Wendt Cancer Center Remodeling at UnityPoint Health

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UnityPoint Health – Wendt Regional Cancer Center and Grand River Medical Group have been committed to the advance of specialized cancer care in Dubuque and the Tri-State area of northeastern Iowa, northwestern Illinois, and southwestern Wisconsin for over three decades. The medical oncology team at Grand River Medical Group are leaders in chemotherapy and Finley’s Wendt Regional Cancer team are experts in support services and radiation therapy. The year 2020 brought challenge to all organizations. It also brought opportunity for Finley and Grand River Medical Group to partner and create a comprehensive cancer center with both chemotherapy infusion and radiation oncology in the same location. The result is the Integrated Cancer Center, which opened in September of 2020.

In December of 2019, the project team consisting of key representatives from Finley Hospital, Grand River Medical Group, Shive-Hattery and Conlon Construction met for the first time. The challenge of integrating the two operations while maintaining a tight budget meant creating space for the medical oncology services within the footprint of the existing Wendt Cancer Center. Underutilized offices and storage rooms were used to create a chemotherapy infusion suite with five infusion bays and a nurse’s station. Patient access to the CT and LINAC (linear accelerator) machines for radiation treatments was to be maintained throughout construction.

Unity Point had a vision to create a healthy and healing environment where patients feel at ease while undergoing lengthy treatments, therefore an emphasis was placed on using colors and textures from nature. While staying within the hospital’s standard finish palette, accents of green and blue are used throughout the space – in flooring, walls, artwork, and soft lighting, wood textures and organic patterns are also used extensively. The use of these elements create a calming and safe environment to help patients relax during their treatments.

The new Integrated Cancer Center opened after an accelerated design and construction schedule. Direct and passive wayfinding provides easy navigation to each group’s services while maintaining patients’ privacy. The result is a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere that will serve the community.