Expansion is on tap
for cancer center

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

When Cancer Treatment Centers of America overhauled the former Parkview Hospital two years ago, it had a long-term eye on expansion.
CTCA had two unused floors and other shell space throughout the building, at 1331 E. Wyoming Ave.
Since opening in December 2005, the hospital has increased its staff from 154 to 423 as patient demand has grown.
So, CTCA has moved up its timetable for expansion.
"The growth has come fast enough that we’re expanding faster than we anticipated," said senior vice president Kane Dawson.
CTCA announced last month on its second anniversary date that it would double capacity in 2008.
Expansion plans include 10 new examination rooms for outpatients, 16 new inpatient beds and 18 new guest rooms for loved ones. There will be more office and treatment space, additional consultation and activity/resource rooms, upgrades to the pharmacy and infusion departments and permanent PET/CT scanning equipment.
The total pricetag for the expansion is $12.7 million, and 250 new jobs will be created in departments such as interventional radiology, nursing, guest services and housekeeping.
Future plans include construction of a five-story tower that will contain 100 guest rooms. The structure will be built on the CTCA site after preliminary talks about building on the Juniata Golf Club property. Right now, some guests stay at a local Korman Suites apartment complex and at the Radisson Hotel in Trevose.
CTCA has tentative plans to expand every year on site, with work also possible on an adjacent home on Wyoming Avenue.
All of the bustling activity makes CTCA officials happy that they opened their fourth spot in Philadelphia two years ago. Other locations are in Illinois, Seattle and Tulsa, Okla. A fifth hospital is being built in the Phoenix area.
About 700 people, including company founder Dick Stephenson, attended a recent holiday party at the Loews Hotel in Center City. Much of the talk was about the Philadelphia CTCA success story.
"Mr. Stephenson expects us to be the flagship hospital some day," Dawson said.
CTCA has revived the area that had been dormant for more than two years following the closing of Parkview in September 2003. It replaced all of the plumbing, wiring and walls in a $40 million renovation of the 275,000-square-foot facility. The adjacent medical office building still houses private doctors.
The center works with neighborhood groups to conduct regular cleanups, and employees remove election signs on grassy areas once political campaigns are over. It is also in the midst of an ambitious plan to make the facility more environmentally friendly.
The hospital employs the "Mother Standard" of care, meaning staff members provide the same kind of care they’d give their moms.
The for-profit company was founded in 1988 by Stephenson after he was not satisfied with the care received by his mom, Mary, who eventually died of bladder cancer.
About 85 percent of the patients at the Philadelphia hospital come from outside the area. Most live in the areas of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Harrisburg, New York, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. There are also some patients from New England and even as far away as Hawaii and the Virgin Islands.
CTCA chose the site to make it more convenient for patients accustomed to traveling to the West, Southwest or Midwest. Eighty percent of patients visit the center on an outpatient basis.
"Philadelphia is ideally located," Dawson said.
The city is also ideally located for hiring medical professionals because of the rich talent pool at local hospitals.
The local CTCA maintains a ratio of one nurse for every four patients, and has been increasing its staff so much that new employee orientations are held every two weeks.
"We’ve been hiring like crazy," Dawson said.
CTCA likes to offer patients a serene atmosphere. The hallways are quiet, unlike some other hospitals. There is plenty of natural lighting and nice views of Center City and the Juniata Golf Club from upper floors.
Patients have been involved in some of the design work, choosing colors and layout. They chose to have round tables in the dining room, and games, computers and a library will all be part of the expansion.
Medically, the staff is most excited about the PET/CT equipment. At present, the hospital shares the device with Hahnemann University Hospital.
Positron emission tomography (PET) and computerized tomography (CT) are imaging tools that allow physicians to pinpoint the location of cancer.
"For a cancer hospital, it’s a piece of equipment that’s a must have," Dawson said. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com