OLEAN Officials hope to cut the ribbon at a new $1.7 million chemotherapy infusion center next month, and everyones invited.

The oncology outpatient clinic at 1504 W. State St., previously the home of Family Video, is being developed by Wellsville-based Jones Memorial Hospital part of the University of Rochester Medicine network. UR Medicine officials reported that the first patients will be seen Monday at the facility, and a virtual ribbon-cutting will be held June 19.

There are a limited number of options for celebrating an event like this, said Brenda Szabo, vice president of specialty services at Jones Memorial. We can only have 10 people attend the event in person, but wanted to make sure that everyone who is interested can see everything the new center has to offer so we will be broadcasting it as a Facebook Live event and then posting that video on our website.

Local oncologist Dr. Neeta Soni, who joined the UR Medicines Wilmot Cancer Institute team last year, will continue to provide consultation and treatment to oncology patients at The Infusion Center at Jones Memorial in Wellsville, as well as the new office in Olean.

Officials reported this winter that the network currently treats between 1,500 and 2,000 patients a year through Southern Tier Cancer Care on East Delaware Avenue. That practice opened in 2003. The new site will replace that facility, and almost double the number of infusion bays to cut wait times for patients.

We wanted to keep access to these services close to home and convenient for these communities, Szabo said. Cancer patients who were driving to larger metropolitan areas like Buffalo and Rochester, can avoid that drive and receive quality cancer care with Dr. Soni, an experienced and knowledgeable oncologist.

The project was given contingent approval by the state Department of Health on Dec. 3, with an assigned start date of Jan. 31. The original completion date was May 31, as construction efforts were well underway before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the nation.

According to the filing with the DOH, the center will serve as a centralized point for oncology infusions chemotherapy for the hundreds of area patients.

The project also aims to help increase income for the hospital as officials attempt to leave the Vital Access Provider Program. VAP, a state program to help financially distressed healthcare entities, helps fund operational costs for turnaround initiatives with a focus on financial viability, meeting service needs, improving care quality and increasing health equity for populations at risk.

The filing states the project is expected to add a minimum of $800,000 of operating income to the hospitals annual budget. The move will also take the operation from a for-profit enterprise to a nonprofit one.

Jones Memorial joined UR Medicine in late 2015.

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University of Rochester Medicine to cut ribbon on Olean oncology infusion site June 19 - Olean Times Herald