Elmhurst Memorial Center for Cancer Care Opens Nov. 18

Source: Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare

Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare will begin treating patients at its new, 32,000-square-foot Center for Cancer Care Monday, Nov. 18. The Center is located on Elmhurst Memorial Hospital’s main campus, 155 E. Brush Hill Road, Elmhurst.

“We’re creating an ideal patient experience and providing our patients with more choices,” said Jean Lydon, associate vice president of clinical operations. “In one centralized location, this new facility will help us better facilitate communication and collaboration because patients can get lab work, see their physicians and undergo therapy all in one day.”

The Planetree philosophy and guiding principles played a prominent role in the center’s design. Planetree is an international organization that works with healthcare providers to create a culture of patient-centered care.

Because cancer affects more than just the patient, family space received special attention. The infusion area includes shared social treatment areas for patients who want a more interactive experience, as well as private treatment bays. Patients can determine which setting they prefer, treatment by treatment. Patients can watch TV, listen to music, read or relax in a comfortable recliner. Family and friends are welcomed and encouraged in both settings.

• A more centralized model of care to facilitate communication and convenience
• Medical/radiation oncologist offices, infusion center, state-of-the-art technology under one roof
• Access to nurse navigators
• Complementary therapies and support services
• Multidisciplinary clinics
• American Cancer Society Wig Boutique
• Resource center
• Breast health program

The CyberKnife Center of Chicago provides Elmhurst Memorial cancer patients with an alternative or complement to traditional radiation therapy. CyberKnife delivers precise beams of high-dose radiation to a wide range of locations, including those in the brain, spine, lung, liver, pancreas and prostate, while protecting normal tissue.

CyberKnife, currently located on Elmhurst Memorial’s Berteau Campus, will move to the new Center in January 2014. In the interim, patients will be treated at other CyberKnife locations in the area. The Berteau campus will officially close Nov. 18, after which no Elmhurst Memorial services will be offered there.

In addition to CyberKnife Technology, the new center also features the Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator, which can deliver powerful cancer treatments with pinpoint accuracy and precision, and PET/CT, an imaging procedure for the diagnosis, staging or re-staging of cancer.

Patients undergoing treatment will benefit from the expertise of Elmhurst Memorial’s medical and radiation oncologists who work closely with primary care physicians and surgeons to coordinate care and develop individualized treatment plans. Physicians are supported by oncology certified nurses, radiation therapists, nurse navigators, social workers, dietitians, chaplains and other healthcare providers.

EMHC received the Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award, which recognizes cancer programs that strive for excellence in providing quality care. In 2012, EMHC was one of five hospitals in Illinois and 79 nationwide to receive this award.

The cancer program has also received three-year accreditation in radiation oncology by the American College of Radiology. Elmhurst Radiation Oncology is one of 12 facilities in Illinois, and the only one in DuPage County, to have earned this accreditation.

EMHC also is fully accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, and its breast cancer quality-focused measures have been endorsed by the National Quality Forum.

The Center for Cancer Care is one of three sites for cancer treatment that are part of the healthcare system created by the merger of EMHC and Edward Hospital. The Edward Cancer Center has locations on the Edward Hospital campus in Naperville and on the Edward Plainfield campus.