SEATTLE — March 22, 2023 — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center announced the opening of its new clinic building on the South Lake Union (SLU) campus, completing the largest construction project in the organization’s history. The six-story, 150,000 square-foot outpatient cancer treatment clinic features a patient-centered design, highly specialized treatment clinics and state-of-the-art procedure suites. The new environment further advances the ability to deliver world-class cancer care and conduct leading-edge research.
“We broke ground on this project back in 2020, at the height of a global pandemic. To see the vision fully realized is a testament to the dedication of those who made it come to life, including patients, physicians, nurses and support staff. Without them we could not have achieved this important milestone,” said Nancy Davidson, MD, executive vice president, clinical affairs, and holder of the Raisbeck Endowed Chair for Collaborative Research at Fred Hutch. “The expansion of Fred Hutch’s South Lake Union Campus will allow our organization to continue to bolster our breakthrough ways in which patients receive their care.”
Replicating a current treatment model -- the building will continue to incorporate the concept of care neighborhoods, an approach that reduces the need for patients to move around the clinic to receive certain aspects of their care.
“The new clinical space expands the concept of care neighborhoods, which transforms the traditional model of outpatient cancer care,” said Terry McDonnell, DNP, ACNP-BC, chief nurse executive and vice president of Clinical Operations at Fred Hutch. “First tested in the Bezos Family Immunotherapy Clinic, the care neighborhood model allows us to continue to provide high-level services in an outpatient setting. By bringing services to the patient in one central location, the design streamlines care and reduces in-clinic wait times and check ins, creating an updated, healing environment for care.”
To ensure patients’ needs were being met in this new clinical space, Fred Hutch enlisted a team of patient advisors who reviewed floor plans and provided critical feedback that helped shape the building’s design.
“Of all the volunteer work I’ve done, this was the most rewarding,” said design team member Steve Lovell of Seattle, a former Alaska Airlines director who received a bone marrow transplant at Fred Hutch for his myelodysplastic syndrome in 2010. “Rather than just asking patients and families questions, Fred Hutch actually brought us in. We were an integral part of the clinic design team – very hands-on -- and were able to convey valuable information. I think it made for a better experience for everybody.”
The new building also expands our imaging and procedural capabilities with the addition of a computerized tomography CT Angiography suite; a first-of-its-kind in the Pacific Northwest, Positron emission tomography–magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MR), and new biopsy services.
“This state-of- the-art building strengthens our ability to provide leading edge cancer care with specialized procedure suites and advanced imaging capabilities in a space that centers on the patients and their needs,” said Dr. Thomas J. Lynch, president and director of Fred Hutch and holder of the Raisbeck Endowed Chair. “As we approach the 1-year anniversary of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance becoming one unified organization, this new building represents the physical embodiment of our commitment to continue to advance cancer care for our patient community.”
A pedestrian bridge connects the new and existing buildings. The new building also features the first-in-health care fully automated parking garage; a three-level robotic parking garage with space for 160 cars. Patients will drop off their vehicle with a centralized valet who will transport the car to one of the garage’s three stories with robotic lifts and platforms that shift cars vertically and horizontally.
The opening of the clinic building will happen in stages beginning March 27, 2023, with the opening of the third floor being the first. It is expected that every floor will be operational by the end of June 2023.
Media contact:
Fred Hutch media team
media@fredhutch.org
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About Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center combines adult cancer care with advanced scientific research, and has a track record of discoveries that treat, cure and identify prevention strategies for cancer and infectious disease. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is an independent, nonprofit organization that serves as UW Medicine’s cancer program.
Fred Hutch has been a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center since 1973. Global leadership in bone marrow transplantation, HIV/AIDS, immunotherapy and COVID-19 helped Fred Hutch earn recognition as one of the world’s leading cancer, infectious disease and biomedical research centers. Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services, and has network affiliations with hospitals in four states.