St. Charles Health System says it will build a cancer center in Redmond so that patients in nearby communities don’t need to go all the way to Bend for treatment.
The hospital says it is using $90 million in bonds secured in 2020 to build a new cancer center on the St. Charles Redmond campus at the corner of Canal Boulevard and Kingwood Avenue. The goal is to break ground in 2023 and to open the facility in 2025.
“The announcement of a world-class cancer center to be constructed here at the St. Charles hospital in Redmond is a milestone event in the history of our community,” said Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch in a statement. “I want to express our deep appreciation to the St. Charles Board of Directors for its commitment to the health care needs of Redmond as well as the other communities this center will serve. The city and the community will do all we can to help facilitate this project and the future expansion of health care services here in Redmond.”
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St. Charles says more than 40% of its patients treated at the cancer center in Bend travel from Redmond, Madras, Prineville and other rural communities. And if that treatment includes radiation, it can mean multiple days of travel per week of 50 miles or more.
“We are making a significant investment in ambulatory services on the Redmond campus that will ultimately provide better access to care for patients,” Dr. Steve Gordon, interim president and CEO of St. Charles, said in a statement.
