Mercy Hospitals East Communities

ST LOUIS-CAPE GIRARDEAU CCOP

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION - ADDRESS: 607 SOUTH NEW BALLAS ROAD, ST. LOUIS, MO 63141 PROJECT DIRECTOR NAME: JOSEPH PECORARO PHONE: 314-251-7952 EMAIL: JOSEPH.PECORARO@MERCY.NET WEBSITE: WWW.MERCY.NET REQUEST AMOUNT: $1,500,000 MERCY IS BUILDING A NEW, 17,230 SQUARE FOOT PROTON THERAPY CENTER WHICH WILL BE AN ADDITION TO THE EXISTING DAVID C. PRATT CANCER CENTER LOCATED ON MERCY’S MAIN CAMPUS IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. THIS PROJECT WILL BRING PREVIOUSLY UNAVAILABLE SERVICES AND NEW CANCER TREATMENT MODALITIES TO OUR COMMUNITY, MAKING EASILY ACCESSIBLE PROTON THERAPY A REALITY FOR ST. LOUIS AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS. PROTON THERAPY IS THE MOST ADVANCED FORM OF RADIOTHERAPY CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AND IS NO LONGER LIMITED TO ACADEMIC CENTERS WITH A RESEARCH FOCUS. COMMUNITY CANCER CENTERS THAT PROVIDE CLINICAL CARE ARE ADDING PROTON THERAPY TO THE MIX OF SERVICES OFFERED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. THE PRIMARY ADVANTAGE OF THIS TREATMENT METHOD IS ITS PINPOINT ACCURACY. THE PROTONS CAN BE FOCUSED DIRECTLY ON THE CANCER TUMOR, WITH UNNECESSARY RADIATION AND VERY MINIMAL SIDE-EFFECTS ON SURROUNDING HEALTHY TISSUE. TRADITIONAL RADIATION THERAPY CANNOT TARGET SUCH TUMORS BECAUSE IT CAN DAMAGE THE SURROUNDING NERVES. PROTON THERAPY IS PAINLESS AND NON-INVASIVE. IT IS VERY PRECISE, AND THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL RADIATION. PROTON BEAM THERAPY HAS BEEN AVAILABLE SINCE 1990 IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT ITS USE HAS NOT SPREAD WIDELY DUE TO HIGH COSTS. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THE SHORTAGE OF PROTON THERAPY SERVICES IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI. IN FACT, THERE ARE ONLY TWO PROTON CENTERS IN MISSOURI. THE NEAREST CENTERS OUTSIDE THE ST. LOUIS AREA ARE IN CHICAGO AND TENNESSEE, AND SOON KANSAS CITY. THE LIMITED ACCESS IN OUR SERVICE REGION RESULTS IN PROTON THERAPY NOT BEING AVAILABLE TO MANY CANCER PATIENTS. SOME PATIENTS ARE FORCED TO TRAVEL LONG DISTANCES TO RECEIVE CARE. THIS ADDS ADDITIONAL STRESS FOR FAMILIES, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE ECONOMICALLY CHALLENGED AND STRUGGLE WITH TRANSPORTATION AND GAS COSTS. ACCESS CAN ALSO BE INFLUENCED BY A PATIENT'S HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE. IN SOME INSTANCES, PATIENTS REFERRED BY MERCY PHYSICIANS CANNOT BE TREATED AT THE OTHER PROTON THERAPY CENTERS DUE TO MANAGED CARE AGREEMENTS OR OTHER INSURANCE ISSUES THAT PREVENT THEM FROM RECEIVING CARE. ANOTHER ADVANTAGE SPECIFIC TO MERCY IS OUR REACH THAT GOES DEEP INTO RURAL AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. PATIENTS CAN BE EVALUATED FOR TREATMENT AT THEIR NEAREST MERCY ONCOLOGY FACILITY, ELIMINATING UNNECESSARY TRAVEL. MERCY OFFERS CHARITY CARE, WHICH IS A FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR LOW-INCOME AND UNINSURED PATIENTS. THE PROTON THERAPY CENTER IS PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN AT MERCY HOSPITAL ST. LOUIS TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY CANCER CARE. AS PART OF OUR COMMITMENT TO THE REGION, MERCY OPENED THE DAVID C. PRATT CANCER CENTER, CREATED A PERSONALIZED MODEL OF CARE, AND BECAME A TOP ROBOTIC SURGERY PROGRAM. WE'VE SEEN CONSISTENT GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS SEEKING CANCER CARE AT MERCY. SINCE OPENING THE DAVID C. PRATT CANCER, WE ARE SERVING TWICE AS MANY CANCER PATIENTS. FROM 2007 TO 2019, 36,759 PATIENTS HAVE CHOSEN THE DAVID C. PRATT CANCER CENTER FOR THEIR CANCER CARE. THE ESTIMATED 2020 POPULATION OF THE PRIMARY SERVICE AREA IS 2,506,549 AND SPANS A FOURTEEN-COUNTY AREA IN AND AROUND ST. LOUIS. MERCY HAS AN EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF CLINICS AND HOSPITALS ALONG THE I-44 CORRIDOR AND IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI. ALTHOUGH THIS APPLICATION SPEAKS TO THE NEED FOR MERCY PATIENTS IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA, MERCY PATIENTS FROM ROLLA, LEBANON, SPRINGFIELD, JOPLIN AND OTHER COMMUNITIES ALONG THE I-44 CORRIDOR WILL ALSO ACCESS PROTON THERAPY AT MERCY' S CENTER IN ST. LOUIS. IN 2020, MERCY CANCER PROGRAMS DIAGNOSED 6,905 NEW CANCER PATIENTS IN THIS AREA AND A SIMILAR NUMBER OF PATIENTS WERE DIAGNOSED THE TWO PRIOR YEARS. WHILE THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL BE LOCATED AT THE DAVID C. PRATT CANCER CENTER IN ST. LOUIS, IT WILL BE AVAILABLE TO P

ARP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GRANT FOR RURAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES