New Blood Cancer Center Opens

Patients diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma often times undergo a stem cell transplant to combat their cancer. Yet, the Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant (ABMT) Program and the Hematologic Malignancies Program were both housed in different locations on the Duke University Hospital campus. That all changed with the expansion of North Pavilion.

“Our services used to be fragmented," said Gabriel Alcantara, MBA, administrator for the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy. “The new Duke Blood Cancer Center at North Pavilion allows us to care for our patients in an enhanced, multidisciplinary fashion through the entire care continuum – from initial diagnosis, through treatment and on to survivorship – all in one location."

Providers from both programs are now in one location, which also frees up 14 exam rooms and 14 infusion chairs in the Duke Cancer Center. The Blood Cancer Center is located on the first floor of North Pavilion in what was previously the ABMT Clinic.

Patient appointments began transitioning to the new location in March with all patients being seen there as of May 3.

The space includes:

• 33 exam rooms
• 60 treatment chairs
• a specialty and retail on-site pharmacy
• a patient and family resource center and lounge
• a meditation room
• convenient on-site parking

The new Duke Blood Cancer Center also opens up the opportunity to transition some cancer treatments from the inpatient to the outpatient setting.

Cancer treatments for hematologic malignancies sometimes require daily care or monitoring over a seven day or greater period. With the Cancer Center being closed on the weekends, patients needing such care would require an inpatient admission. In comparison, the ABMT Clinic has always been open 365 days a year for patients undergoing active transplant. With the expansion of the Blood Cancer Center, the new center can accommodate and provide this same level of access to our broader blood cancer population.

“This frees up inpatient beds in the hospital," said Alcantara. “And for patients, they are able to return home and sleep on their own pillow each night."

Construction on the North Pavilion expansion began in August of 2018. The $50 million project funded a 27,000 square foot addition to the North Pavilion and the renovation of 17,489 square feet of existing space in the same building. The space allowed for the expansion of not only oncology, but also pharmacy and surgical services.