LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — World-class cancer care is now closer to home for those in rural Kentucky.
UofL Health celebrated the opening of the Brown Cancer Center at South Hospital on Thursday. The 26,440-square-foot, $25 million facility is located off Interstate 65 in Bullitt County.
The center will serve patients across South, Central and Western Kentucky, giving some patients an option closer to home instead of traveling into Louisville for treatment.
"Because of the new Brown Cancer Center at South Hospital, more Kentuckians facing cancer can get the care they need close to home," Gov. Andy Beshear said at Thursday's opening. "Instead of spending hours in the car driving to and from appointments, they get that time back to spend with their family and friends, doing what they love."
The facility includes 16 private infusion and exam rooms, an oncology pharmacy, an on-site lab and space for clinical trials. Patients will also have access to services including financial counseling, social work, nutrition and art and massage therapy.
The facility will also be home to the University of Louisville's new Center for Rural Cancer Education and Research.
For someone like Chris Sutton, a melanoma patient from Eddyville, Kentucky, the new Bullitt County location means he'll no longer have to drive three hours for treatment.
"Where you live shouldn't determine if you live," Sutton said.
Researchers will study cancer screenings, access to care and patient outcomes in rural communities. They'll also look at why Kentucky continues to have some of the highest cancer rates in the country.
UofL Health said Kentucky has the highest cancer death rate in the U.S., with more than 10,000 Kentuckians dying from cancer each year.
"Our goal is to reduce the cancer death rate in Kentucky by 50% by 2035," said Dr. Jason Chesney director and chief administrative officer of the center. "We are getting closer to this goal, and our new rural cancer center brings cutting-edge cancer care and lifesaving clinical trials closer to more Kentuckians."
The new location is the fourth Brown Cancer Center in Kentucky. It will create 30 new jobs.
The first patients are scheduled to be seen Sept. 14, starting with lung, melanoma and gynecologic cancers. UofL Health expects to treat all solid tumor types at the location by November and begin seeing patients with blood cancers in January.
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