New St. Tammany Cancer Center opens, ushers in ‘a new day for cancer care’

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Tuesday, June 8, 2021

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New St. Tammany Cancer Center opens, ushers in ‘a new day for cancer care’

Mike Scott, mscott@stph.org

Participating in the ribbon-cutting on the new St. Tammany Cancer Center are, from left, Ochsner oncologist Dr. Zoe Larned, Cancer Center Administrator Jack Khashou, St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman, Ochsner Health President and CEO Warner Thomas, St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper, Medical Director of the Ochsner Cancer Institute Dr. Brian Moore, St. Tammany Health System breast surgeon Dr. Angela Buonagura, and Ochsner Health Board Chairman Andy Wisdom.  (Photo by Mike Scott / STHS)

The future of cancer care on the Northshore has arrived.

On Monday (June 7), leaders of St. Tammany Health System and Ochsner Health cut the ribbon on the new St. Tammany Cancer Center, a campus of Ochsner Medical Center. The three-story, 75,000-square-foot facility at the intersection of Interstate 12 and Highway 21 is being characterized as a game-changer for cancer treatment on the Northshore.

Built around an integrated, multi-disciplinary philosophy that focuses on treating the whole patient – mind, body and spirit – the new cancer center, which cost $50 million and took 18 months to build, was designed to deliver the most comprehensive cancer treatment in a single place in the region.

It addition, it will provide patients access to the largest clinical trials network in Louisiana, allowing them to take advantage of groundbreaking new cancer therapies without ever leaving the parish.

St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman said the facility’s brand of integrative oncology will revolutionize cancer care on the Northshore.

“Today, we mark a new day for cancer care in St. Tammany Parish,” Coffman said just before the ribbon-cutting. “For one, it enables St. Tammany Health System, working with our partner Ochsner, to elevate the high-quality cancer services we’ve been providing the Northshore region for years. But for another, what I’m most grateful for, is what this means for our community. So many more local families will be able to find the world-class care they need right here, close to home, in their own backyard. That is truly a blessing.”

This is probably the most patient-centric project I’ve ever been involved with. I’m very proud to be part of it."

Jack Khashou, administrator of the new St. Tammany Cancer Center, a campus of Ochsner Medical

Ochsner Health President and CEO Warner Thomas echoed those sentiments, stressing there’s no other facility like the new St. Tammany Cancer Center in the region.

“The idea of housing 30 physicians and over 80 cancer professionals together, to put the best minds together to think about how to improve cancer care and bring the best treatments to our patients is what we really seek to do each and every day,” Thomas said.

Following Monday’s ribbon cutting, cancer center leaders threw open the doors for a day’s worth of tours ahead of the arrival of the center’s first patient on June 14.

Those patients will have access to some of the most innovative technology in the cancer care sphere, including new PET scan and CT machines, as well as more than 45 infusion bays, each of which provides comfortable seating for patients and a caregiver, not to mention access to their own TV screen.

In addition, hanging throughout the building are 17 pieces of art from noted local artists, part of the Healing Arts Initiative of St. Tammany Hospital Foundation, which serves as the cancer center’s philanthropic arm.  

The artwork is among the more conspicuous facets of the center’s holistic approach. As part of what has been dubbed the facility’s “Lagniappe Services” are a therapeutic food pantry, a boutique and physical therapy area, along with access to yoga, acupuncture, meditation and tai-chi classes.

“This new cancer center is home to a  team of multidisciplinary experts, clinicians and support services who offer services to treat the entire patient,” said Dr. Brian Moore, medical director of Ochsner Cancer Institute. “That’s where we really stand out. Our multidisciplinary approach ensures patients receive comprehensive, contemporary care while addressing the social, physical and emotional impacts of cancer and its therapy.”

That, according to St. Tammany Health System’s Jack Khashou, administrator of the cancer center, is a win for everyone involved – and especially for patients who will benefit from more timely, streamlined access to quality care.

“This is probably the most patient-centric project I’ve ever been involved with. I’m very proud to be part of it,” Khashou said. “It really is a continuum-of-care project. It connects the St. Tammany Health System hospital, this campus here in Covington and Ochsner Cancer Center across the lake to create a continuum of care that really will make a difference and hopefully get away from the fragmentation we see in our community when it comes to cancer care.”

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To learn more about St. Tammany Cancer Center, a campus of Ochsner Medical Center, visit StTammany.health/Cancer and NorthshoreCancerCare.org.

The new $50 million St. Tammany Cancer Center, a campus of Ochsner Medical, is located at the intersection of Interstate 12 and Highway 21. A ribbon-cutting was held on June 7, and it will accept its first patients on June 14, 2021.  (Photo by Mike Scott  / STHS)

Some of the more than 80 cancer care specialists from St. Tammany Health System and Ochsner Health who will work together in the new cancer center pose for a group photo shortly after the ribbon was cut on the $50 million facility on June 7, 2021. (Photo by Mike Scott / STHS)

Cancer Center Administrator Jack Khashou delivers remarks before the ribbon-cutting.  (Photo by Steve Legendre / Ochsner Health)

The Lagniappe Services area of the new cancer center provides patients access to such things as a therapeutic food pantry and boutique, acupuncture, as well as tai-chi, yoga and meditation classes.  (Photo by Mike Scott / STHS)

The new three-floor St. Tammany Cancer Center, a campus of Ochsner Medical, is highlighted by an atrium that floods each floor with natural light.  (Photo by Tim San Fillippo / STHS)

Among the new technologies at work in the new cancer center is a Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator, used in radiotherapy. (Photo by Tim San Fillippo / STHS)

The second-floor waiting area outside the Medical and Surgical Oncology clinical spaces in the new cancer center.  (Photo by Tim San Fillippo / STHS)

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