the bay regional cancer center

An extraordinary facility that will seamlessly weave together the best practices in oncology care

Convenient and comprehensive local cancer treatment

The Great Lakes Cancer Institute is a key connection

Bay Medical Foundation pledges to raise $2 million

Cancer center brings together all of the people devoted to patient care

Toward A Future in Which Cancer No Longer Threatens Those We Love The Bay Regional Cancer Center will weave together the best practices in oncology care throughout our communityBY MiMi Bell

Mom. Your nephew. Grandpa. Your co-worker in the next cubicle over. The checker at the grocery store. How many people will you meet today whose life has been touched by cancer?

Maybe it will be someone who just received the diagnosis. Or a woman whose doctor called her back for a second test because something didnt look just right on her mammogram. Maybe its a brave youngster, already halfway through chemo. Maybe that person touched by cancer today is you.

We know so many who have had a brush with cancer, because cancer, plain and simple, is common. According to The American Cancer Society, half of all men and one-third of all women in the United States will develop cancer during their lifetime.

Its also because cancer doesnt just affect an individual. In a community, like threads woven throughout a tapestry or different squares sewn together in a patchwork quilt, were all connected. Cancer affects the community.

At Bay Regional Medical Center, compassionate and expert caregivers are doing extraordinary work in treating cancer

patients. Doctors, nurses, radiation therapists, lab technicians, social workers, dietitians, and others fight cancer and help heal the patients. Through their skilled care, these specialists offer state-of-the-art treatmentand comfort, courage, and inspiration to people facing cancer and to their families.

Now, the fight against cancer in the Great Lakes Bay Region has been fortified.

Bay Regional Medical Center introduces plans to develop the Bay Regional Cancer

Center, a new $7 million comprehensive cancer diagnosis and treatment facility centered at Bay Regional Medical Centers West Campus adjoining the Jeppesen Radiation Oncology Center and the Center for Rehabilitation. This extraordinary facility will seamlessly weave together the best practices in oncology care.

We invite you to turn these pages to find out more about the Bay Regional Cancer Center. Learn how connections between people patients, their loved ones, medical specialists, and expert caregiversare the threads of success in battling cancer in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

Now, the fight against cancer in the Great Lakes Bay Region has been fortified.

2 The Bay Regional Cancer Center

A GIFT TO THE COMMUNITY

Above: Dr. Randal Croshaw, breast oncology surgeon, reviews radiology reports.

Left: Dr. Randal Croshaw discusses new cancer treatment options, protocols, and delivery methods with a Bay Regional Medical Center patient.

A Gift to the CommunityPlanned cancer treatment center will provide for our needsBY MARiANNe C. BiRD | PHOTOS BY DOUG JUliAN

It started with one idea. It is now a reality.For Sandra Garzell, director of patient care services at Bay Regional Medical Center, the development of a new cancer treatment center is a dream come true.

I have worked in various roles of cancer care for 20 years, she says. I have built this cancer center in my mind several times in the past 20 years. I am excited to be part of this project from the ground up.

Bay Regional is one step closer with approval of a budget and site plans for this facility, part of the Great Lakes Cancer Institute, a McLaren Health subsidiary. It is what Keith Markstrom calls a gift to the community. Markstrom is director of Bay Medical Foundation.

Bay Regional will underwrite a majority of the project using funds from existing assets for the $7 million projectwith approximately $2 million pledged from Bay Medical Foundation. Markstrom says, We will be inviting others to partner with us to complete the project.

When a medical center commits to building a cancer center, especially in these financial times, says Dr. Randal Croshaw, it shows they are dedicated to providing for the needs of the people in that community.

The Bay Regional Cancer Center 3

Patients will not have to leave the area for the latest cancer treatment optionsBY MARiANNe C. BiRD

Expert Care in a Calm and Relaxing Environment

Comprehensive. Community-oriented. Centered care. Medical oncologist Dr. David Cook consults with Linda Kusz, RN, in coordinating a consolidated approach to patient diagnosis and treatment.This is the main focus of the planned cancer treatment center to be built in the Great Lakes Bay Region by Bay Regional Medical Center.

The new cancer center on Bay Regional Medical Centers West Campus will bring together many components of the hospitals oncology program in one convenient location.

A key treatment option, outpatient chemotherapy, will be one of the services offered at the new site. Radiation therapy is already available at the West Campus. Surgical services will remain at the Main Campus, 1900 Columbus on Bay Citys East Side.

Bay Regional officials note the treatment of cancer is a dynamic patient-care process characterized by the continuous introduction of new cancer treatment options, protocols, and delivery methods.

