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Baylor Cancer Hospital Named for T. Boone Pickens, Who Pledges $10 Million

By Steve Jacob |

Baylor’s new cancer hospital now has a new name: Baylor T. Boone Pickens Cancer Hospital.

The entrepreneur pledged to give $10 million to support cancer research at Baylor Health Care System.

The recently completed, 175,000 square-foot Baylor T. Boone Pickens Cancer Hospital is the first dedicated cancer hospital in North Texas.

“No matter what industry you’re in, from energy to healthcare, it takes bold people who have vision, a commitment to excellence and a passion for efficiency to reach new levels of success,” said Pickens at a ceremony Monday. “Baylor brings that attitude and commitment to providing health care to all North Texans, whether it is advanced prevention, screening, diagnosis or treatment.”

At the Baylor T. Boone Pickens Cancer Hospital, Pickens and Baylor will honor the donor’s 50-year friendship with the late Harley Hotchkiss, a fellow oilman, philanthropist, and former owner of the NHL Calgary Flames. Two years ago, Hotchkiss travelled from Canada to Baylor to seek treatment for his late-stage prostate cancer. He died in June 2011. A plaque at the cancer hospital will commemorate Pickens’ lifelong friendship with Hotchkiss.

“Having T. Boone Pickens’ name on the cancer hospital serves as a daily reminder to our patients, their families and Baylor caregivers that we stand for innovation and leadership in this special place of hope and healing. The men and women of Baylor Health Care System are most grateful for this very generous investment in serving the patient, which is at the center of everything we do,” said Joel Allison, president and chief executive officer of Baylor Health Care System.

The cancer hospital, located at 3535 Worth Street in Dallas, opened in January 2012. The 96-bed facility is adjacent to the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center. The new hospital will feature all private rooms, many with ICU capabilities.

Other hospital features include:

  • Surroundings designed to create an environment of healing, calming and spirituality for patients and their families.
  • Accommodations that allows families and caregivers to stay on-site, including larger patient rooms, shower facilities and laundry facilities.
  • An oncology evaluation and treatment center that enables established patients to access cancer-specific urgent care.
  • Dedicated facilities such as include a blood and marrow transplant unit, an oncology pharmacy, an infusion center, and a processing lab for stem cells and bone marrow products.

T. Boone Pickens’ gift “provides a valuable platform for us to talk about Baylor’s defining culture and to show the positive impact we have in our communities,” said Rowland K. Robinson, president of Baylor Health Care System Foundation. “We are excited and honored to have a relationship with a leader known for giving to institutions aligned with a focus on caring for the whole patient. We are proud of his endorsement.”

The Sammons Cancer Center, which opened in March 2011, is the region’s largest cancer outpatient facility.

Baylor treated more than 35,000 cancer patients in 2010, which is No. 2 in Texas behind the world-renowned the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. U.S. News & World Report ranks MD Anderson as the top cancer center in the United States.

More than $1.1 billion was spent on cancer care in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2009. Baylor’s local market share was about 24 percent, according to data from the Texas Health Care Information Council.

The nearly half-million square-foot center houses genetic testing, individual clinics devoted to specific types of cancer and diagnostic tools. Patient amenities include a wellness center, teaching kitchen, a large chapel, restaurant and a boutique catering to the appearance needs of cancer patients.

Baylor has a robust clinical trial program, typically conducting about a dozen Phase 1 trials for 75-80 patients annually to test experimental treatments and drugs. At any given time, it is running 100 clinical trials in all stages for 800-1000 patients. Baylor plans to double its clinical-trial capacity in the new facility after it opens the Innovative Clinical Trials Center (ICTC) this summer.

Baylor executives say they wanted to create a “destination cancer center” that draws national and international patients and researchers to North Texas.

Steve Jacob is editor of D Healthcare Daily and author of the new book Health Care in 2020: Where Uncertain Reform, Bad Habits, Too Few Doctors and Skyrocketing Costs Are Taking Us. He can be reached at [email protected].

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