Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center begins Renovation and Expansion

Project supports comprehensive services

(Baton Rouge, La.)

Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center has announced a significant renovation and expansion initiative, including onsite and offsite campus facilities. The more than $23 million construction project is currently underway and includes modernizing building systems and expanding areas for additional and enhanced services.

“This is about providing the highest level of comprehensive care for patients and their caregivers through aligned outpatient and inpatient cancer services.  Upon arrival, we want every patient to immediately sense that the entire experience is designed with their needs in mind, first,” said Todd Stevens, president and CEO of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

Stevens also noted that all Cancer Center services will continue as normal during the renovation period; team members are working to ensure patient safety and comfort throughout the process. The renovation project is scheduled for completion by late 2014.

Renovation Projects:

1^st Floor:

• New expanded patient drop off and pick up, public entry and lobby, and high speed elevators
• A new public pathway between Mary Bird Perkins and Our Lady of the Lake, allowing patients and visitors to move easily between inpatient and outpatient areas
• Completely renovated and refurbished radiation oncology clinic, includes a new private waiting room and dedicated suite for treatment simulation and special procedures
• A new treatment room for the revolutionary Elekta Versa HD, a new radiation therapy technology, providing faster and more accurate treatments for a wide range of tumors and highly complex cancers
• A new suite for diagnostic imaging and space for medical physics  personnel and students

2^nd Floor: New family and visitor hospitality area, coffee and snack kiosk, meditation room;  a hi-tech conference room to support the collaborative work of physician multidisciplinary care teams; and upgrades to existing conference center rooms

3^rd Floor: Administrative and Executive offices, and clinical expansion space

4^th Floor: Existing OLOL Head and Neck and Voice Center

5^th Floor

• Modernized clinic for Louisiana Hematology Oncology Associates , a six-member team of physicians, includes both functional and cosmetic upgrades designed to better facilitate patient care
• Expanded blood draw and laboratory processing suite and new clinical research suite

6^th Floor: Entire 14,000-square-foot floor will be dedicated to infusion services, including a state-of-the-art clinical oncology pharmacy, and a mixture of private infusion rooms and semiprivate infusion bays

8119 Picardy Avenue: As part of the expanded Cancer Center, Medical Oncology, a five-member team of hematology-oncology physicians, now offers patient management and infusion services at a location near the main campus, offering private and semiprivate infusions and an onsite clinical pharmacy for patient convenience; renovations to this location are set for completion soon

Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center Administrator Linda Lee said providing a highly personalized and coordinated experience throughout every stage of a patient’s cancer journey is the impetus for the entire renovation and expansion project.

“Doing everything possible to help patients throughout their treatment is a priority for us. We want them to put all of their energy and focus into their healing.” said Lee. “We want to surround patients with the experts and services they need from diagnosis to survivorship and make accessing the care they require as simple as possible.”

More details about the project listed by floor/location can be found by visiting www.mbpolol.org.

Mary Bird Perkins—Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center is the most comprehensive cancer center in Louisiana offering patients the convenience of receiving high-quality, advanced care close to home. The Cancer Center is part of the National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP), a group of competitively selected cancer centers that is developing a national model for community cancer care.