The evolving body of knowledge and inherent risks associated with cancer

treatments require ongoing education and an evaluation process for oncology nurses, says Sandra Garzell, director of patient care services. The guidelines of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) are used to create our nursing practice. All registered nurses are certified in biotherapy and chemotherapy administration, a comprehensive program created by ONS.

Psychosocial services are essential compo-nents of comprehensive cancer care. They are provided to patients with cancer and to their caregivers throughout the continuum of care. These services address physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and financial support needs that result from a cancer diagnosisand help ensure the best possible outcome. Services are available onsite or by referral.

Rehabilitation services help patients cope with activities of daily living that are affected by the cancer experience. These services enable patients to resume normal

activities. The cancer center is located next to the outpatient rehabilitation services and radiation therapy, Garzell says. The three departments are located within a short distance for patient convenience.

Additional space allows for expanded screenings for the public, notes Keith Markstrom, director of Bay Medical Foundation. Several free or low-cost prevention and early detection screenings are currently conducted for area residents.

As part of the Great Lakes Cancer Institute (GLCI), Bay Regionals oncology patients already have access to treatment protocols and research that combines the latest practice in cancer treatment. GLCI physicians can treat their patients locally with drugs and therapies developed by leading researchers around the country. This significant factor allows patients to stay close to home for treatment that may require frequent visits over several weeks or months.

OVERVIEW


Sandra Garzell, director of patient care services at Bay Regional Medical Center, third from left, confers with her team of oncology nurses, Sue Bursick, Angie Gushow, and Stephanie Leslie, about the continuum of patient care, which includes biotherapy, chemotherapy, and psychosocial services.

Coinciding with the efforts to build a new cancer treatment center, Bay Regional officials have been active in recruiting the diagnostic and therapeutic experts needed to treat the growing number of cancers in the population. Two oncologists recently joined Bay Regional: Sue Tobin, DO, a medical oncologist working in Bay City, and Sherry Levandowski, MD, a hematologist/oncologist with a practice in West Branch. Tobin and Levandowski will join other physicians on BRMCs staff, including Jonathan Abramson, MD, hematologist/oncologist; David Cook, MD, medical oncologist; Daniel Danso, MD, medical oncologist; Michel Hurtubise, MD, medical oncologist; and James Littles, MD, radiation oncologist.

Officials say the new center will be more than a treatment site. Education and research will be easy to access in the facilitys Cancer Learning Center.

The new facility calls for easier access, improved parking, more treatment rooms, privacy, the capability to treat more patients, more resources for patients families, and one location for a variety of care.

The multi-story building will be physically connected to the Jeppesen Radiation Oncology Center for those patients who require chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Several treatment rooms will allow staff to treat several patients at the same time in private, comfortable surroundings.

The plan for a calm and relaxing environment during the patients treatment is sometimes very difficult, Garzell says. The cancer center is being built so our patients have a view of a beautiful garden, and our hope is to allow patients to sit in the garden during their treatment.

A consolidated approach to a cancer diag-nosis can help ease the stress patients feel, says Dr. David Cook, medical oncologist. It makes it more convenient to have the treatment in

one building with less travel. There are definite advantages to having these facilities together. Some patients may require more than one modality of treatment, receiving chemotherapy and radiation concurrently. They have to go to different locations, perhaps on different days. Now, it can all be coordinated in one visit.

This new center, says Alice Gerard, Bay Regional president and chief executive officer, enhances Bay Regionals ability to treat several patients at once, in private, more comfortable surroundings than currently available at the Main Campus.

Our hope for the project is to continue to provide quality care to our community and to offer patients all the expertise and treatment capabilities in one location, so they do not have to travel long distances for care they can receive close to home, she says.

The significance to the area and especially to patients is with the limitless

information available online. Patients and families can trust that Bay Regional experts have already viewed and approved sites that are based on science, evidence, and treatment successes, rather than anecdotes and unproven therapies, Gerard says.

Bay Regionals new facility, she says, will provide care for cancer patients in a large, patient-friendly atmosphere, offering the latest options for the largest number of patients.

For most people diagnosed with cancer, five-year survival rates are encouraging. Bay Regional officials note national survival sta-tistics have improved in all cancer categories, but there is still much research and work to do. They believe the approximately 700 new can-cer patients registered in the hospitals cancer database each year will not have to leave the area for treatment. Bay Regionals new facility will provide care and the latest treatment op-tions for anyone with a cancer diagnosis.

The new facility calls for easier access, improved parking, more treatment rooms, privacy, the capability to treat more patients, more resources for patients families, and one location for a variety of care.


