New infusion chairs to comfort Cancer Center patients

15 chairs to help serve the more than 500 patients seen at Rideout’s facility per month

More than 500 patients walk through the doors of Rideout Cancer Center every month. Some receive between one and eight hours of infusion treatment once a week, while some visit five times a week.

The current, almost decade-old treatment chairs are manually operated with heat and massage capabilities, but the hard plastic armrests do not offer much comfort for tired arms. The manufacturer has also discontinued making replacement parts for the chairs.

“Our main concern is comfort,” says Melissa Soderlund, nurse manager at Rideout Cancer Center.

This is why Soderlund and Margaret Murphy, executive administrator at Rideout, were ecstatic to get the Rideout Foundation Board approval to order 15 chairs that will be arriving Wednesday.

“Within 30 seconds, Melissa put in the order,” Murphy said. “We are so grateful for the community donations that allowed us to get these chairs,” she added.

The 42,000-square-foot facility is affiliated with UC Davis Health System. The building houses radiation oncology, Chemotherapy, hematology and clinical trials. Patients also have access to support groups, insurance advisors, and a wellness program that includes yoga, art and writing classes.

“Everyone on our team is committed to easing the patient’s journey by minimizing the time spent in treatment and supporting all aspects of the patient experience,” the Rideout website reads.

Jeff Swanson, executive director of Rideout Health Foundation, helped lead the efforts to release $52,000 of donated funds to cover the cost of the chairs.

“These donors are people in the community who have had great experiences with the center. We are fortunate to be entrusted with those funds,” Swanson said.

Swanson said single donations between $50 and $1,000 were allocated toward the Rideout Cancer Center. Those, along with other large donations, allowed for the comfortable chairs.

Soderlund and Swanson said the center is still in need of at least five more chairs to accommodate all patients, like those receiving PET/CT scans that may need to wait over 30 minutes.

“Chairs are not the most expensive or unique thing, but they will be used heavily. They will touch many lives,” Swanson added.