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The St. Elizabeth Cancer Center in Dearborn is officially opening to patients Monday, April 29.
Planning for the project, which is located at 17525 Greendale Plaza Drive in Lawrenceburg, started around three years ago, with the goal of providing cutting-edge cancer care and easier access to cancer screenings, prevention and treatment for patients in Southeastern Indiana and Southwestern Ohio.
“The opening of the St. Elizabeth Dearborn Cancer Center is a significant milestone in our goal to provide compassionate, top-tier cancer care,” Garren Colvin, president and CEO of St. Elizabeth Healthcare, said in a news release. “We believe everyone in our community deserves world-class care close to home.”
The $44 million, three-story, 66,000-square-foot facility houses comprehensive cancer care under one roof, offering state-of-the-art technology, including on-site radiation oncology for treating a range of cancers such as breast, lung, prostate and colon, as well as screenings such as tomosynthesis/3D mammography.
The center also will integrate highly precise radiation oncology services with current treatment plans. It includes 12 exam rooms, 24 bays that provide infusion services, CT scan and PET CT scan.
Patients, associates and visitors will have access to:
- Precision medicine and genomic health
- Education, screening and prevention services
- Diagnostic technology
- Oncology expertise
- Holistic and preventative care
- Survivorship support programs
- Advanced support services for care plans.
Multiple social workers, financial counselors and a dietitian also will work out of the center, providing patients with added access to centralized care.
In addition, the facility will include a $3.5 million LINAC treatment vault, for external-beam radiation treatments. This piece of equipment hasn’t been utilized in the region for the past decade.
“It’s a collective effort from the community to bring this here,” Dr. Doug Flora, executive medical director for the St. Elizabeth Cancer Center, told me. “Each of the municipalities, each of the city councils and donor families from the area were the ones that made this conceivable because it's not something that works in a business plan. It only works in a community where everybody pitches in.”
Once the facility starts accepting patients, it anticipates seeing about 100 per day.
“The Dearborn Cancer Center is a testament to our commitment to revolutionizing cancer care,” Flora said. “We envision a world where we can detect cancer early and treat it effectively with our multidisciplinary team and advanced technology. We’re poised to make a substantial impact on the lives of those we serve – promoting both health and healing right here in Indiana.”
Skanska and Greendale-based Maxwell Construction served as the project’s construction manager. BSA LifeStructures was the lead architectural firm and handled engineering, mechanical and plumbing. The electrical engineer was KLH Engineering; civil engineer, CT Consultants; and structural engineer is THP Limited.
The Dearborn Cancer Center sits adjacent to a new St. Elizabeth Dearborn Hospital, expected to open in 2027.
St. Elizabeth Healthcare is the largest employer in Northern Kentucky and the sixth-largest in the Tri-State, according to Courier research, with a staff of more than 10,300. Around 4,000 of those employees work at the Edgewood campus.
The health care system operates six hospitals and more than 172 primary care and specialty sites in the region.
Total expense
| Rank | Prior Rank | Business name (Prior rank) |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Cincinnati Children's Hospital |
2 | 2 | Christ Hospital |
3 | 3 | St. Elizabeth Healthcare Edgewood |