Physicians, scientists, patients and WashU leaders — all united in hope — gathered Sept. 10 to celebrate the new home for world-class cancer care on the Washington University Medical Campus.
The nine-story, 657,250-square-foot building will be devoted exclusively to outpatient care at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and will welcome its first patients Sept. 30.
“This building represents hope for patients, their families and the community at large,” Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said. “It is also rooted in WashU Medicine’s longstanding collaboration with BJC HealthCare, and the ways in which we as partners create the kinds of forward-thinking projects that meet the challenges of this moment and anticipate the needs of the future.”
Also in attendance was St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, who called the building “a jewel” in the city and region for offering the highest quality of cancer care, as well as a boost in economic opportunities with the creation of jobs. She also spoke of the hope Siteman has given her and members of her family.
The state-of-the-art building, designed specifically with cancer patients in mind, incorporates an innovative model of care — the first for cancer care in the region. For many patients, this means they can see a multidisciplinary team of WashU Medicine cancer experts and receive chemotherapy and other services in collaboration with BJC caregivers, all coordinated during a single visit. This approach prioritizes patients’ comfort and convenience and reduces the need to return for multiple appointments.
The meticulously planned building, at 4500 Forest Park Ave., also offers a tangible example of what makes Siteman — the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Missouri and southern Illinois — so unique. It embodies the power of collaboration between BJC HealthCare and WashU Medicine in providing innovative cancer care based on the latest research, and an ongoing, deep commitment to the health of our region.
“Patients inspire everything we do here,” said Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, who is the director of Siteman Cancer Center, the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor and senior associate dean for cancer programs at WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare. “This facility expands on our 25-year history of leading-edge care and consolidates outpatient care to make visits easier for patients. We want every patient who walks through our doors to experience a supportive, calming and hopeful environment. This building was created with those goals in mind.”
Cancer patients and survivors and their families — together with physicians, nurses, social workers and other caregivers — met with the building’s architects and designers before construction began to share insights aimed at enhancing care and improving the overall experience for patients and their family members.
About 75,000 patients seek care at Siteman each year – a number that is growing as more patients from across the region and all 50 states and beyond seek the expertise of WashU Medicine cancer specialists and access to leading-edge clinical trials. While the new building will replace Siteman’s outpatient cancer clinics in the Center for Advanced Medicine on the Washington University Medical Campus, Siteman will continue to provide the same exceptional outpatient cancer care for adults at its five other locations in the St. Louis region, including in southern Illinois, as well as for pediatric patients at Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
More than 600 WashU Medicine physicians, physician-scientists and researchers — with broad and deep expertise in every type of cancer — are members of Siteman Cancer Center. WashU Medicine physicians will diagnose and treat patients in the new building with the most advanced, lifesaving therapies. Their care is informed by the latest research discoveries, many of them made by WashU Medicine faculty who are leaders in their fields.
“At WashU Medicine, we invest in pioneering research to advance cancer care, create better outcomes for patients, and improve the overall health of our community,” said David H. Perlmutter, MD, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of WashU Medicine, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor at WashU Medicine. “In turn, our care deepens and expands our cancer research to move the field forward so we are continually pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in caring for patients. The clinical trial capabilities that come from our research teams now will be housed in this new building and represent one of the truly distinguishing features of what is possible for our patients at Siteman Cancer Center.”
Among the building’s features are 101 exam rooms and another 88 private infusion rooms for patients receiving chemotherapy. Patients also will have access to complete radiology and breast imaging services.
The building also includes original artwork created by local artists who have their own personal connection to cancer, as well as a café, pharmacy and parking garage that is integrated into the facility. An enclosed, elevated walkway connects the building to other areas of the Medical Campus.
“BJC will bring to the building the very latest imaging technology, which plays a key role in diagnosing and monitoring patients following their courses of treatment,” said Rich Liekweg, chief executive officer, BJC Health System. “We are grateful to the numerous experts who have worked tirelessly over the past four years to bring our vision of patient-centered cancer care to life. It’s a privilege to be able to invest in our community in such a life-sustaining way.”
Patients who come to the new building for their care also will have access to clinical trials led by WashU Medicine physicians. Currently, more than 9,000 patients are enrolled in more than 700 clinical studies at Siteman. WashU Medicine ranks No. 2 among U.S. medical schools in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A significant portion of that funding comes from the National Cancer Institute and is dedicated to innovative cancer research aimed at advancing cancer care.
WashU Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital also have developed multiple centers of excellence at Siteman, each focused on a distinct type of cancer: blood, brain, endometrial, head and neck, lung and pancreatic. Every center brings together a multidisciplinary team of WashU Medicine experts who specialize in a specific type of cancer and that is focused on transformative care and research, including clinical trials.
Amanda F. Cashen, MD, a WashU Medicine blood cancer specialist who treats patients at Siteman, is known nationally for her expertise in lymphoma and leukemia and is among the many physicians who will see patients in the new building. Cashen co-leads the Blood Cancer Center at Siteman, which draws patients from across the country and is dedicated to providing innovative care for the entire spectrum of blood cancers, including leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes, and developing new, more effective treatments.
“Very few institutions in the U.S. have the expertise and resources that WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare bring together to care for patients at Siteman,” Cashen said. “The Blood Cancer Center now has a new, beautiful space that will help us have an even greater impact on patients and families.”
Siteman also is recognized for innovative cancer prevention and community outreach efforts, among them providing cancer screening and education to tens of thousands of people in Missouri and Illinois each year — a role that is expected to expand with new initiatives based out of the new building.
Through Siteman’s Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities (PECaD), WashU Medicine experts have helped to reduce rates of breast cancer deaths among Black women in St. Louis and St. Louis County by just over 30%. Similar outreach and implementation science efforts have substantially reduced hot spots of colorectal cancer deaths in the Mississippi River valley areas in Missouri and Illinois, which have some of the highest rates of colorectal cancer mortality in the country.
“Our community outreach efforts are having a real impact in the St. Louis region and beyond,” Eberlein said. “This building will mark yet another milestone for Siteman, which is powered by WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare. Everything we do moves us forward in our quest to solve the intricacies of cancer through research and clinical trials and to provide the very best care possible for our patients.”
The members of the WashU Medicine team that led the project are:
- Senior Project Executive (Planning and Construction): Melissa Rockwell-Hopkins
- Senior Project Manager: Paul Sedovic
- Construction Manager & Equipment Coordinator: Jeff Schimek
- Activation and Logistics Planning: Raema Howell, Brandon Sackett and Sherry Banez-Muth
- Project Communications & Project Assistant: Stephanie Maples
Originally published on the School of Medicine website
