KEARNEY — The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center – Kearney is ready to open its doors to welcome patients on Monday, Dec.16.
Members of the local media were invited to tour the facility ahead of an open house for the public on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The new building is located at 2232 Chancellors Ave.
The $52 million cancer center project spans more than 53,000 square feet in Kearney’s University Village. Services include medical oncology, radiation oncology, lab, pharmacy, infusion, survivorship programs, genetics counseling, and a healing garden.
This new center is an expansion of the partnership between Nebraska Medicine and Heartland Hematology and Oncology, which began in December of 2021. The expanded cancer center builds upon the years of expertise and trust which Heartland Hematology and Oncology has built with its patients and community.
The center will deliver cutting-edge cancer care with the specialized expertise of an academic medical center. Patients will have access to multidisciplinary tumor boards, opportunities to participate in clinical trials and connections to the most advanced cancer treatments available.
“Since 2017, the name Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center has been synonymous with dedicated research, cutting-edge treatment, groundbreaking clinical trials and extraordinary patient care,” said Joann Sweasy, PhD, director of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. “We are excited to bring this distinguished name to all our cancer centers as we work to increase the impact of our research and improve access to cancer care and prevention.”
“This partnership began three years ago, and we’ve spent the last two years planning, gathering input from patients and colleagues and watching it take shape from the ground up,” says Cynthia Lewis, MD, the center’s medical director and Nebraska Medicine hematologist/oncologist.
“We are so excited to bring this world-class facility to our patients right in here in Central Nebraska, where they will have access to the latest in cancer research and cutting-edge treatment without having to travel hours from home,” Lewis said.
Lewis spoke to the media and said the facility will allow Nebraska Medicine and Heartland Hematology and Oncology to reach more patients, allow them easier access to specialists, which will all be closer to home.
Lewis said their team worked diligently to design a cancer center that was patient friendly, from the layout to the textures and colors within the building.
Over a dozen new employees have been hired to help staff the new facility, Lewis said.
“We are excited to move into his beautiful building,” Lewis concluded.
Another speaker was Judy Borden, a cancer patient being treated by Dr. Lewis. She said she was diagnosed with cancer two years ago.
One of the major benefits of the facility is its location, Borden said. Rather than having to make the three-hour drive to Omaha, it is only 30 minutes from her home in Holdrege.
“I am so thankful that this is some place close to home,” Borden said.
Hematologist-oncologist Julie Vose, MD, says the expansion reflects on the Nebraska Medicine commitment to the needs of its patients and their families in central Nebraska, according to UNMC.
“The added space and services will allow us to support all aspects of cancer care, even after treatment has concluded,” Dr. Vose says.
“They will receive the same level of high-quality care from their familiar providers while being supported by a team of dedicated disease-specific cancer specialists from the state’s largest academic medical center,” she says. “All close to home.”
“The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center is the only one in the state with a prestigious National Cancer Institute, or NCI, designation and one of just 72 nationwide. This recognition, held since 1984, reflects the center’s commitment to cutting-edge research in preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer,” per UNMC.
Areas on the tour included radiation oncology, the infusion room which featured private spaces or a wide-open room with window facing a Healing Garden. Patients can even take their infusions outside, weather permitting.
The other area was a Resource Center which featured a variety of quality of life items, such as hats, or wigs for patients who are losing their hair due to treatment.
