Plans for Expanded Cancer Care Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: March 25, 2011
Contact: Melissa Hodgson, Director of Communications
Marlborough Hospital
508-486-5806
Melissa.Hodgson@umassmemorial.org

MARLBOROUGH - Marlborough Hospital has announced plans to design a Cancer Pavilion to provide expanded cancer care services for the communities it serves. In partnership with the UMass Memorial Health Care Cancer Center of Excellence, Marlborough Hospital's President and CEO John Polanowicz, unveiled initial hospital plans for the project design in a presentation earlier today.

Partnering with Marlborough Hospital and the UMass Memorial Health Care system is The S/L/A/M Collaborative, Inc., Glastonbury, CT, and Tocci Building Corporation, Woburn, MA. The project will utilize a new and highly coordinated approach to building design called Integrated Project Delivery or IPD, aimed to optimize project results, increase value to the owner, reduce waste  and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication and construction of the potential project. The primary focus of the plan is to bring all cancer services together under one roof with a dedicated patient entrance and services.

"This Cancer Pavilion will provide the opportunity for our patients to receive state-of-the-art high-quality coordinated radiation and medical oncology services in their local community," said Polanowicz. "Streamlining patient care between all members of the health care team regardless of location is the future and will enhance outcomes. The design and subsequent construction of such a facility will help us to achieve this."

The Cancer Pavilion is estimated to be a 14,500 square-foot addition to the north side of the hospital that will include cancer care services including medical oncology and radiation oncology. Currently medical oncology is located on the second floor of the hospital's 1952 building while radiation oncology is available only off site.

According to Michael Blute, MD, Director, Cancer Center of Excellence, UMass Memorial Health Care, and Chief, Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, UMass Memorial Medical Center, "We are excited to bring this level of coordinated cancer care to patients in the 495 Corridor. Our patients expect and deserve the best of cancer care in the convenience of their community; it is our vision that the Cancer Pavilion will provide just that."

The design process is expected to last six months with the hospital forming a project advisory board consisting of patients and families, physicians, nurses, hospital staff  and community members who will provide input into the pavilion's elements. At the end of the design process, the hospital will move to phase two of the project, which will be to obtain construction funding, zoning approvals and then begin construction.

#   #   #

About Marlborough Hospital
Marlborough Hospital, a community resource since 1890, is served by a medical staff of more than 300 primary care physicians and specialists. The hospital provides a wide range of inpatient and outpatient medical, surgical and ancillary services, including oncology, laboratory and radiology services, physical therapy, cardiac rehabilitation, inpatient and partial day mental health services as well as diabetes education and management. A state-of-the-art Emergency Department, staffed by emergency medicine physicians from the UMass Memorial Medical Center, provides 24-hour emergency care. For more information about the hospital visit: www.marlboroughhospital.org.

The S/L/A/M Collaborative
The S/L/A/M Collaborative is ranked among the "Top 100" design firms in the country, with an established practice dedicated to design of healthcare facilities.  The 155-member firm maintains offices in Glastonbury, Boston, Syracuse, and Atlanta, and is a fully-integrated, multi-disciplinary practice, providing architecture, planning, interior design, landscape & site planning, structural engineering, and construction services to a national clientele.  SLAM focuses on designing buildings that help their clients heal, teach and discover.

Tocci Building Corporation
Tocci Building Corporation provides building and construction services throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States. The company is internationally known as a leader in Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), and Integrated Project Delivery. In addition to IPD, the company delivers LEED certified and Lean Constructed buildings to the region's top providers of health care, life sciences, hospitality, multifamily housing, retail and commercial facilities. The firm's unique delivery process is captured in its internal value statement; "cool, calm, constructed."