New center localizes cancer treatment
Knight Cancer Collaborative is the first of its kind
• Edward Stratton
A
fter more than seven years of preparation,
Columbia Memorial Hospital and Oregon
Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer
Institute have opened the Knight Cancer Collab-
orative, expanding chemotherapy and providing
the region’s cancer patients with the first local
source of radiation therapy.
“This has been the biggest community-supported project
I’ve seen in my career here at CMH,” said Erik Thorsen, CEO
of the hospital, in a news release about the cancer center’s
opening. “The fundraising efforts and community partnerships
have been remarkable.”
Expanding cancer care
In 2010, OHSU had no presence in Clatsop County. The
hospital and Dr. Sangkun “Sonny” Park’s office across
Exchange Street were often competing, rather than working
with one another.
When he was thinking of establishing a cancer center, Park
went around to others in the region. “Nobody took any consid-
eration of building a cancer center here,” Park said of Astoria.
But Mark O’Halloran, director of clinical outreach at
OHSU, offered to come out. A partnership eventually formed
between the hospital and OHSU that led to the region’s first
chemotherapy center inside the CMH Health & Wellness
Pavilion and later the Park Medical Building, serving an
estimated 300 patients per month.
But locals were forced to drive to the Portland metro area
and Longview, Washington, to receive radiation therapy. A
course of radiation therapy is generally administered for five
consecutive days and can last up to eight weeks.
Collaborations
The cancer center sits on top of the former John Warren
Field, the former home field of Astoria High School’s Fighting
Fishermen. The hospital, next door, had been looking to
acquire the field for decades.
In 2012, the hospital, city of Astoria and Astoria School
District announced a partnership to help each other. The city
had a former landfill on Williamsport Road that needed
capping to prevent toxic leakage into surrounding
groundwater, and a source of tax-exempt bond financing for
nonprofits through the Hospital Facilities Authority.
The hospital took out $31 million worth of revenue bonds
later that year, most of it to refinance debt, along with approxi-
mately $5 million to build a new sports complex for the school
district. By the end of 2014, with the sports complex finished,
the Astoria School Board voted to sign over John Warren Field
to the hospital.
The hospital and OHSU first announced the Knight Cancer
Collaborative, the first of its kind, in 2015, after two years of
silent fundraising had gathered $1.3 million. A capital
campaign would eventually collect around $3 million.
Lounging chairs for chemotherapy infusions: one of the features of the new Knight Cancer Collaborative is a treatment area with expansive views
of the Columbia River and Astoria riverfront. — COLIN MURPHEY PHOTO
The hospital was aided again by the city’s Hospital
Facilities Authority, selling $18.8 million worth of revenue
bonds to finance the cancer center and renovate its emergency
department.
Construction broke ground in August 2016, led by general
contractor P&C Construction. The firm worked on past
hospital projects such as the CMH Health & Wellness Pavilion
and Astoria Sports Complex, along with Clatsop Community
College’s main campus redevelopment.
High-tech treatment
At the core of the new $16 million cancer center is the
Versa HD, a linear particle accelerator that delivers
customized, high-energy beams of radiation to kill tumor cells.
The accelerator includes 160 metal leaves that move to
conform the shape of the beam to the contours of a patient’s
tumor. A specialized, moving couch lifts and turns patients
during treatment.
4 | cmh/oshu knight cancer center open house
A new bank of lounging chairs for chemotherapy infusions
overlooks the Columbia River to the north.
To support patients going through treatment, the center
provides financial advisers; support groups and counselors;
beauticians to help with cosmetics, shaving and hair care; a
yoga instructor; a massage therapist, acupuncturist and
naturopath to address the side affects of treatment; and a
patient resource center for wigs, prosthetics and other
products.
In all, the hospital expects to see 3,000 visits a year for
chemotherapy treatment and 1,800 radiation treatments within
a year of operation.
“Our collaboration with the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute
is a significant enhancement to the health care services
available to our community,” Thorsen said. “We are working
to bridge the divide of accessible health care services locally.
Our growing partnership with OHSU aims to continue
bringing medical advancements to the North Coast.”