The Richard G. Laube Cancer Center at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital (ACMH) has embarked on an $11 million expansion and renovation project that will greatly enhance patients’ access to and experience with the hospital’s cancer programs in a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility. The center is directed by physicians from the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Cancer Institute and staffed by a team of highly trained ACMH nurses and medical assistants who are dedicated to facilitating cancer care.
“We are thrilled to be embarking on this much-needed transformation of our cancer center thanks to the commitment of our hospital administration and Board of Directors,” said John Lewis, ACMH Hospital President and CEO. “As the number of cancer patients we serve continues to rise due to our aging population and other factors, this new facility will provide us with the capacity to meet those needs at the highest level for current and future generations.”
The ACMH Richard G. Laube Cancer Center, located in Kittanning, is the only comprehensive cancer treatment facility within a 22-mile radius.
An expansion of the center’s outpatient treatment space will bring the facility’s total square footage to over 20,000. According to Lewis, patient treatment will not be disrupted during the construction, which is expected to be complete in November.
“The new design of the cancer center will allow for a more streamlined and efficient approach to cancer treatment,” Lewis added. “We’re creating an environment that is supportive and healing and brings together a broad array of leading cancer experts to deliver the best care possible in the convenience and comfort of a close to home location.”
David Bartlett, MD, Chair of AHN’s Cancer Institute, says “close-to-home” is the ideal care setting for every cancer patient, and the foundation of AHN’s strategy for advancing cancer treatment across the region.
“One of our core beliefs is that patients shouldn’t have to travel into the city to get world-class care,” said Dr. Bartlett. “Our oncologists provide care at many sites throughout western Pennsylvania, including ACMH, and we look forward to providing even more exceptional, compassionate care to residents of Armstrong County and the surrounding area in this new, patient-friendly space.”
The planned Cancer Center expansion includes: additional exam rooms, physician offices, and support service offices; a new canopied entrance way designed for easier wayfinding to treatment areas; an open connection to the upper floor through a two-story gallery that provides abundant natural daylight, and a spacious waiting area designed to maximize patient and family comfort.
The new clinical layout features larger IV therapy bays, minimizing noise and maximizing privacy and comfort while providing access to natural light and direct proximity to nursing staff and other support services. Infusion capacity will nearly double to 18 chemotherapy bays and two private rooms, and the number of exam rooms will increase from four to 10.
ACMH and AHN partner to provide a full spectrum of surgical, medical and radiation oncology services. The cancer center’s advanced technologies and clinician expertise offer patients a wide array of resources to diagnose cancer in its earliest stages and care for those diagnosed at any stage.
“It is important to note that our patients will be seeing the same outstanding medical professionals in this new space that they always have,” said Nichole Geraci, ACMH Hospital Chief Operating Officer.
“This investment in our infusion and medical oncology capabilities will complement nicely other recent technological advances, such as our new state-of-the-art linear accelerator in Radiation Oncology.”
Among the AHNCI physicians who practice at ACMH are medical oncologists Jose Silva Jr., MD, Syed Ali Akbar, MD, and Jyothika Mamadgi, MD, and surgical oncologist Rebecca Edmonds, MD.
“Cancer affects everyone. It doesn’t matter if it’s your family, your neighbor, your friend, or yourself, it affects everyone,” said Dana Klingensmith, ACMH Hospital Executive Director of Nursing. “It is extremely important that cancer patients are able to receive their care close to home. Cancer patients are usually very sick, with treatment regimens requiring several trips per week to a clinic. Chemotherapy can leave patients nauseous and extremely fatigued making travel intolerable.”
“We are grateful to the Armstrong County Commissioners and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for their foresight in approving a $1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant that will be used towards this important construction project,” Lewis said. “We also sincerely thank State Senator Joe Pittman and State Representative Jeff Pyle for their successful efforts in working to secure this grant.”
“With this expansion, ACMH is making a significant investment in the future of cancer care in our region and we want our local community to be involved in that growth.” Lewis continued. “We will be reaching out to the community for financial support through our Foundation so we can continue to offer quality cancer care now and in the years to come.”
Architectural designs have been completed by the firm LevelHEADS, a regional leader in architecture, interior design services and construction management support.
ABOUT ACMH
ACMH Hospital is an exceptional facility with a comprehensive array of services – many of which are unique for a community hospital. Featuring all private rooms and a campus like setting, ACMH has been a trusted member of the community since 1898. ACMH is becoming an increasingly advanced community healthcare system — with the likes of new lung cancer diagnostic procedures, robotic surgery and state-of-the-art interventional radiology. These services join its already-top ranked cardiovascular program, knee and shoulder replacement specialties, primary stroke center and accredited cancer care. With historically low infection rates and highly innovative services, ACMH has evolved to become a destination point of care for many throughout the region.
ABOUT RICHARD G. LAUBE CANCER CENTER
The Richard G. Laube Cancer Center is an accredited cancer center. The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has granted accreditation to the cancer program at ACMH Hospital Richard G. Laube Cancer Center. To earn CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet 34 CoC quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process, and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care. Medical and Radiation Oncology coexist on the ACMH campus, enhancing patient convenience and seamless collaboration. The Radiation Oncology Department at the Laube Cancer Center features state-of-the-art technology with treatment programs including 3D Conformal Radiation Therapy, Brachytherapy and IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. ACMH acquired a state-of-the-art Linear Accelerator in January of 2018. This new equipment offers patients radiation therapy with greater precision and efficiency. The Linear Accelerator is capable of delivering stereotactic radiation for early stage lung cancer – a highly effective curative option for patients who are poor candidates for surgical management.
About Allegheny Health Network – and the AHN Cancer Institute
Allegheny Health Network is a western Pennsylvania-based integrated healthcare system that serves patients from across a five-state region that includes western Pennsylvania and the adjacent regions of Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. The Network’s Cancer Institute employs more than 200 physicians and 500 oncology professionals who provide a complete spectrum of oncology care at 24 affiliated oncology clinics, including access to state-of-the-art technologies and new therapies being explored in hundreds of clinical cancer trials. The Cancer Institute has the only cancer program in the Pittsburgh region accredited as an Integrated Network Cancer Program by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and its radiation oncology program is the largest in the country accredited by the American Society for Radiation Oncology. AHN Cancer Institute is a Quality Oncology Practice Initiative certified practice, and is accredited by the Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers and the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer. AHN also has a formal affiliation with the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, one of the nation’s 41 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, for research, medical education and clinical services.
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