Kearney Regional Medical Center And Cancer Partners Of Nebraska Share Collective Vision For New Kearney Cancer Center
On Wednesday, Kearney Regional Medical Center (KRMC) officially welcomed Cancer Partners of Nebraska (CPN) to its ever-growing network of providers by way of a Provider Meet and Greet event held at the Younes Conference Center.
Bill Calhoun, KRMC President and CEO, welcomed a crowd of physicians and healthcare administrators from across Central and Western Nebraska, and shared the vision for the joint cancer project that KRMC and CPN will be venturing into together.
“In 2021, we were looking for a way to deliver cancer services in the community and we knew that people were leaving Kearney for their care,” said Calhoun. “It was important to choose well as we were selecting the right partner to support our community-based vision for cancer care. We were not ready in 2021 and given our relationship with Bryan Health, we found that Cancer Partners of Nebraska has a strong bond in Lincoln and the Greater Nebraska communities.”
Cancer Partners of Nebraska is our chosen provider of comprehensive, community-based cancer care in Lincoln and twelve Greater Nebraska communities, and the first and only community oncology practice in Nebraska to become an MD Anderson affiliate institution with the NCI clinical trials network.
“Cancer Partners of Nebraska is right at the center of this relationship, for us, and standing by us on behalf of the communities we serve,” said Calhoun, “So when a person gets that difficult news, a diagnosis of cancer, they know that they can get the services they need right here in Central Nebraska. People can be assured that they do not have to travel to larger urban settings in eastern Nebraska – we have excellent caregivers right here, close to our homes.”
Justin Rousek, CPN Executive Director, provided an overview of CPN’s services which include medical oncology, radiation oncology, gynecologic oncology surgery, oncology rehabilitation, breast prosthesis, genetic counseling, and clinical trials. Said Rousek, “Soon Cancer Partners will be able to offer these services to the Central Nebraska community.”
Rousek introduced three CPN providers: Medical Oncologists Dr. Nathan Green and Dr. Steven Dunder, and Radiation Oncologist and Palliative Care Provider Dr. Mark Stavas. All three grew up in Nebraska. Dr. Green in Scottsbluff, Dr. Dunder in Bayard and Dr. Stavas in Lincoln.
Dr. Stavas stressed the importance of oncologists having direct access to specialists and hospital care. “Continuity of care from an inpatient setting is essential to any high-quality treatment approach. For instance, if a patient with head and neck cancer is admitted to the hospital, they can continue their radiation treatment in Kearney, maintaining one medical record, and having their same doctors on-site,” he explained.
He then shared a story from one of his patients who told him recently, “Healing occurs best in the community, not on the interstate or highway, driving from appointment to appointment.”
Dr. Melissa Stade, General Surgeon at KRMC, and Dr. Michael Family Medicine Physician at Harlan County Health also spoke about the increased need for comprehensive oncology and hematology services they are seeing among their collective patients.
Ryan Lukas, Director of Ancillary Services at KRMC, closed out the program by sharing new renderings of the project and highlighting unique services such as infusion and chemotherapy, a state-of-the-art linear accelerator, onsite CT and PET diagnostic imaging, and more.
The Kearney Cancer Center will include a 25,000-square-foot new construction building designed by Ballinger, the same architect as the April Sampson Cancer Center in Lincoln. It will be on a section of ground between Kearney Regional Medical Center and Yanney Park. Construction is expected to begin by the end of 2023, with an opening targeted for 2025.
For more information, visit kearneycancercenter.org.