Duke University Health System officials announced plans last week to pursue a multi-million dollar expansion to include a patient "tower" and an integrated cancer-treatment facility.
DUHS board members approved a budget of $6.4 million to develop plans for a tower to house up to 300 patient beds, said Kevin Sowers, chief operating officer of DUHS. Another $2.1 million was allotted for plans to expand Duke's Morris Cancer Clinics.
Officials will seek a "certificate of need" from the state of North Carolina Feb. 15 to warrant the expansions, which DUHS officials estimate will cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Sowers said.
"The hospital we currently reside in was built over 25 years ago," he said. "Integrating services based on patients' needs will enhance Duke's success as one of the nation's leading health care destinations and a top cancer treatment institution."
Sowers said Duke Hospital's small operating rooms and scattered outpatient clinics are among the reasons for the proposed expansions.
He added that in spite of DUHS' past efforts to centralize cancer treatment services, patients currently visit several sites located throughout the medical campus. In addition to bringing together outpatient specialists, the planned center would house chemotherapy, radiology and radiation services.
An integrated structure could also benefit researchers, said Dr. Joseph Moore, professor of oncology and transplant services.
"I think the new center is going to be a critical part of remaining on the cutting edge of research and patient care and maintaining Duke's reputation for across-the-board, integrated patient care," Moore said. "Translating medical research into healthcare will require close collaborations among oncologists."
The patient tower will facilitate plans to integrate children and heart patients-major areas of focus in DUHS' most recent strategic plan-into the framework of Duke Hospital, Sowers said.
The changes to the organization of Duke's cancer facilities could be the first step in implementing broad changes to enhance Duke's reputation as a "one-stop shop" for patient treatment, said Molly O'Neill, vice president of business development and chief strategic planning officer for DUHS.
Moore said the ability to integrate treatments is part of a national trend to attract patients in search of top cancer treatment facilities, citing changes at other DUHS hospitals and across the nation.
"In particular, patients seeking good cancer treatment do a great deal of research," Moore said. "And having integrated healthcare is certainly of major appeal."
DUHS officials said they hope to begin construction in the next 18 months, though the facilities may not open until 2010 or 2011, The Raleigh News and Observer reported Friday.
Construction is set to take place at the current site of the Morris Cancer Clinics, Sowers said.
"There is a projected increase of 13 percent of new [cancer] cases in the state and a 21-percent increase in the Triangle," Sowers said. "Duke medicine wants to be positioned to meet the community and to move forward as a top medical institution."
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