By Lois Thomson
Memorial Healthcare System has been providing world-class care to patients for decades, and now future patients seeking care can look forward to a consolidation of those services when the new Memorial Cancer Institute is completed. According to Mark Greenspan, the purpose of this facility, which is currently under construction, is to coordinate all of the cancer care under one roof.
As he explained, “Care was being provided in multiple facilities, so the purpose of the project is to create a consolidation of care, bringing together our experts in cancer care, and creating a healing environment for the patients. It will help to ease their burden during their journey with the disease and create a patient and family center healing environment where we can provide world-class cancer care. It’s also where our physicians and clinicians can collaborate, and where the patients have the amenities to make their journey easier.”
(l-r) Mark Greenspan, director of construction and design services, and Dr. Brian Hunis, medical director of oncology and hematology, Memorial Healthcare System
Greenspan, director of construction and design services at Memorial Healthcare System, has been responsible for managing the design and construction of this project, as well as all projects in the System – which is the nation’s fifth-largest public healthcare system and one that includes six hospitals. “I have the privilege of helping to plan and execute these important clinical advancements for the community, so I’m proud of what I get to do. We have an entire construction and design department, and we see the projects from start to finish.” He said the department represents the entire healthcare system and applies their expertise to the design firms, to manage and see projects from concept all the way through to transition and operations. “It’s a great role for us to play.”
He said Memorial Cancer Institute has been in the works for about five years, and he and the members of the team initially had opportunities to visit other similar facilities. “We looked at benchmarks and brought back the best we could find; couple that with the world-class care and services that we already provide, and that’s how the project was born. It also happened by collaboration with our executive leaders, physicians, and nurses, as well as input from patients and families.”
Greenspan mentioned that feedback from the latter groups is important because “first and foremost we’re here to serve them. That’s the art of what we do. We can’t plan effectively without their voice in our projects. We’re here to advance the mission of the organization and to create the care environment, and we can’t do that without bringing together all those perspectives.”
Having been in the works for a few years means that the COVID pandemic came into play right in the midst of the Memorial Cancer Institute project. Greenspan commented that the impact of the virus has been twofold. “We’re seeing price escalation across all the construction commodities and we’re seeing supply chain disruption in terms of the delivery and availability of equipment and material. Those have been the most significant impacts we’ve had to mitigate along the path of the project.”
He added, however, that he and his team have been proactive, identifying risk and monitoring it in an effort to keep the project on schedule. “It’s been an area of focus for our team and our design partners and our construction manager. We meet about these issues on a weekly basis, and when things occur unexpectedly, we problem-solve and find solutions. We’re definitely dealing with things we never thought we would be, but they’ve become the norm now.”
The projected date of completion for the 121,000 sq. ft. Memorial Cancer Institute is spring 2023. Greenspan said the frame has just finished being built, and work has now begun on the interior. When finished, it will consolidate resources such as radiation oncology, breast oncology, and hematology oncology. There will be 76 exam rooms, 53 infusion bays, telehealth rooms, linear accelerators, a café, image recovery, a meditation room, and a rooftop terrace where both providers and patients can get away for a respite. In short, coordinated patient care will take place, and cancer research will also be housed in the new facility.
Memorial Cancer Institute, along with its research partner Florida Atlantic University, is already designated as one of only five Cancer Centers of Excellence in Florida. The designation recognizes providers that exceed service standards and excel in providing quality, comprehensive, and patient-coordinated care.
Of the work on this new project, Greenspan concluded, “Our time is invested in helping the community and in helping to provide care, so it’s a satisfying mission.”
For more information, call (954) 265-4325, or visit www.mhs.net/cancer.