1979 2003 200419981985 1987 20011994First Employee

Fund Drive: $26,500

First River Driver: $10,780

Bay Medical Foundation is founded

First Auction: $20,800

First Memorial Tree: $12,880

First Pheasant Shoot:

$ 4, 380

Grants Committee formed (Total amount given through grant

requests: $835,000)

Helen M. Nickless Volunteer Clinic

opened. Bay Medical Foundation raises

$4.2 million

Timeline of Giving

Convenient and comprehensive cancer treatment will ease emotional burden for patients and their loved onesBY PATi lalONDe | PHOTOS BY JOHN BellSMiTH

Bay City Could Become the Ann Arbor of Cancer Centers

FEATURE

iagnosed with cancer five years ago, Jolene Bellsmith found her self bouncing from pillar to post to get the treatment she needed: surgery at the University

of Michigan, hydrotherapy in Midland, chemo in Saginaw, and radiation at the Jeppesen Radiation Oncology Center.

Although she could have gotten all of her treatments at U of M, the drive made it prohibitive.

I made the circuit, but I was driving around for these different things, she says. Thats why I was so excited when I heard about the cancer center. You just dont realize the toll it takes on you and your family. I think its going to be a wonderful, wonderful thing to have a one-stop place to go.

That cancer center is the proposed $7 million Bay Regional Cancer Center, part of the Great Lakes Cancer Institute and a McLaren Health subsidiary, that will be located on Bay Regional Medical Centers West Campus adjoining the Jeppesen Radiation Oncology Center and the Center for Rehabilitation.

Bellsmith believes the center will draw not only from the Great Lakes Bay Region, but

the Thumb and northern counties as well.

I really think Bay City could become the Ann Arbor of cancer centers, she says.

The drive is only part of the picture for Bellsmith. She gives the staff at Jeppesen high marks for the quality of care she received during her out-patient radiation treatments.

From the moment I walked in the door, everyone was very pleasant and caring, she says. They were there to do more than just a job. They were welcoming and making the best of a bad situation.

Bellsmith was also impressed by the attention to detail given by the staff.

Her first visit consisted of the staff making a mold of where she needed to lie for her treatment. They have to have the lasers in the exact spot every time, she says. Its very intricate, and they fine tune. I never had a problem if they did have to

fine tune. I wanted them to get the right spot.

That attention to detail extended to her personal needs as well.

They really try, she adds. When I would go in there, they would ask is there anything you need, anything you want? If there is some way to make it better, they want to know. I just cant speak highly enough of everybody there.

D

Bay Citys Jolene Bellsmith, shown with her daughter Cali and husband John, received outpatient radiation treatment for breast cancer at the Jeppesen Radia-tion Oncology Center.


2004 2010 20112010 20112010 2011 2011First Orlen J.

Johnson Awards Ceremony and Annual Dinner

Auction raises $69,144

Golf raises$56,974

Auction raises $ 60,136

10th Annual Pheasant Shoot

raises $ 10, 375

Golf raises$70,088

Memorial Tree Program

June raises $ 9,075 December raises

$12,478

Pheasant Shootraises $10,363

Memorial Tree Program May raises $14,475

Cumulative dollars raised through events:

Once again energetic and feeling healthy, Jolene Bellsmith enjoys a spirited game of soccer with her daughter, Cali.

Auctions: $684,136 | Memorial Tree Programs: $206,953 | Golf Events: $770,088 | Pheasant Shoots: $59,543


1985Womens Health

$214,000

1993-1994Cancer Care

Services $431,000

1986Lifeline,

Advanced Life Support, and Home Care $164,900

1987Hospice, Heart

Fund, and Mammography

Equipment $126,900

1995Center for

Rehabilitation $200,000

Cardiac Catheterization Equipment $250,000

1988-1989Neuroscience

Equipment $350,000 Cardiac Catheterization

Lab $200,000 Laser Services $200,000 Ambulance/Emergency Department $218,000

Pamela Rikles throat cancer was treated with radiation at the Jeppesen Radiation Oncology Center.

I Had Cancer and They Fixed ItCancer treatment services centralized in one location will be wonderful for patientsBY PATi lalONDe | PHOTOS BY DOUG JUliAN

amela Rikle had her good days and bad days.

No matter how she was feeling, the staff members at the Jeppesen Radiation Oncology Center, on Bay

Regional Medicals Center West Campus, were there to hold her hand.

The 57-year-old Munger resident underwent radiation at the facility for throat cancer.

