VERONA, N.Y. — It’s expected that the new Upstate Cancer Center in Verona will see its first patients on Oct. 17. Syracuse’s Upstate Medical University on Sept. 26 formally opened the new center, which is located at the intersection of Routes 365 and 31 in Verona. The location is “important and came about after a […]
VERONA, N.Y. — It’s expected that the new Upstate Cancer Center in Verona will see its first patients on Oct. 17.
Syracuse’s Upstate Medical University on Sept. 26 formally opened the new center, which is located at the intersection of Routes 365 and 31 in Verona. The location is “important and came about after a long search,” Upstate said.
“We’ve been serving this community for almost 30 years and we wanted to bring the next generation of cancer care to this region, so we’ve been planning for a long while to make this happen,” Dr. Robert Corona, CEO of Upstate University Hospital, said in a release.
More than 150 people attended the Sept. 26 formal-opening event, which included tours of the 30,000-square-foot Upstate Cancer Center.
The new center includes expanded diagnostic and treatment services and spaces for all cancers. It will provide medical oncology, radiation therapy, surgical subspecialties, radiology, laboratory, pharmacy, and consultative services.
Its services also include the Varian TrueBeam, a radiotherapy system that helps deliver “powerful cancer treatments with pinpoint accuracy,” Upstate Medical University contends.
The center is located on land belonging to the Oneida Indian Nation, making it the “first time in history” that an Indian nation and New York State have worked together to build a medical facility for an entire region on Indian lands, Upstate Medical University said, citing the Oneida Indian Nation.
Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter, CEO of Oneida Nation Enterprises, presented a leather medicine bag made by Nation representatives to Corona and credited several people with making the opportunity possible.
In her remarks, cancer survivor Dixie Enos told the gathering about the “outstanding care” she has received as a patient of the Upstate Cancer Center and the “bright future the center presents to others like her.”
“The new Upstate Cancer Center isn’t just a facility; it’s a promise to all those who walk through the doors,” Enos said in the Upstate release. “It’s a promise of cutting-edge care, of innovative research that promises to unravel the mysteries of cancer. It’s a promise to the community that no one fights alone.”
Others offering remarks included Dr. Thomas Vandermeer, interim director of the Upstate Cancer Center; Thomas Valenti, principal of the Cameron Group, LLC; Dr. Brian Thompson, Upstate assistant dean for diversity and a member of the Wolf Clan, Oneida Indian Nation; Dr. Gennady Bratslavsky; Dr. Phillip Capozzi, endowed professor of urology; and Dr. Linda Schicker, assistant professor of radiology.
Valerie Grey, SUNY senior vice chancellor for academic health and hospital affairs, offered congratulations on behalf of SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr., Upstate said.
With the opening of the Verona facility, the Upstate Cancer Center now provides services in numerous locations. They include the Patricia J. Numann Center for Breast, Endocrine & Plastic Surgery in Syracuse, Waters Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders in Syracuse, the Upstate Cancer Center (Gynecologic Oncology) at Madison Irving Medical Center, Upstate Cancer Center at Hill Medical Center in Syracuse, Gamma Knife Center at Upstate University Hospital, Upstate Cancer Center at Upstate Community Hospital, and Upstate Cancer Center at Oswego, per the release.