Jason Ayers Photo
Marsha and Jimmy Gibbs, the benefactor for the Gibbs Cancer Center, saw the third facility open Wednesday at the Village of Pelham campus.
Jason Ayers Photo
Drs. James Bearden (left) and Julian C. Josey (right) are co-founders of the Gibbs Cancer Center. Dr. Timothy Yeatman was hired in October as Director and President of the Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute.
Jason Ayers Photo
Anthony (Tony) Kouskolekas, far left, is President at the Village Hospital. An expansion is planned for the campus in the next five years, said Jimmy Gibbs, benefactor for the Gibbs Cancer Center.
Jason Ayers
The rear view of the Gibbs Cancer Center at Village Hospital is the same as Spartanburg's signature site.
The Gibbs Cancer Center and Research Institute opened a nearly $9 million, 10,000-square-foot health care facility at Village Hospital. Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System and Gibbs Cancer Center founders are touting it as the “next generation” of cancer research and healthcare.
Twenty physicians will provide state-of-the-art radiation and oncology services, infusion and chemotherapy treatments, and a 5,000-square-foot healing garden with natural light. The center will have a linear accelerator, a CT simulator, a lab, three radiation oncology exam rooms and six infusion bays. Physicians’ offices will be on site.
“It is vital that we make our research-based care more convenient for patients across the Upstate,” said Dr. Timothy Yeatman, Director and President of the Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute. “The addition of services at Pelham is an exciting step in that direction.”
Yeatman, hired in October to steer Gibbs Cancer Center forward, announced in February that “Research” would be added to its name.
“The new Center will provide a much more comprehensive level of care,” Yeatman said. “This expansion benefits patients by joining the quality medical oncology services that Gibbs Cancer Center’s Palmetto Hematology Oncology has provided in the Greer community since 2006.”
“Having this service on our campus is huge because it elevates the clinical care capabilities available to the local community," Anthony (Tony) Kouskolekas, Village Hospital President, said. "Village Hospital is committed to offering local health care and the Gibbs Cancer Center highlights that commitment.”
The Gibbs Cancer Center has been planned for the Village campus since the hospital opened in 2008. “Those folks have huge plans for that center. This is the first of several,” Greer Mayor Rick Danner said.
Officials said a major expansion is planned within five years they hope will establish one of the most advance cancer treatment centers in the country. “Within five years we will have the top-notch cancer center in the U.S.,” Jimmy Gibbs said.
Gibbs, a Spartanburg businessman, and his wife, Marsha, have provided financial gifts to fund the Gibbs Cancer Center. Dr. Julian Josey and oncologist Dr. James Bearden co-founded the cancer center. The Bearden-Josey Center for Breast Health is named for the Gibbs Center founding doctors.
“The type of services to be offered at Gibbs, especially the radiation therapy, are typically reserved for large facilities or sole community providers," Kouskolekas said. "Our ability to offer this service enables us to offer many services – whether that be emergency, outpatient or inpatient; medical or surgical – to cancer patients when they need us.”
Gibbs Cancer Center is home-based in Spartanburg with a second location in Gaffney and oncology offices in Laurens, Spartanburg and Union.
“We’re now going to have a state-of-the-art cancer center that will rival anything in the country,” Danner said. “This is the start of a world class cancer and research center and will be used nationally.”
Greer Gibbs Cancer Center patients will have each treatment plan reviewed by a team of physicians from various disciplines. These multidisciplinary conferences include various support staff, including a dietitian, genetic counselor and patient navigators.
The cancer center at Pelham is associated with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Cancer Center and the MD Anderson Cancer Center Physicians Network. The Gibbs Cancer Center is one of 10 original sites for the NCI and the only one in associated with it in the Carolinas.
The grand opening and ribbon cutting was held at the hospital at 250 Westmoreland Road. Danner joined Greer officials and Gibbs Cancer Center associates and partners for the ceremony. Construction began last April.