Jim Fair
Doctors, families and friends line the stairs to the second floor with others watching the ribbon cutting ceremonies from the balconies of the Gibbs Cancer Center and Research Institute in Greer.
Jim Fair
Oncologists Drs. James Bearden, center, and Julian Josey founded the Gibbs Cancer Center 40 years ago.
Michael Starnes, Director of Radiation Oncology, led a tour of the new Gibbs Cancer Center Research Institute.
The crown jewel of the Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute opens for its first patients on March 16 at the Pelham Medical Center campus.
The seven-story, 191,000-square-foot facility offers multi-disciplinary care for patients in one location.
“We’re blessed in the Upstate to have a world-class cancer center here that enables patients not to have to travel far,” said Tony Kouskolekas, Pelham Medical Center’s president. “They are able to get first-quality opinions and recommendations on cancer care, and what makes us a little different is that our doctors are committed to what we call multi-disciplinary care.
"Historically, they have gotten together to discuss someone’s case once someone was diagnosed with cancer," Kouakolekas said. "Now, the design of this building will allow them to come together while patients are in the building for multidisciplinary clinics, so that patients can get opinions from multiple providers while they are here for one visit.”.
A glass atrium provides a full 7-story view to the outside.
The Gibbs Cancer Center opened in 2013 in Greer featuring its Cyberknife technology. That building remains intact and adjoins the new complex.
Pelham Medical Center completed an expansion last year of its 55,000 square-foot emergency room and surgery services plus a climate-controlled walkway connecting the hospital with the cancer center.
The Spartanburg Regional Foundation raised $16 million of the project’s $72.5 million. Construction began in 2018 while the Gibbs Cancer Center was treating patients with its state-of-the-art Cyberknife technology. Gibbs Cancer Centers are also located in Spartanburg, Gaffney and Union.
Jimmy and Marsha Gibbs are the namesake and benefactors of the Gibbs Cancer Centers. “It’s a vision that has come true,” Jimmy Gibbs said.
Oncologists Drs. James Bearden and Julian Josey when they founded the Gibbs Cancer Center 40 years ago.
Personalized amenities and care were designed for patients and their families. A demo kitchen is among additional that was added. "We heard from patients they liked food that was prepared for their diets but didn't have a recipe to make them," Michael Starnes, Director of Radiation Oncology, said.
Starnes led a tour of the facilities before the ribbon cutting ceremonies.
They include:
• Centralized registration, allowing patients to complete documents and forms for all services in one place.
• Retail shop for wigs, certified breast prosthesis fitting services, specialty clothing to make life more comfortable during and after treatment.
• A 40-seat café.
• Pharmacy that mixes chemicals on site.
• Full-service laboratory to run complex analyses in-house.
• 120-seat auditorium for conferences and community events.
• Chapel for reflection and prayer.
The second floor has integrative medicine programs which includes a kitchen for cooking demonstrations featuring local chefs, a room for art with local artists holding class, oncology rehabilitation program and speech-language therapy. The cancer research library and media center with seating for 24 people is available.
The third flClinical services and three clinics are on the sixth floor. Physicians and patient navigators occupy the center of the floor with team rooms to provide for physician collaboration.
oor has administration offices and the clinical research department, which oversees clinical trials.
The fourth and fifth floors are unoccupied and planned for expansion when needed.
The seventh floor was designed for infusion services with a panoramic view of the mountains, Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport with planes arriving and taking off nearby and other views of the I-85 corridor at the Highway 14 intersection.
Tours of the healthcare facility, at 2759 South Highway 14, will be available to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and for patients 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday.