Our First Full Clinical Extension Opens
BY Lori Baker
September 26, 2011
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by an MD Anderson Cancer Center medical professional on September 26, 2011
Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center opens its doors to patients today, Monday, Sept. 26. The center, located just outside of Phoenix, represents MD Anderson's first full clinical extension outside the Houston area.
"Today's opening is a milestone in our mission to eliminate cancer," says Ronald DePinho, M.D., president of MD Anderson.
Initially, inpatient services will be provided in 76 beds at Banner Gateway Medical Center, and outpatient services will be offered in a newly constructed, three-story facility that includes:
- 30 multispecialty clinical exam rooms
- 12 private infusion therapy rooms and 28 open infusion bays
- State-of-the-art diagnostic imaging equipment including PET- CT, MRI, and CT modalities
- Three linear accelerator vaults
- One high-dose-rate brachytherapy vault
To promote hope and healing, the facility includes a four-story Lantern of Hope, treatment rooms positioned to offer views of the desert landscape and floor-to-ceiling windows throughout that let in lots of natural light.
Banner MD Anderson opens with more than 200 employees, including physicians, nurses, radiation oncology, and other medical and support workers.
Margaret Row, M.D., associate vice president for MD Anderson's Center for Global Oncology, describes the relationship between MD Anderson and Banner Health in this video.