Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance unveils ‘world-class’ cancer and medical care clinic at Stratford hospital

Jim Battle thought it was too good to be true.

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He didn’t think Stratford’s hospital would ever be home to a state-of-the-art cancer and medical care clinic, especially after his own experience 13 years ago.

Battle had just turned 60 when he was diagnosed with colon cancer, and his treatment at the hospital lasted more than a year and included rounds of radiation, chemotherapy and two surgeries.

He was “dismayed” by his first impression of a unit that was neither patient nor caregiver friendly.

“Everything was less than stellar,” he said.

He remained skeptical, even a few years ago, when he reviewed plans for a modern facility and was asked for his input. It felt like an impossible dream, he thought.

Not anymore.

Battle, now co-chair of Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance’s Patient Caregiver Partners program, called Friday’s unveiling of a new cancer and medical care clinic “a very special day to champion the patient experience.”

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“The space (is) simply amazing, outstanding, incredible,” he said. “Now I am a believer as this treatment care facility is truly worthy of our HPHA standard of excellence.”

The $15-million project includes an adjacent pharmacy and was nearly a decade in the making. It required demolishing inpatient suites and an old operating room on the hospital’s fourth floor and creating a 1,672-square-meter clinic that has modern amenities and 17 locations – up from 12 – to administer treatment to those fighting cancer.

“The look and the feel of this new unit is so much more comfortable and inviting,” Dr. Janis Nicholson said. “This will hopefully help ease some of the anxiety people feel, especially in that first visit when they’re starting treatment.”

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Nicholson joined the hospital’s cancer clinic in 2003, less than a year after it opened in collaboration with the South West Regional Cancer Program operated by the Verspeeten Family Cancer Center at London Health Sciences Centre.

The new clinic was long overdue, she said, and helps offer better care to patients and their loved ones during a vulnerable time.

“Having this larger, better designed, more welcoming space with more privacy and better patient flow will help us continue to do that.”

The unit handles more than 3,500 patient visits a year, with 2,000 focused on cancer care. Ryan Itterman, the HPHA’s director of diagnostics, regional pharmacy and chemotherapy, said the unit had to meet the needs of community, patients, family members and caregivers.

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He heard “countless stories” of how cancer care closer to home made things easier during a challenging journey.

“No one wants to need this service and program,” he said. “However, if they need it, when they need it, they’re certainly glad it’s here for them.”

Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma spoke of his former mother-in-law who had to travel to London for chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The new unit made him think of the “people now who will, in our local area, be able to get the services they deserve and the proximity to them and their family and friends close to home.”

A modern pharmacy, which is set to open late next week, will allow its team to “meet new standards for patient and staff safety in a purpose-built environment,” Itterman said.

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The pharmacy handles around 685 orders a day and also serves Clinton, Seaforth and St. Marys hospitals.

“This has been a long project and has been on the books for a while,” HPHA president and chief executive officer Andrew Williams said.

The project was part of the Stratford General Hospital Foundation’s In Our Hands Capital Campaign, which has raised most of its $30-million goal. Foundation chair Josef Frank said Friday it was the group’s most ambitious campaign to date.

“It really will touch every corner of the hospital.”

Williams praised the healthcare alliance’s project team for its “commitment and dedication” to seeing the project through.

“(They) always remained positive, remained focused, knew what the end game was,” he said, “and that was to provide a world-class facility for those in need.”

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