Cayuga County cancer patients can now seek treatment at Auburn Community Hospital

Officials on June 12 gathered at Auburn Community Hospital (ACH) to formally open the new $15 million Upstate Cancer Center at Auburn Community Hospital. The new facility is a partnership between ACH and Syracuse’s Upstate Cancer Center. PHOTO CREDIT: AUBURN COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

Cayuga County cancer patients can now seek treatment at Auburn Community Hospital

AUBURN, N.Y. — Cancer patients in Cayuga County can now travel to Auburn instead of either Syracuse or Rochester for specialized care.

Auburn Community Hospital (ACH), in partnership with the Upstate Cancer Center in Syracuse, on June 12 formally opened a $15 million cancer center in Auburn.

The 12,000-square-foot treatment facility is called the Upstate Cancer Center at Auburn Community Hospital, which is located at the intersection of Lansing and North streets.

The center includes radiation technology, software, and patient setup facilities. Auburn Community Hospital describes it as a “beacon of hope for individuals requiring advanced treatment.”

“Inaugurating the cancer center underscores our commitment to delivering world-class healthcare to Auburn and Cayuga County,” Scott Berlucchi, president and CEO of Auburn Community Hospital, said in the hospital’s announcement.

Berlucchi also noted that Auburn Community Hospital has evolved from a 99-bed hospital to a “comprehensive rural integrated delivery system.”

“This is a great day for the Auburn Community,” Andrew Bodewes, partner and founder of Park Grove Realty, said in a separate announcement from the firm. “Park Grove Realty is honored to partner with Auburn Community Hospital to bring this important facility to greater Auburn. Congratulations to Auburn Hospital and Upstate for this incredible initiative.”

Park Grove Realty is a Rochester–based real-estate development and management company. Besides Park Grove Realty, Ithaca–based Holt Architects, which has an office in Syracuse, was also involved in the cancer center project, Park Grove said.

“Projects like this Cancer Center don’t happen without partnerships that are singularly focused on a goal. I want to personally thank Andrew Bodewes with Park Grove Developers … Andrew and his partners agreed to build and fund this $15 [million] project and ACH will lease it back from them. Without their vision and generosity this project would still be just a dream,” Berlucchi added in the Park Grove announcement.

The center features a linear accelerator treatment vault, exam rooms, infusion rooms, consultation spaces, and office space.

Others attending the formal-opening ceremony included Dr. Robert Corona, president of Upstate University Hospital; Dr. Thomas Vandermeer, director of the Upstate Cancer Center; Dr. Komal Akhtar, director of the Upstate Cancer Center at Auburn Community Hospital; New York State Senator Rachel May (D–Syracuse); and Auburn Mayor James Giannettino.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) secured $2 million in 2022 for Auburn Community Hospital to purchase essential medical equipment for the center’s cancer diagnostics and boost the expansion of the hospital as it broke ground on the new cancer center.

Source: https://www.cnybj.com/cayuga-county-cancer-patients-can-now-seek-treatment-at-auburn-community-hospital/?cache_busting=1720534011