CHRISTUS St. Vincent plans $80M regional cancer center

Come early 2024, CHRISTUS St. Vincent hopes to cut the ribbon on an $80 million regional cancer center.

The Santa Fe hospital announced Friday its plans for a new 72,000-square-foot cancer center located at its main campus at 455 St. Michael's Drive. The center is designed to be a one-stop-shop for cancer care with improved access to the latest diagnostic technology and advanced treatments and therapies.

It will include multi-disciplinary clinics for integrative medicine, palliative care, research, geriatric oncology, a breast cancer program, molecular medicine and an immunotherapy center. The technology planned for the cancer center includes imaging equipment, including PET/CT scanners. The building will also include an infusion and immunotherapy center and a fast-track room for quicker procedures, according to a news release.

“Our community deserves the very best cancer care in a setting close to home and featuring outstanding physicians, cutting-edge technology and modern facilities,” CHRISTUS St. Vincent president and CEO Lillian Montoya said in a statement. “We will continue to work with a high-quality integrated care team of physicians, advanced practice providers and ancillary support members aligned with our patient-first values.”

The CHRISTUS St. Vincent hospital board approved an initial capital investment of $30 million for the project, according to the release. The additional funding will come from its two owners: Santa Fe-based Anchorum St. Vincent and Texas-based CHRISTUS Health, said Arturo Delgado, CHRISTUS St. Vincent's director of marketing, communications and public relations.

"Hospital dollars always remain local and profits are continuously reinvested to meet the needs of our community and improve quality of care," Jerry Jones, interim president and CEO of Anchorum St. Vincent, said in a statement. "This investment in a cutting-edge cancer center is the perfect example.”

As of Friday, CHRISTUS St. Vincent is in the final planning stages of the regional cancer center and prepping for neighborhood notification meetings in February. Delgado said a groundbreaking should follow six months afterward. 

The Hartman + Majewski Design Group and GBBN have been selected as architects for the project. A general contractor has not been selected.

"This is the type of development and expansion of services that we set out to accomplish when CHRISTUS Health partnered with St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in 2008," CHRISTUS Health president and CEO Ernie Sadau said in a statement.

In March 2017, Business First reported CHRISTUS St. Vincent completed the infrastructure on a two-phased, $33 million hospital that would become the patient building.

CHRISTUS St. Vincent ranked No. 7 on Business First's most recent List of New Mexico Hospitals with 200 licensed beds.