Oncology center to reopen in Somerset

The UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at UPMC Somerset, 314 South Kimberly Ave., Somerset, will be opening on Monday.

This is good news for Somerset County because cancer patients have had to travel to Johnstown or Pittsburgh for treatment since the previous oncology services closed in 2020.

"We're excited to bring this cancer center back to life," said Stephanie Dutton, vice president and chief operating officer for UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. "It's been a little bit of a long journey. The previous center had to close in 2020. We were confident we would bring it back to the community. I can't thank the team enough. I'm thrilled we're going to be reopening its doors."

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"We've gotten good response from patients, past patients and donors, for bringing back to the community world-class care," UPMC Somerset President Andy Rush said.

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death nationally and in Pennsylvania, Rush said. Care for chronic disease management, including cancer, is a “significant health need” in Somerset County, according to the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment. He said that’s why UPMC chose to expand and enhance the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center capabilities across the region — to ensure close-to-home access to nationally-ranked, life-saving cancer care.

"You don't have to go to Pittsburgh to get treatment," Rush said. "It reduces traveling when you're very ill. It's less of a burden."

"The community has waited a long time to see this," said Sarah Deist, manager of public relations at UPMC Somerset.

Dutton said the Hillman Cancer Center doesn't want patients to be any more burdened by a cancer diagnosis by having to travel distances for treatment.

"We knew it wasn't going to be well received to close the building down, but we were committed to bringing it back to Somerset," she said. "Every patient will be given the opportunity to transition back to Somerset."

High level of cancer care

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center is the region’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and one of just 51 such centers in the nation. The world-class treatments backed by best practices and leading-edge protocols required by NCI-designated cancer centers mean that this level of expertise will be available to cancer patients in Somerset, Rush said.

UPMC Hillman Cancer Centers are connected through electronic medical records and clinical pathway decisions, so a patient in Somerset can be assured of receiving the same level of care and cancer treatment protocols close to home. It would only be in areas of high-level expertise, such as stem-cell transplants, that patients would be required to travel to the main Hillman Cancer Center in Shadyside.

"It's always been our intent in purchasing the building," Dutton said. "We're very excited to bring patient care back to Somerset. It doesn't matter how big or small the city is. Cancer doesn't look different if it's in the city or a town."

State of the art equipment

"Our new center is designed to produce an exceptional experience for our patients," Rush said. "We’ve prioritized creating a calm, healing environment with privacy and comfort in mind. They've invested $4 million into the project, which shows UPMC's commitment."

Renovations have been completed to make this a state-of-the-art facility for patients undergoing medical oncology services. In addition to a renovated/upgraded space, there are eight treatment chairs and one private treatment room, a larger treatment area that provides more room per patient, for a total of nine treatment spaces and four exam rooms.

The center also has all-new furniture and an on-site laboratory to provide complete blood analysis before cancer therapies.

The UPMC Hillman Cancer Center will bring the level of care from the Hillman Cancer Center, which is the only designated comprehensive cancer care unit in the region by the National Cancer Institute, Rush said. There are 70 Hillman Cancer Centers in the region, all have same clinical trials in the area.

"A lot in the region don't have that," Rush said. "Doctors are reassured that we have that level of care."

Radiation oncology services for patients in the West Central Region will be regionally centralized at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at John P. Murtha Pavilion in Johnstown.

"The centralization of radiation oncology aligns with our vision to redesign health care services for the region to pool together UPMC’s high quality resources — our talented people, best-in-class technologies, and modernized facilities — to improve care and deliver highly reliable services for years to come," Rush said. "We will continue to assist with transportation needs as it relates to making sure patients can receive their radiation treatments in Johnstown."

Not just the patients will be coming back.

"The previous Allegheny Health Network employees were offered jobs," Rush said. "Most are coming back. They are compassionate and caring, have excellent knowledge and expertise."

Open house

There will be an open house for the community from 5:30 to 7 p.m. June 29 at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at UPMC Somerset.

"We mailed information on how to do the scheduling. It will be pretty light schedules, operating as usual on June 6," Rush said. "We wanted to get settled and to allow the employees to get established, while keeping the patients in mind. It's always about the patients.

"It will be much more coordinated with the hospital. The patient will still have to go to see their doctor in Pittsburgh, but their treatment can be here. The records will be transmitted," Rush said.

"We can provide more transportation for patients needing radiation. This is more centralized with UPMCs in Altoona, Western Maryland, Bedford and the Hillman Cancer Center in Johnstown. It will be an ongoing evaluation. We see where patients are coming from and look at the needs in the community."

"We are truly honored to be able to provide Hillman quality care in the community where patients live," Dutton said. "It's coming back strong, and we have a good support system in the community. We're excited about that."

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: UPMC Hillman Cancer Center to open in Somerset Monday