physicians, and is expected to accommodate 200 outpatient visits each day. All staff, including physicians, are full-time employees of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and have the same level of training and expertise as staff at MSKCC's Manhattan location and other regional sites.

MSKCC's growing network of regional care centers also includes facilities on Long Island and in Westchester County, New York. In 2005, there were more than 450,000 outpatient visits at these regional care sites. MSK Basking Ridge is the largest ambulatory care facility in MSKCC's regional care network and the first stand-alone facility for MSKCC in New Jersey.

"We are replicating Memorial Sloan-Kettering's very successful model of outpatient cancer care, based on years of experience of our expert medical staff, and making our services more accessible to patients," said Lopman.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is the world's oldest and largest institution devoted to prevention, patient care, research, and education in cancer. Our scientists and clinicians generate innovative approaches to better understand, diagnose, and treat cancer. Our specialists are leaders in biomedical research and in translating the latest research to advance the standard of cancer care worldwide.

MSK At Basking Ridge

By The Numbers

* 2 Linear Accelerators

* Digital and Sterotactic Mammography

* 1 MRI

* 1 PET/CT

* 1 CT Scanner

* 1 CT Simulator

* 23 Chemotherapy Suites

* Lab and Pharmacy

* Dermatology and Mohs' Surgery (Treatment for squamous cell and basal cell carcinomas that allows the surgeon to pinpoint and remove cancerous tissue while leaving the healthy skin intact.)

Cost: Approximately $72.5 million, including design and construction

More than 100 employees, including 15 physicians

Contact: Christine Hickey
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center