There were days I could lay right down on the table and do it, and there were days I had to cry for a couple of minutes before I could do it, she says. They never rushed me, they never hurried. They said, okay, when youre ready. I could have stood there for 20 minutes and they would have waited. They made it as easy as possible. They were so patient with me.

Wonderful and compassionate are the words she uses to describe the staff at the facility,

P

FEATURE

Your Gifts at Work in Our Community


1997Critical Care Unit

$262,000

1998Womens &

Childrens Health $249,900

1999Heart

Care Needs $500,000

2000Womens Health/

Endowment $250,000

2001Emergency

Care $300,000

2002Cardiovascular

Care $200,000

2003Donor

Directed $300,000

2004Bay Area

Volunteer Clinic $218,000

Ever grateful for the compassionate care she received during cancer treatment, Pamela Rikle returns to the Jeppesen Radiation Oncology Center to thank Jason Stevens, radiation therapist.

beginning with the staff who greeted her, to her doctor, and to those working behind the scenes.

I had a consultation with Dr. (James) Littles, she says. He took the most complete health history I ever had in my life. He told me everything that happened to me was relevant. He told me about himself, and he explained the treatment, what we needed to do. I had 35 treatments.

While sometimes the fancy terms went above her head, the bottom line was I had cancer and they fixed it, she says.

Saying she has no complaints about the services she received at the facility, Rikle says the proposed $7 million Bay Regional Cancer Center, which will be a part of Great Lakes Cancer Institute, a McLaren Health subsid-iary, would have made things just that much easier.

That would be fantastic, she says of the planned center. When you are doing ra-diation, your brain gets so foggy, and you are trying to think, where do I have to go today? After you get treatment, you just want to go

home. But then you have to go to a lab, which is another 45 minutes. It would be wonderful if it had all been there.

And, Rikle adds, many of the patients coming into Jeppesen are in wheelchairs. If everything was located in one spot, they would only have to get in and out of the car once.

The center will be located on Bay Regional Medical Centers West Campus adjoining the Jeppesen Radiation Oncology Center and the Center for Rehabilitation.

Our donations show that the people in the Bay Area care about their community. They give because they want to ensure their family and friends will always have access to the best possible medical care. Bay Regional Medical Center and Foundation are continually looking ahead to anticipate future needs and develop model programs to benefit the people of the Great Lakes Bay Region.


Learning from Each OtherRelationship with Great Lakes Cancer Institute a Key ConnectionBY MARiANNe C. BiRD

The Bay Regional Cancer Center represents a dramatic break-through in the improved care provided for cancer patients in the Great Lakes Bay Region. Thats the word from Dr. Ray Demers, president and medical director of the Great Lakes Cancer Institute (GLCI), a subsidiary of McLaren Health.

Demers says the cancer center, in consolidating services in ra-diation and medical oncology, chemotherapy with infusion services, diagnostic testing, education, cancer research, and support services, will provide one-stop care for patients. Treatment will be provided in a beautiful, new facility, he adds, conveniently located with ample park-ing to make access easy for cancer patients and their families.

GLCI is a consortium involving hospitals in Flint, Lapeer, Owosso, East Lansing, Marquette, Pontiac, Mt. Clemens, and Bay City. Through this arrangement, Bay Regional can offer patients clinical trials close to home, according to medical oncologist, Dr. David Cook.

Clinical trials are experimental medicines and programs only available at otherwise large centers, Cook says. We can offer the same types of trials here, so patients wont have to travel to Detroit or Ann Arbor. These centers in the consortium work together to improve can-cer care. There is also constant feedback that aids us.

Cook says they can compare to see if standards are being met. For example, we can look at how long it takes for a patient with an abnor-mal mass to get to biopsy and start of treatment. It helps us facilitate our processes, says Cook. We learn from each other; we improve the qual-ity of care for our patients.

Kathleen Czerwinski, Bay Medical Foundation and Bay Regional Medical Center board member, echoes these thoughts.

She says the new center gives the community a chance to under-stand the importance of the Great Lakes Cancer Institute to Bay Re-gional Medical Center, its patients, and the community.

The Great Lakes Cancer Institute is a statewide organization that conducts clinical trials and performs research on state-of-the-art cancer treatment protocols, she says. This resource is available right here in the Great Lakes Bay Region. Patients need not travel long distances to get the latest in most cancer treatment processes. This is a huge benefit to the members of our community affected with the disease.

Demers notes Bay Regional has had the good fortune of an out-standing team of oncology physicians, nurses, and other professionals. Now, he says, those professionals will be given the opportunity to provide even more effective and timely services in a new, beautiful center.

