Cancer Center Expansion Provides Comfort & New Services for Patients & Families

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is getting ready to welcome patients to its newly expanded Comprehensive Cancer Center in Winston-Salem. The center will be the regions first dedicated cancer hospital.  

On Tuesday, hospital officials gave the media and Governor Pat McCrory a sneak peak of the new facility. During his visit, the governor shared his family's story with cancer. His father died of lymphoma a week after he was elected mayor of Charlotte.  McCrory says the center is a model for other healthcare institutions across the country.

Recently, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the number one cancer hospital in North Carolina and number 12 in the country.

The $125-million expansion project increases the number of acute care oncology inpatient beds from 113 to 148 and adds a new oncology intensive care unit.  

Dr. Julian Garvin is the Pathology Department Chair for Wake Forest Baptist School of Medicine. He says the center is patient, doctor and family friendly. The new facility includes laundry rooms, kitchenettes, a courtyard and serenity rooms for showering or relaxing.  

According to Garvin, some former patients were consulted to help decorate the new cancer center. He says the new design helps make a challenging time for patients and their families a little easier.

According to the State Center for Health Statistics there are more than 227,000 cases of cancer across the state each year. The Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center will officially open to the public on December 9.