PEORIA, Ill. — OSF HealthCare broke ground on the new $237 million Cancer Institute on Tuesday, a facility that will provide state-of-the-art cancer treatment for patients from across the Midwest.
The 180,000 square foot building, a joint venture between OSF HealthCare and Illinois CancerCare, will be located on the campus of OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
OSF HealthCare’s Dr. James McGee said accessibility for local patients is paramount.
“Some resources can’t be everywhere, but patients shouldn’t have to be anywhere but home when it’s possible,” McGee said.
The OSF Cancer Institute will be only the second facility in Illinois to offer proton beam therapy, a newer type of radiation treatment using high-energy beams instead of X-rays, with potentially fewer side effects.
“We are now going to be able to work as a community as separate individual entities that are committed to developing new technologies, new treatments, new methods, and trying to deliver it all under one roof,” said Dr. Madhuri Bajaj, partner physician for Illinois CancerCare.
The institute’s fundraising goal is $100 million, according to OSF’s news release.
OSF HealthCare looks to provide treatment at the new Cancer Institute beginning in 2023.