I f Kathleen Czerwinski had to list four key points about the value of the new cancer center at Bay Regional Medical Center, the Bay Medical Foundation board member is quick to count them off.Her list would include:

A resource for peace of mind and comfort during a difficult time for patients and their families The latest in treatment protocols and access to information about cancer and the latest research Diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up at the same location Local solutions to a disease our world is seeking hard to cure

Dr. Randal Croshaw, a breast oncology surgeon, says a dedicated cancer center brings together all of the people devoted to the care of cancer patients and their families under one roof.

The benefit of this concentration of professionals, he says, is it increases efficiency and convenience to the patient and builds a more cohesive team approach to each individuals care. Having everyone working together, rather than at separate sites, also increases participa-tion in research trials and access to resources, because coordination between providers becomes easier.

Local SolutionsBringing together all of the people devoted to cancer careBY MARiANNe C. BiRD

Keith Markstrom, director of Bay Medical Foundation, notes pa-tients currently have to travel to different locations for care, ranging from testing to hospitalization. The new center will bring about a more coordi-nated plan of care and treatment for Bay Regional cancer patients.

Having all treatment and diagnostic options in one location will also reduce time for scheduling and subsequent results for those different procedures. Markstrom says, It will now be able to be taken care of in one day. It is far more convenient and also helps reduce the stress and fatigue that comes with this diagnosis.

Reducing travel time and making it easier to gain access for these services are key factors as well, he adds.

It means less waiting time for treatment and a more coordinated effort, given the treatment modalities will be in one location, Markstrom says.

Another key aspect of the new center will be the focus on early detection. Markstrom says early detection has proven to be significant in helping battle this disease. He anticipates expanded screening efforts.

Bay Regionals comprehensive approach to cancer care will include awareness and prevention, early detection, advanced treatment options, and a network of support personnel.

VALUE TO COMMUNITY


FUNDING CAMPAIGN

A Gift for the Comfort of Future Cancer PatientsBay Medical Foundation Pledges to Raise $2 MillionBY MARiANNe C. BiRD

Steps are in motion with a development committee to address the fund-ing requirements of the Bay Regional Cancer Center. The facility will combine the comprehensive services already available within a single, modern three-story building. A key segment of all planning has been an ap-proach to allow patients to visit only one facility for their cancer care, rather than requiring them to make appointments at different locations in the city.

Fundraising is anticipated to begin in November 2011, with ap-proval for design and budget items, according to Keith Markstrom, di-rector of Bay Medical Foundation.

It is anticipated that Bay Regional will use existing assets to help pay for the $7 million project, Markstrom says. He notes that Bay Medi-cal Foundation has pledged $2 million.

Having had family members and friends who have been treated for cancer, I am familiar with the various steps involved with the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, says Kathleen Czerwinski, a community volunteer and board member of Bay Medical Foundation and Bay Re-gional Medical Center.

She says the new center will have the services needed to fight cancer in a facility that is friendly, comfortable, and convenient for patients, their families, caregivers, and friends.

Czerwinski says she considers the planned cancer center to be a gift to the community in that it consolidates treatment in one location,

thereby reducing travel, across town, across the state, and across the country. It will have a library for research, a lab for tests, and a comfort-able surrounding for the patients and those who transport them, she says.

In addition, oncology physicians will also be located in the new facility, making it possible to schedule appointments in an easier manner and in one trip.

I know of many people in our community who have experienced the rigors of the cancer treatment process. I know that they understand the philosophy of the new center and would want to pledge their sup-port for it, Czerwinski says.

The pledge from Bay Medical Foundation will focus on the aesthet-ics of the facility for the patients and their family and friends. Their gift to the foundation will be a gift for the comfort of future cancer patientsuntil such time as the dreaded disease is eliminated, says Czerwinski.

The project is expected to break ground in the spring of 2012, with the funding effort to run for 14 to 16 months.

A preliminary architectural rendering of the proposed Bay Regional Cancer Center shows a modern three-story building with ample parking to make access easy for cancer patients and their families. The facility will be sited on the Bay Regional Medical Center West Campus adjoining the Jeppesen Oncology Center and Center for Rehabilitation.

Keith Markstrom, director of Bay Medical Foundation, and Kathleen Czerwinski, a community volunteer and board member of Bay Medical Foundation and Bay Regional Medical Center, review conceptual blueprints of the proposed Bay Regional Cancer Center. The facility will combine comprehensive services and provide one-stop care for patients.


Bay Medical Foundation1900 Columbus Ave.

Bay City, Michigan 48708(989) 895-4725

www.bayregional.org/foundation

the bay regional cancer center

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