Bluewater Health celebrates $1-million donation to cancer clinic project

A $1-million donation has pushed Bluewater Health three-quarters of the way to funding a new cancer clinic at Sarnia’s hospital.

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Calling it an incredible, generous investment in local health care, Bluewater Health Foundation executive director Kathy Alexander said the seven-figure donation from the Lockwood Foundation “solidifies the future of cancer care in Sarnia-Lambton at Bluewater Health.”

The $3.7-million cancer clinic expansion project on the hospital’s second floor is about creating more space for a growing number of cancer patients, said Kenneth Yoshida.

When it opened in 2010, the clinic was designed for one oncologist and a part-time general practitioner in oncology, he said.

Now Yoshida said he is among three oncologists, noting another doctor splits time between the clinic and hospice work.

Yoshida estimated 500 new cancer patients will be seen this year, doctors see a collective 10 a week, on average, he said — in the clinic that’s been getting busier as Sarnia-Lambton’s population ages.

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Cramped quarters means physicians have to schedule off days from the clinic, and make due with one examining room, whereas most oncology centers have two, he said.

Creating more space will mean more patients seen faster, he said.

“And hopefully not have to turn away any consults that would be appropriate,” Yoshida said, noting patients who can’t be seen in Sarnia are referred to London.

“This redevelopment will allow us to prevent thousands of trips to London and allow our clinic to function in the way it really needs to,” he said, also thanking the Lockwood Foundation for its generosity.

“The donation is greatly appreciated,” he said.

The Foundation is named for Ambrose Lorne (AL) Lockwood, founder of Toronto’s Lockwood Clinic in 1923 and former Mayo Clinic head of surgery, Bluewater Health officials said in a news release.

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Founded in 1962 to fund health and wellness programs, the foundation has made previous contributions to Bluewater Health and has supported St. Joseph’s Hospice in Sarnia since 2008, but tends to stay out of the limelight, said president Ryan Doyle.

The foundation also previously helped fund cancer care at Trillium Health Partners in Toronto, he said.

Doyle’s grandfather and former foundation president Peter Doyle — son-in-law of Lockwood’s nephew Stanley (HS) Buster Lockwood — moved to the Sarnia area in the 1970s, Ryan Doyle said, noting he also recently moved to the community.

“Our family, the Doyle family, we’ve been touched by cancer, unfortunately,” he said. “So, we’re just happy to kind of give back in any way we can.”

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A patient registration area in the new clinic will be named after Doyle’s late uncles, Todd and David Doyle, as thanks for the donation, Bluewater Health officials said in a news release.

The clinic itself is being named after Nova Chemicals, which contributed $500,000 this spring to the project.

The Lockwood Foundation contribution, while large, is modest relative to the impact health care practitioners in Sarnia have in helping cancer patients, Ryan Doyle said.

“It’s an honor to be a small part of that,” he said.

Tandem campaigns, for the $3.7-million cancer clinic, and $600,000 to create a new space for a sexual assault and domestic violence treatment center in Sarnia’s hospital, are both at 75 per cent, Alexander said.

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“We could not do it without an incredible and generous community,” she said about fundraising so far, noting more help is needed.

The sexual assault and domestic violence treatment center’s recently completed move was phase one of the renovation project, said facilities manager Jack Vanderveen.

Phase two, currently underway, is renovating that former space for the new Doyle reception area, he said, followed by creating more exam rooms, space for oncology pharmacy, larger waiting areas, doctors’ offices, and a new respiratory care area.

“If all goes according to plan, we’ll be done in September 2025,” Vanderveen said.

Treatment for cancer patients won’t be interrupted by the work, as chemotherapy happens elsewhere, Alexander said.

“There will be some disruption to patient flow with respect to accessing dialysis and lab, and having to go through a different hallway to get there; but all of the care and treatment will continue as previous, just in some different locations in the interim,” she said.

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